Personal protective ensembles' effect on dynamic balance in firefighters.

Abstract

Firefighting specific personal protective ensembles (PPE) have decreased the number of injuries and illnesses related to exposure to fire products; however nearly half of fire related injuries are musculoskeletal in nature. The external load of the PPE may contribute to balance deficits; placing firefighters at an increased risk of injury. To determine the effects of PPE on dynamic balance in firefighters. Forty male firefighters (age = 37.1±8.2y; height = 182.7±8.5 cm; mass = 98.9±14.4 kg; years of experience = 11.0±6.2y) completed this study. Participants completed the dynamic balance tasks in station attire (- PPE) and while donning firefighting specific PPE (+PPE) (mass of PPE = 23.8±2.1 kg). We measured dynamic balance using the lower quarter Y Balance Test with average measures of three trials in the anterior, posteromedial, and posterolateral reach for each limb. We found significant negative alterations in dynamic balance with the addition of PPE for the right anterior (mean difference = - 3.4±3.1 cm; p < 0.001), left anterior (mean difference = - 3.9±3.6 cm; p < 0.001), right posterolateral (mean difference = - 6.9±6.1 cm; p < 0.001), left posterolateral (mean difference = - 5.3±5.5 cm; p < 0.001), right posteromedial (mean difference = - 4.3±6.8 cm; p < 0.001), and left posteromedial (mean difference = - 4.0±6.8 cm; p < 0.001) reach directions. Firefighting PPE negatively influences dynamic balance. Proactive injury reduction strategies should be utilized in firefighters to mitigate the influence of PPE during work-related tasks.