Cervical and lumbar disorder in pilots' physical examination prior to transferring to higher performance aircraft

Objective To compare the symptoms of cervical and lumbar disorder in pilots' physical examination prior to transferring to higher performance aircraft. Methods A total of 1127 pilots (149 helicopter pilots and 978 fighter pilots) underwent X-ray examination of cervical and lumbar spine and spiral CT scan of L4 and L5.The total detection rates of cervical and lumbar disorder, cervical disorder, lumbar spondylolysis and other lumbar disorders were analyzed. Results The total detection rate of cervical and lumbar disorder was significantly higher in helicopter pilots than in fighter pilots (41.6% vs 28.3%, χ²=5.65，P＜ 0.05).The detection rate of cervical disorder was significantly higher in helicopter pilots than in fighter pilots (9.4% vs 5.2%, χ²=4.16，P＜ 0.05).No significant difference was found in the detection rate of lumbar spondylolysis between helicopter and fighter pilots (4.0% vs 6.9%).The detection rate of other lumbar disorders was significantly higher in helicopter pilots than in fighter pilots (28.2% vs 16.3%, χ²=12.56, P＜ 0.01).No helicopter pilot was grounded while 2.4% of fighter pilots were grounded for flying higher performance aircraft (χ²=10.23，P＜ 0.01). Conclusion Cervical and lumbar disorder should be one of the major follow-up diseases in high performance armed helicopter pilots since its high detection rate in helicopter pilots’ physical examination prior to transferring to higher performance aircraft.