Wawan Mulyawan*, Fransiscus Januar Widjaja, Levina Chandra Khoe, Retno Wibawanti, Amilya Agustina and Syougie

Aviation Medicine Study Program, Department of Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia

*Corresponding Author: Wawan Mulyawan, Aviation Medicine Study Program, Department of Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia.

Received: June 26, 2021; Published: September 25, 2021

Abstract

Flight crew has a work environment that can increase the risk of low back pain (LBP). The aim of this study is to find out whether the working period in commercial flight crews correlate with LBP. This study is an evidence-based case report, with literature searching conducted in the PubMed, Cochrane, and Ingenta databases. The inclusion criteria in the search were literatures with research subjects as crew members presenting LBP. Critical appraisal was carried out in accordance with the methods in the articles. After selecting literatures, we found three literatures based meet with the criteria. All articles use cross-sectional method. Only one study has the best quality, where the result of the study showed that there was no increase in the number of LBP sufferers within the 10-24 years of working period (Odds Ratio: 0.93 and 95% Confidence Interval: 0.78-1.03). These evidences are still insufficient to prove that the longer working period increases the risk of LBP in commercial flight crews, due to low level of evidence.

Keywords: Pilot; Flight Attendant; Aircrew; Working Period; Flight Hour; Low Back Pain

References

1. Gaydos SJ. “Low back pain: Considerations for rotary-wing aircrew”. Aviation, Space and Environmental Medicine 9 (2012): 879-889.
2. Baron R., et al. “Neuropathic low back pain in clinical practice”. European Journal of Pain (United Kingdom)6 (2016): 861-873.
3. Khrisnapandit I., et al. “Flight time, number of sectors and risk of low back pain among short and medium haul commercial female flight attendants in Indonesia”. Health Science Journal of Indonesia 1 (2016): 64-68.
4. Rik L., et al. “Research on work-related low back disorders”. Luxembourg, Belgium; (2000).
5. Çinar-Medeni Ö., et al. “The predictors of low back pain in helicopter pilots”. Gazi Medical Journal 1 (2015): 15-18.
6. Rodriguez HAF and Mayorga VAO. “Characterization of Low Back Pain in Pilots and Maintenance Technicians on a Commercial Airline”. Aerospace Medicine and Human Performance9 (2016): 795-799.
7. Director General of Civil Aviation. Civil Aviation Safety Regulations - Staff Instruction Part 67-02 - Manual of Aviation Medical Assessment. Ministry of Transportation, Republic of Indonesia (2018).
8. Kelley AM., et al. “Reported back pain in army aircrew in relation to airframe, gender, age, and experience”. Aerospace Medicine and Human Performance2 (2017): 96-103.
9. Lee H., et al. “Work-Related Musculoskeletal Symptoms Reported by Female Flight Attendants on Long-Haul Flights”. Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine12 (2006): 1283-1287.
10. Orsello CA., et al. “Height and In-Flight Low Back Pain Association Among Military Helicopter Pilots” 84.1 (2013).
11. Sharma L. “Lifestyles, flying and associated health problems in flight attendants”. Journal of the Royal Society for the Promotion of Health 6 (2007): 268-275.
12. Pillai D and Haral P. “Prevalence of Low Back Pain in Sitting Vs Standing Postures in Working Professionals in the Age Group of 30-60”. International Journal of Health Sciences and Research 10 (2018): 131.
13. Gradwell D. “Ernsting’s Aviation and Space Medicine 5E”. 49 (2016): 132.
14. Nesthus TE., et al. “Effects of mild hypoxia on pilot performances at general aviation altitudes” (1997).
15. Saputra NM., et al. “Pengaruh Paparan Zona Ketinggian Terhadap Fungsi Visuospasial Pada Awak Terbang Yang Mengikuti Indoktrinasi Dan Latihan Aerofisiologi” (2019).
16. Hiyama A., et al. “Hypoxia activates the notch signaling pathway in cells of the intervertebral disc: Implications in degenerative disc disease”. Arthritis and Rheumatology5 (2011): 1355-1364.
17. Ma K., et al. “Mechanisms of endogenous repair failure during intervertebral disc degeneration”. Osteoarthritis and Cartilage 1 (2019): 41-48.
18. Li H., et al. “Regulatory Role of Hypoxia Inducible Factor in the Biological Behavior of Nucleus Pulposus Cells”. Yonsei Medical Journal 4 (2013): 807-812.
19. Prabhakar N., et al. “Intermittent Hypoxia: Cell To System: Eb2001 Symposium Report”. American Journal of Physiology-Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology 3 (2001): 524-528.
20. Zhang F., et al. “High altitude increases the expression of hypoxia-inducible factor 1a and inducible nitric oxide synthase with intestinal mucosal barrier failure in rats”. International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Pathology 5 (2015): 5189-5195.
21. International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). Manual of Civil Aviation Medicine. 3rd. The Secretary General of International Civil Aviation Organization (2012).

Citation

Citation: Wawan Mulyawan., et al. “Low Back Pain and its Relationship with Working Period Among Commercial Flight Crews - An Evidence Based Case Report”.Acta Scientific Medical Sciences 5.10 (2021): 161-166.

Copyright

Copyright: © 2021 Wawan Mulyawan., et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.