Acceleration of the head and body during parachute opening shock in experienced freefall parachutists

Many surveyed freefall jumpers report musculoskeletal neck pain. This study measured a jumper’s head and body accelerations during parachute opening shock and reported the mean, standard deviation, and range of the accelerations. Data were collected from 18 members of the U.S. Army Parachute Team, The Golden Knights with a total of 53 jumps. The average head and body resultant accelerations were 5.5 ± 1.5 G and 19.9 ± 7.5 G, respectively. The range of head and body resultant accelerations were 1.1 - 8.3 G and 2.1 - 37.9 G, respectively.