Department of Aerospace Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA
British Army, London, UK.
BMJ Mil Health. 2022 Oct;168(5):343-348. doi: 10.1136/bmjmilitary-2020-001445. Epub 2020 Jun 2.
Military initial training results in a high incidence of lower limb overuse injuries (stress fractures and medial tibial stress syndrome). This study aimed to determine whether the distance travelled by recruits, both on and off duty, was a risk factor for overuse injury.
14 male airborne infantry recruits from three training platoons carried global positioning system receivers throughout the first 19 weeks of basic military training. Total distance travelled each day was recorded. This was compared with time of clinical manifestation of 52 lower limb overuse injuries (stress fractures and medial tibial stress syndrome) collected from the 276 airborne infantry recruits in the period immediately preceding the study.
Recruits travelled significantly farther than the UK average male population in 17 of 18 measured weeks. Pearson correlation between distance travelled per week and injuries was not significant (p=0.4448); however, correlation between distance travelled per week and injuries two weeks later was significant (p=0.0263). A generalised linear model found distance travelled as a significant covariate (p=0.0144) to the expected number of injuries two weeks later.
Recruits travel long distances during basic training, particularly in the first few weeks when they are not yet conditioned. This distance travelled is likely a contributing risk factor to the high incidence of overuse injuries seen during training, and strategies to reduce this distance should be explored.
军事基础训练会导致下肢过度使用损伤（应力性骨折和胫骨内侧应力综合征）的高发。本研究旨在确定新兵在役和非役期间的行进距离是否是过度使用损伤的一个风险因素。
来自三个训练排的 14 名男性空降步兵新兵在基础军事训练的前 19 周内携带全球定位系统接收器。每天记录行进的总距离。这与从研究开始前的 276 名空降步兵新兵中收集到的 52 例下肢过度使用损伤（应力性骨折和胫骨内侧应力综合征）的临床表现时间进行了比较。
新兵在 18 周中有 17 周的行进距离明显超过英国男性平均水平。每周行进距离与损伤之间的皮尔逊相关性不显著（p=0.4448）；然而，每周行进距离与两周后损伤之间的相关性显著（p=0.0263）。广义线性模型发现，行进距离是两周后预期损伤数量的一个显著协变量（p=0.0144）。
新兵在基础训练期间行进很远的距离，尤其是在他们尚未适应的时候的前几周。这种行进距离可能是训练期间过度使用损伤高发的一个促成风险因素，应探索减少这种距离的策略。
