The wearing of ballistic helmets commonly coordinated with a night vision device (NVD) often imposes a load to the neck of a soldier. A lighter ballistic helmet promises comfort and enhanced combat performance, but technological developments have not provided a complete solution satisfying all the requirements, including cost. Moreover, the change in munition has led to increasing demand for the attachment of more accessories to the helmet, providing advanced functions but additional weight. Therefore, the current study quantified the neck muscle strain caused by the varying weight of a ballistic helmet, particularly during simulated infantry activities with moderate neck flexion and neck extension against a head-weight in the prone position. Eight healthy males participated on four separate days. On each day, different loads were placed on the head: 0 kg (no helmet, NH) to 2.07 kg (1.5 kg helmet with a 0.5 kg night vision device, HH&NVD). The results showed that prone shooting imposed substantial muscular strain on the splenius capitis (neck extensor), resulting in a 7–9% maximal voluntary contraction depending on the overall helmet loads. In addition, a gradual increase in the subjective neck load and pain in proportion to the overall weight of the helmet assembly was noted, and the heaviest loads caused severe complaints for muscular discomfort. This paper recommends strategies for designing and developing ballistic helmets as well as further methodological issues on evaluating neck muscle strain caused by the helmet weight.

中文翻译：

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模拟军事活动中弹道头盔施加的生理和心理颈部负荷

通常与夜视设备（NVD）配合使用的防弹头盔通常会给士兵的脖子带来负担。较轻的防弹头盔可带来舒适感并增强战斗力，但是技术发展并未提供满足所有要求（包括成本）的完整解决方案。此外，弹药的变化导致对头盔上附加更多附件的需求不断增加，这些附件不仅具有先进的功能，而且重量更大。因此，当前的研究量化了由防弹头盔重量变化引起的颈部肌肉拉伤，特别是在模拟步兵活动中，在适度的颈部屈曲和颈部伸展，而俯卧位的头部重量方面。八天的健康男性分别参加了四天的比赛。在每一天 将不同的负荷放在头上：0千克（无头盔，NH）至2.07千克（1.5千克头盔，带0.5千克夜视仪，HH＆NVD）。结果表明，俯卧射击对脾脏炎（颈部伸肌）施加了很大的肌肉拉力，根据头盔的总负荷，最大自愿收缩量为7–9％。另外，注意到主观的颈部负荷和疼痛与头盔组件的总重量成比例逐渐增加，最重的负荷导致严重的肌肉不适症状。本文提出了防弹头盔的设计和开发策略，以及评估头盔重量引起的颈部肌肉劳损的其他方法论问题。结果表明，俯卧射击对脾脏炎（颈部伸肌）施加了很大的肌肉拉力，根据头盔的总负荷，最大自愿收缩量为7–9％。另外，注意到主观的颈部负荷和疼痛与头盔组件的总重量成比例逐渐增加，最重的负荷导致严重的肌肉不适症状。本文提出了防弹头盔的设计和开发策略，以及评估头盔重量引起的颈部肌肉劳损的其他方法论问题。结果表明俯卧射击对脾脏Capitis（颈部伸肌）施加了很大的肌肉劳损，根据头盔的总负荷，最大自愿收缩量为7–9％。另外，注意到主观的颈部负荷和疼痛与头盔组件的总重量成比例逐渐增加，最重的负荷导致严重的肌肉不适症状。本文提出了防弹头盔的设计和开发策略，以及评估头盔重量引起的颈部肌肉劳损的其他方法论问题。注意到主观颈部负荷和疼痛与头盔组件总重量成比例地逐渐增加，最重的负荷导致严重的肌肉不适症状。本文提出了防弹头盔的设计和开发策略，以及评估头盔重量引起的颈部肌肉劳损的其他方法论问题。注意到主观颈部负荷和疼痛与头盔组件总重量成比例地逐渐增加，最重的负荷导致严重的肌肉不适症状。本文提出了防弹头盔的设计和开发策略，以及评估头盔重量引起的颈部肌肉劳损的其他方法论问题。