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Keywords

Clinical Practice in Athletic Training

Abstract

Context: Firefighting is a physically demanding job. The ability to maintain and appropriately adjust postural stability is vital for the safety of firefighters, as they navigate through unpredictable terrain in various rescue situations while wearing restrictive equipment. The weight and design of thermal protective gear (TPG) may alter weight distribution causing changes to the center of gravity or restrict movement. The need for firefighters to maintain postural stability is essential for preventing falls on- duty. The purpose of this study was to assess the influence of TPG on rural volunteer firefighter (VFF) postural stability. Methods: Nine healthy males (mean±SD: age= 41±9.3 years; ungeared body mass= 96.47 ± 14.51kg; ungeared height=181.67 ± 4.48cm; VFF experience 8 years) participated in a cross- sectional correlation study during three visits to a university research laboratory. The TPG in this investigation included thermal pants, jacket, boots, and a standardized helmet and self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) with respirator. Postural stability was assessed with and without TPG using a multiaxial device consisting of a dynamic, spring-loaded platform. Assessments consisted of 3, 30s trials with participants attempting to maintain a single leg stance on the right leg, with two conditions, eyes open (EO) then eyes closed (EC). During assessment, the multiaxial stability platform started in a locked position then progressively released to 50% of the device’s available dynamic capacity. Statistical analysis to determine performance differences between the ungeared and geared conditions were conducted using paired sample t-tests and Pearson’s coefficient correlations to evaluate relationships between ungeared and geared condition performance. Level of significance was determined as ���� ≤ 0.05. Results: TPG added an average 25.63kg additional weight to participants (mean±SD geared weight= 122.09±15.47kg). There was a significant difference between ungeared and geared EO Anterior-Posterior Index (API) (p=0.03) that presented with a large effect size (d: -0.73). A significant difference between ungeared and geared EC Overall Stability Index (OSI) with a moderately large effect size was also found (p=0.032, d: - 0.72). Overall Stability Index and API demonstrated a positive, significant correlation in the geared condition with EO (r=0.822-0.975, p=<.001-.008), while OSI and API for the ungeared EO condition exhibited moderate to strong significant, positive relations (r= 0.576-0.780, p=<.001-.013). Conclusions: The results of this study indicate a strong relationship between geared conditions and higher index scores. Wearing TPG while EO negatively affected balance compared to ungeared trials. The influence of EC significantly decreased postural stability with TPG. The correlations identified between API and OSI affirm that OSI is a composite score with anterior-posterior sway as an influential factor. The additional weight from the TPG may complicate postural stability capacity of volunteer firefighters, especially in the absence of clear visual input which is often encountered during fire rescue situations.

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