The Effect of Body Armor on Pulmonary Function Using Plethysmography

Military tactical athletes face the unique task of performing physically demanding occupational duties, often while wearing body armor. Forced vital capacity and forced expiratory volume measured using spirometry have been shown to decrease, while wearing plate-carrier style body armor, little is kn...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Military medicine 2024-01, Vol.189 (1-2), p.e136-e140
Main Authors: Dunnick, Dustin, Kins, Keoni, Bhammar, Dharini M, Schilling, Brian K
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:Military tactical athletes face the unique task of performing physically demanding occupational duties, often while wearing body armor. Forced vital capacity and forced expiratory volume measured using spirometry have been shown to decrease, while wearing plate-carrier style body armor, little is known about the comprehensive effects of wearing body armor on pulmonary function, including lung capacities. Further, the effects of loaded body armor vs. unloaded on pulmonary function are also unknown. Therefore, this study examined how loaded and unloaded body armor affects pulmonary function. Twelve college-aged males performed spirometry and plethysmography under three conditions (basic athletic attire [CNTL], unloaded plate carrier [UNL], and loaded plate carrier [LOAD]). Compared to CNTL, LOAD and UNL conditions significantly reduced functional residual capacity by 14% and 17%, respectively. Compared with CNTL, LOAD condition also showed a small but statistically significant lowered forced vital capacity (P = .02, d = 0.3), a 6% lower total lung capacity (P 
ISSN:0026-4075
1930-613X
DOI:10.1093/milmed/usad203