Use of body armor protection with fighting load impacts soldier performance and kinematics

• Large increases in body armor protection decrease soldier performance.
• Increased body armor protection did not decrease soldier mobility.
• Adding the fighting load carrier was detrimental to mobility.
• The fighting load carrier increased trunk extension during soldier specific tasks.

The purpose of this evaluation was to examine how increasing body armor protection with and without a fighting load impacted soldiers' performance and mobility. Thirteen male soldiers performed one performance (repeated 30-m rushing) and three mobility tasks (walk, walk over and walk under) with three different body armor configurations and an anterior fighting load. Increasing body armor protection, decreased soldier performance, as individual and total 30-m rush times were significantly longer with greater protection. While increasing body armor protection had no impact on mobility, i.e. significant effect on trunk and lower limb biomechanics, during the walk and walk over tasks, greater protection did significantly decrease maximum trunk flexion during the walk under task. Adding fighting load may negatively impact soldier mobility, as greater maximum trunk extension was evident during the walk and walk over tasks, and decreased maximum trunk flexion exhibited during the walk under task with the fighting load.