Results—1,201 NOLS backpackers were studied. Twenty-six individuals of this population suffered reportable musculoskeletal and soft tissue injuries while hiking with a pack. None of the factors examined (packweight, height, body weight, age, gender, or packweight to body weight ratio) were significant in predicting acute injury.
Conclusions—Based on our results, an individual’s packweight, anthropometry, and individual
characteristics neither increase nor decrease their risk of experiencing a musculoskeletal or soft tissue injury while hiking with a backpack.

The article shows how logistic regression was used to determine which variables were significantly correlated with injuries. Odds ratios with associated confidence intervals and p-values are reported.   NOLS packweight study wemj 2011.pdf (126.93 KB)