Women's Load Carriage Performance Using Modular Lightweight Load-Carrying Equipment

Abstract

The purposes of this study were to evaluate how Modular Lightweight Load-Carrying Equipment (MOLLE) fits women while walking on level surfaces with different loads, to examine women's load carriage performance before and after a simulated march using five load levels, and to examine the relationship between shoulder and leg muscle strength and load carriage performance of women while carrying loads using MOLLE. Seven physically active women carried five levels of load (no load, 20, 30, 40, and 50 pounds) using MOLLE. With increased loads, women showed increased double-limb support time, decreased single-limb support time, increased trunk forward inclination excursion, decreased knee excursion, decreased medial-lateral excursion of center of gravity (COG), and increased vertical excursion of COG. Hip abductor strength was a strong predictor of COG vertical excursion. Some women required modification of the padded hip belt to ensure weight distributed evenly around the pelvis.