Harness Suspension Stress: Narrowing the Focus

Harness Suspension Stress (HSS) is defined as the physiological stress resulting from hanging motionless in a harness for a length of time. HSS may produce pain in the legs, numbness, syncope, and has been the subject of debate without much clinical data to support the physiologic explanation for these clinical features. HSS has been reported loosely in peer-reviewed literature. Further, one's predisposition of developing HSS, or subsequent medical ramifications requiring therapy has not been well evaluated. Our knowledge of HSS to this point has been derived mostly from expert opinion and case reports over the last 50 years. A rise in manufacturer development of fall protection equipment, including the use of harnesses, has resulted in increased regulative preventative measures, rescue techniques, and postulations for medical care. Other syndromes have been associated with the effects of HSS, but the constellation of symptoms reported for HSS are inconsistent with any other set of well- established existing medical syndromes, leaving a gap in understanding of the overall etiology and pathogenesis of HSS. This review aims to examine possible factors that may help qualify or quantify a series of measurable signs or symptoms that may establish HSS as its own syndrome, or if pre-dispositional factors may play a role that could be of clinical or practical use.

安全带悬挂应激（HSS）被定义为在安全带中静止悬挂一段时间所导致的生理应激。HSS可能导致腿部疼痛、麻木、晕厥，并且一直是争论的主题，没有太多临床数据来支持这些临床特征的生理学解释。在同行评审的文献中对HSS的报道比较松散。此外，一个人发生HSS的倾向，或者需要治疗的后续医学影响尚未得到很好的评估。到目前为止，我们对HSS的了解主要来自过去50年的专家意见和病例报告。制造商对防坠落设备（包括安全带的使用）开发的增加，导致了监管预防措施、救援技术和医疗护理假设的增加。其他综合征与HSS的影响有关，但针对HSS所报告的症状组合与任何其他已确立的现有医学综合征都不一致，这使得对HSS的整体病因和发病机制的理解存在差距。本综述旨在研究可能有助于确定或量化一系列可测量的体征或症状的因素，这些因素可能将HSS确立为一种独立的综合征，或者确定易患因素是否可能起到具有临床或实际应用价值的作用。