Back woes plague many pilots - Air Force News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Air Force Times

Back woes plague many pilots

Lots of pilots have back pain but rarely have a problem serious enough to keep them from flying, according to an Air Force flight surgeon.

Most of the pilots who come to see Air Force doctors have strained muscles from twisting or bending the wrong way, said flight surgeon Lt. Col. Brian Pinkston, who is also chief of operational medicine for the Air Force Medical Support Agency. Usually doctors recommend rest, muscle stretches and over-the-counter pain relievers.

More serious injuries are usually the result of several factors such as an already deteriorating spinal disk that ruptures under stress, Pinkston said.

In the past nine years, 100 Air Force pilots asked for medical waivers because of lower back pain and 141 sought waivers after spinal surgery, Pinkston said. Most of the requests were granted.

In some cases, airmen who had undergone spinal surgery were approved to fly but not in fast-moving aircraft that would stress their backs.