Personal protective ensembles' effect on dynamic balance in firefighters.

Background: Firefighting specific personal protective ensembles (PPE) have decreased the number of injuries and illnesses related to exposure to fire products; however nearly half of fire related injuries are musculoskeletal in nature. The external load of the PPE may contribute to balance deficits; placing firefighters at an increased risk of injury.

Objective: To determine the effects of PPE on dynamic balance in firefighters.

Methods: Forty male firefighters (age = 37.1±8.2y; height = 182.7±8.5 cm; mass = 98.9±14.4 kg; years of experience = 11.0±6.2y) completed this study. Participants completed the dynamic balance tasks in station attire (- PPE) and while donning firefighting specific PPE (+PPE) (mass of PPE = 23.8±2.1 kg). We measured dynamic balance using the lower quarter Y Balance Test with average measures of three trials in the anterior, posteromedial, and posterolateral reach for each limb.

Results: We found significant negative alterations in dynamic balance with the addition of PPE for the right anterior (mean difference = - 3.4±3.1 cm; p <  0.001), left anterior (mean difference = - 3.9±3.6 cm; p <  0.001), right posterolateral (mean difference = - 6.9±6.1 cm; p <  0.001), left posterolateral (mean difference = - 5.3±5.5 cm; p <  0.001), right posteromedial (mean difference = - 4.3±6.8 cm; p <  0.001), and left posteromedial (mean difference = - 4.0±6.8 cm; p <  0.001) reach directions.

Conclusions: Firefighting PPE negatively influences dynamic balance. Proactive injury reduction strategies should be utilized in firefighters to mitigate the influence of PPE during work-related tasks.