Background

Soldiers are required to conduct tasks and operations in physically demanding situations, where the ability to move (mobility) quickly is important to lethality and survivability.

This study employed a specially designed suit to try to isolate the main mass property characteristics of personal protective clothing/equipment (PPCE) including mass, bulk and stiffness as much as possible and evaluated their effects on soldier performance across operationally-relevant mobility tasks.

Method

Eight male military subjects performed the load effects assessment program (LEAP) obstacle course while wearing 7 different configurations of specifically designed suit: unencumbered (control), 10 kg mass, 30 kg mass, 20 L bulk, medium stiffness, high stiffness and a mixed configuration consisting of 10 kg mass, 20 L bulk and medium stiffness. The primary outcome measure was total LEAP completion time. Additionally, heart rate, rating of perceived exertion (RPE), range of motion and vertical jump heights were measured and related to LEAP performance.

Results

All configurations degraded or tended to degrade the total LEAP completion times (p-value < 0.05), except for the medium stiffness configuration. Heart rate did not differ significantly between configurations, while RPE scores of configurations 30 kg and mix were significantly higher compared to control (p < 0.01).

Conclusion

Mass, bulk and stiffness all negatively influence LEAP obstacle performance. Therefore, all three have to be considered when trying to reduce the physical burden on soldiers.

中文翻译：

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进行军事机动障碍训练时，个人防护装备和服装的质量、体积和刚度对身体表现的影响

背景

士兵需要在体力要求很高的情况下执行任务和行动，在这种情况下，快速移动（机动）的能力对于杀伤力和生存能力很重要。

这项研究采用了一种专门设计的套装，试图尽可能地隔离个人防护服/设备 (PPCE) 的主要质量特性，包括质量、体积和刚度，并评估它们对士兵在与作战相关的机动性任务中的表现的影响。

方法

八名男性军事受试者在穿着 7 种不同配置的专门设计的西装时进行了负荷效应评估计划 (LEAP) 障碍课程：无障碍（对照）、10 公斤体重、30 公斤体重、20 升体积、中等刚度、​​高刚度和混合配置由 10 kg 质量、20 L 体积和中等刚度组成。主要结果测量是总 LEAP 完成时间。此外，还测量了心率、感知用力等级 (RPE)、运动范围和垂直跳跃高度，并与 LEAP 性能相关。

结果

除中等刚度配置外，所有配置都降低或倾向于降低总 LEAP 完成时间（p 值 < 0.05）。不同配置之间的心率没有显着差异，而 30 kg 和混合配置的 RPE 分数显着高于对照组（p < 0.01）。

结论

质量、体积和刚度都会对 LEAP 障碍性能产生负面影响。因此，在试图减轻士兵的身体负担时，这三者都必须考虑。