Murray-Leslie C F, Lintott D J, Wright V
Ann Rheum Dis. 1977 Aug;36(4):332-42. doi: 10.1136/ard.36.4.332.
Spinal injuries and symptoms were studied in 109 ex-military parachutists and 112 sport (free fall) parachutists by means of postal questionnaires. 46 ex-military parachutists aged 50 years or over had a radiological examination of the lumbar spine and 58 sport parachutists had a radiological examination of the cervical spine as part of the survey. A history of back pain was significantly (P<0.01) associated with body weight in sport parachutists but not with the number of descents or with the subject's age. In the older ex-military group neither age, weight, nor the number of descents was significantly associated with backache. Of those ex-military parachutists x-rayed, 10 (21.7%) were found to have vertebral body fractures (most frequently at D12), and 8 of these were unaware of these lesions. Vertebral fractures caused no disability and did not permanently curtail parachuting activities in either the sport or ex-military group. Of the ex-military parachutists x-rayed, 84.7% had lumbar disc degeneration of all grades of severity, 17.4% had moderate changes, and 10.8% had severe changes. The frequency of moderate and severe disc degeneration was significantly related to age but not to body weight or to the number of descents. Spondylolysis was found in 2 subjects (4.3%) and spondylolisthesis unassociated with spondylolysis in 4 (8.7%). Spondylolisthesis was always associated with a history of back pain.A low prevalence of radiological cervical intervertebral disc degeneration of all grades of severity of 8.7% was found among the free fall parachutists (mean age 33 years). 2 cases of cervical vertebral body fracture were seen, one related to a parachute landing injury and the other to a parachute opening injury. This study does not implicate parachuting as a cause of intervertebral disc degeneration, either cervical or lumbar, nor as a cause of spondylolysis or spondylolisthesis. Serious long-term disability from pain appears to be uncommon among parachutists despite the frequency of the spinal trauma they sustain.
通过邮寄问卷调查的方式，对109名前军事跳伞员和112名运动（自由落体）跳伞员的脊柱损伤及症状进行了研究。作为调查的一部分，46名年龄在50岁及以上的前军事跳伞员接受了腰椎的放射学检查，58名运动跳伞员接受了颈椎的放射学检查。运动跳伞员中，背痛病史与体重显著相关（P<0.01），但与跳伞次数或受试者年龄无关。在年龄较大的前军事跳伞员组中，年龄、体重和跳伞次数均与背痛无显著关联。在接受X光检查的前军事跳伞员中，有10人（21.7%）被发现有椎体骨折（最常见于D12），其中8人并未意识到这些损伤。椎体骨折并未导致残疾，也未在运动或前军事跳伞员组中永久性地限制跳伞活动。在接受X光检查的前军事跳伞员中，84.7%有不同严重程度的腰椎间盘退变，17.4%有中度改变，10.8%有重度改变。中度和重度椎间盘退变的频率与年龄显著相关，但与体重或跳伞次数无关。发现2名受试者（4.3%）有椎弓根峡部裂，4名受试者（8.7%）有与椎弓根峡部裂无关的椎体滑脱。椎体滑脱总是与背痛病史相关。在自由落体跳伞员（平均年龄33岁）中，发现不同严重程度的颈椎间盘退变的放射学患病率较低，为8.7%。发现2例颈椎椎体骨折，1例与跳伞着陆损伤有关，另1例与跳伞开伞损伤有关。这项研究并未表明跳伞是颈椎或腰椎间盘退变的原因，也不是椎弓根峡部裂或椎体滑脱的原因。尽管跳伞者遭受脊柱创伤的频率较高，但因疼痛导致的严重长期残疾在跳伞者中似乎并不常见。
