Skyddsvästens påverkan på biomekanisk prestationsförmåga hos poliser : En strukturerad litteraturöversikt

Sammanfattning

Background: There are 24,871 police officers within the Swedish Police Authority in October 2025. Police officers use a body armor daily as part of their mandatory equipment. The body armor weighs between ten and twelve kilograms and form an external load that can affect biomechanics and thus performance during work tasks. Despite the increased use of protective equipment, knowledge of which biomechanical factors are affected when using a body armor is still limited. Aim: The purpose is to examine in a literature review which biomechanical factors significantly affect police officers' performance with and without the use of a body armor. Method: The study was conducted as a structured literature review according to the PRISMA checklist. Systematic searches were performed in six databases. Studies that included professional police officers and compared biomechanical outcomes with and without body armor were included. A total of nine studies were included, which were quality assessed using the PEDro scale. Result: There are tendencies that the protective vest is associated with significant limitations in mobility in the neck, shoulder and thoracic spine as well as compromised rotational stabilization in the trunk. The mentioned biomechanical factors recurred in several studies and were related to decreased performance. Gender differences are presented without differentiation to relative load and anthropometry which can also be observed as potential influencing factors. Conclusion: Mobility in the neck, shoulder and thoracic spine, as well as rotational stabilization in the torso appear to be central biomechanical factors for police officers' performance when using body armor.