![]() He was our neck specialist here at Williamtown, and now he’s under contract to oversee the program across Air Force and the ADF,” said WGCDR Almenara. “Part of the program was defining the resources that we need. We’re now able to collect more data than before…to continue improving our program to reduce injury and manage risks for our aircrew. Wallace and Watson now work full-time on the Fighter Fit program for Air Combat Group. “Track and field is all about being really specific in what you prepare for, cycling is all about recovery and how well can you get yourself ready to go again, and AFL is all about being belted like the guys do in high-G BFM, so there’s a bit of each of them.” We know they’ll lose a couple of litres of fluid in an hour, so we’ve got to make sure that if they’re going to ‘double-pump’ on the day that they’re not going to get dehydrated, because you can’t perform as well if you don’t hydrate properly.”īut Watson added that there are elements to consider from the other sports he’s worked in as well. “Post flight, what’s the cool-down look like where they have to go to debrief. Watson draws a comparison between grand tour cycling teams and an air combat squadron, where the emphasis is on the recovery over a long period. “And then on ‘game day’ we talk about what is an appropriate warm-up, how does it fit in the rhythm of their day with their brief, life support, walk to the jet and everything else. There is evidence in professional sport, however, and it’s just like building someone up for game day. “We’re on the leading edge of this so there isn’t a great body of evidence for us to work with, but we’re building that for ourselves. “So, we get a baseline screen to see where they’re at, where we think they need to be, and where they’re going to learn as we go,” he said. As with these previous roles, his job is to identify what activities his patients are participating in and what injuries are they most at risk from, what they are currently strong enough to handle, and what work needs to be done to gain strength where they need it. Toby Watson comes from an AFL, track and field and cycling background in physiotherapy, so he has worked with athletes who have competed in speed, strength, impact and endurance sports. “So, in being proactive we’re looking at things like general pain, sleep, fatigue and soreness, because those things are likely indicators that their bodies might not be responding as well as they could be.” The goal is identify problems early rather than wait for aircrew to get to a point where they need physio or other healthcare. “The goal is to identify problems early rather than waiting for aircrew to get to a point where they need physio or other healthcare,” Watson said. It’s designed to identify potential problem areas early, so we’ll say, ‘Come and see us and do something about it’, rather than letting it turn into something bigger. “It looks at specifics such as pain and well-being, but it’s not designed to ground aircrew. Williamtown Fighter Fit sports physiotherapist Toby Watson said the system functions through an app on their smartphone. Once aircrew get to the high-G part of the IFC, the program switches from a conditioning to a maintenance phase where there is a system of monitoring the aircrew, so they maintain the standards achieved in the conditioning phase. This second part details how the program developed into a maintenance and rehabilitation program which is being rolled out across the organization.īeing proactive through maintenance therapy The Air Combat Group adopted a conditioning program utilizing the David Spine Concept to condition and strengthen its aircrew. This posed both a massive economic and cultural problem for the RAAF, and they knew changes must be made. The investigation found that the RAAF was losing the equivalent of 7 man-years of productivity each year across its fast-jet force, with the primary problem being neck problems. The previous blog detailed how Air Combat Group documented the pilots’ injuries and investigated the cultural aspects of aircrew not reporting problems. Hip and Knee Pain diagnosis and treatment.Back or neck pain diagnosis and treatment.
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