Prevalence, Prediction and Prevention of Spinal Pain in Rotary Wing Aircrew

Celebrating an exciting university-industry research collaboration made possible through the Commonwealth Department of Education’s National Industry PhD Program: “Prevalence, Prediction and Prevention of Spinal Pain in Rotary Wing Aircrew” is a project between the University of Canberra and industry partners Headsense Air Pty Ltd and the Royal Australian Navy Fleet Air Arm. The project will see PhD candidate Nadine Cooper collect load exposure data alongside prospective injury reports in military aircrew, to build risk estimation models under the academic supervision of Dr Wayne Spratford and industry supervision of Dr Phillip Newman and Commander Mark Stone.

The Australian Army and Navy have developed machine learning decision algorithms for estimating individual, multifactorial risk for high-cost injuries. The validated algorithms allow for probabilistic estimates of risk, based on features such as past injury, age, and workload exposure. The project will use individual and group level data to inform training practices, posture, equipment, and technique modifications to reduce spinal complaints and injuries to the Defence Force.