Perception of lower back pain associated with use of body armor in police officers of the countryside specialized battalion of Ceará, Brazil

Abstract

As rigorosas exigências do ambiente militar associadas ao aumento da violência, bem como ao uso frequente do colete balístico, podem agravar ainda mais os problemas de saúde. Objetivos: Investigar a associação do uso de colete balístico em relação ao conforto, à fadiga e à queixa de lombalgia em policiais do batalhão especializado do Ceará. Métodos: Tratouse de um estudo transversal realizado com 260 policiais militares do sexo masculino (34,62 ± 5,83 anos) pertencentes ao batalhão de policiamento ostensivo rural do estado do Ceará. O questionário relacionado a conforto, fadiga e dores na região lombar foi utilizado para identificar a percepção de dor pelo uso do colete balístico, com respostas escalonadas, e seus resultados foram analisados no software SPSS 21.0. Resultados: Quanto ao uso do colete, 41,5% perceberam ser pouco confortável no geral; e 45 e 47,5% dos policiais militares consideraram ser pouco confortável em relação ao peso e em relação ao uso durante as atividades operacionais, respectivamente. No que se refere às medidas corporais, 48,5% reportaram ser confortável, e 70% percebem o colete como ajustável ao corpo. No momento da finalização do turno de trabalho, 37,3% apresentam dores na região lombar e 45,8% sentem fadiga moderada. Após o encerramento do turno de trabalho, 70,1% sentem dores na região lombar. Conclusões: Os policiais militares perceberam dores na região lombar ao final e depois do turno de trabalho pelo uso do colete balistico, além de relatarem sobre o pouco conforto do equipamento de proteção e sobre a fadiga moderada ao fim do turno de trabalho. Palavras-chave | polícia; saúde do trabalhador; trabalho; dor lombar. ABSTRACT | Introduction:The strict demands of the military environment, associated with the increase in violence, as well as the frequent use of body armor, can further aggravate health problems. Objectives: To investigate the perception of police officers of the Countryside Specialized Police Battalion in relation to comfort, fatigue, and lower back pain, resulting from the use of body armor. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted with 260 male military police officers (34.62 ± 5.83 years old) belonging to the ostensive rural police battalion in the state of Ceará, Brazil. The questionnaire related to comfort, fatigue, and lower back pain was used to identify the perception of pain from the use of body armor, with staggered responses, and the results were analyzed using the SPSS 21.0 software. Results: Regarding the use of body armor, 41.5% of participants perceived it to be little comfortable in general; furthermore, 45 and 47.5% of military police officers considered it little comfortable in relation to weight and use during operational activities, respectively. With regard to body measurements, 48.5% reported being little comfortable, and 70% perceived that the body armor is adjustable to the body. At the end of the work shift, 37.3% complained of lower back pain, and 45.8% felt moderate fatigue. Moreover, 70.1% felt pain in the lower back after the wo...

Skeletal Muscle Discomfort and Lifestyle of Brazilian Military Police Officers of Administrative and Tactical Force

“…The higher prevalence of low back pain in military police officers compared to the general population shows that specific preventive measures are needed for this professional category. The use of heavy equipment by military police, such as ballistic vests, is often associated with the manifestation of low back pain, mainly by operational troops [10,38,39]. In addition, sedentary behavior, especially sitting for long periods by police officers in the administrative sector, is also identified as a risk factor for the occurrence and worsening of low back pain symptoms [40][41][42].…”