A preliminary report on a new anti-G maneuver.



Author: Guo HZ//Zhang SX//Jing BS//Zhang LM

Affiliation: Institute  of  Aviation  Medicine, Air Force, People's Liberation Army of
China, Beijing
Conference/Journal: Aviat Space Environ Med 
Date published: 1988
Other:
 Volume ID: 59   ,  Issue ID: 10   ,  Pages: 968-72   ,  Special Notes: ENGLISH   ,  Word Count: 167  
    Inspired  by  Traditional  Chinese Medicine and Qigong, we designed a new
anti-G  maneuver,  the  Q-G  Maneuver,  which  has  proved  promising. This maneuver  consists  of  volition  mobilization, stepwise tensing of leg and abdominal  muscles,  and  maintenance  of  a  shallow  thoracic respiration throughout.  It  was  tested  on  24 pilots on the ground and 3 pilots on a centrifuge. All  pilots  were  monitored  with heart level blood pressure, oximetry, ear lobe pulse, CO2 concentration in exhaled gas, EEG and ECG; in centrifuge  runs,  peripheral vision was also monitored. Blood pressure was maintained  at  180-240  mm  Hg  for more than 30 s without fatigue. On the centrifuge,  the  pilots  tolerated a G load 2.25-3.0 G higher than without the  maneuver,  without  any  visual  disturbance.  Oximetry  reading  were 96-97%,  and  there was no evidence of hyperventilation. The ear lobe pulse was  even  enhanced during G load with the maneuver. Follow-up visits to 18 out of 24 pilots with 455 inflight applications of the maneuver showed that the maneuver is feasible and can be used effectively during high-G load.