ObjectivesMusculoskeletal injuries (MSI) are an important concern in military populations. The purpose of this study was to describe the burden of MSI and associated financial cost, in a sample of US ...Air Force Special Operations Command Special Tactics Operators.MethodsIn this cross-sectional study, medical records of the Operators were reviewed during the years 2014–2015. MSI that occurred during a 1-year period prior to the date of review were described. MSI attributes described included incidence, anatomic location, cause, activity when MSI occurred, type and lifetime cost of MSI estimated using the Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System.ResultsA total of 130 Operators participated in the study (age: 29.1±5.2 years). The 1-year cumulative incidence of MSI was 49.2 injured Operators/100 Operators/year. The most frequent anatomic location and sublocation for MSI were the lower extremity (40.9% of MSI) and shoulder (20.9%), respectively. Lifting was a common cause of MSI (21.8%). A large per cent of MSI (55.5%) occurred while Operators were engaged in either physical or tactical training. Common MSI types were pain/spasm/ache (44.5%). Many MSI (41.8%) were classified as potentially preventable by an injury prevention training programme. The total lifetime cost of these MSI was estimated to be approximately US$1.2 million.ConclusionMSI are an important cause of morbidity and financial cost in this sample of Air Force Special Tactics Operators. There is a need to develop a customised injury prevention programme to reduce the burden and cost of MSI in this population.
A mode-specific swimming protocol to assess maximal aerobic uptake (VO
max
) is vital to accurately evaluate swimming performance. A need exists for reliable and valid swimming protocols that assess ...VO
max
in a flume environment. The purpose was to assess: (a) reliability and (b) "performance" validity of a VO
max
flume protocol using the 457-m freestyle pool performance swim (PS) test as the criterion. Nineteen males (
= 9) and females (
= 10) (age, 28.5 ± 8.3 years.; height, 174.7 ± 8.2 cm; mass, 72.9 ± 12.5 kg; %body fat, 21.4 ± 5.9) performed two flume VO
max
tests (VO
max
A and VO
max
B) and one PS test 457 m (469.4 ± 94.7 s). For test-retest reliability (Trials A vs. B), moderately strong relationships were established for VO
max
(mL·kg
·min
)(r= 0.628,
= 0.002), O
pulse (mL O
·beat
)(r = 0.502,
= 0.014), VEmax (L·min
) (r = 0.671,
= 0.001), final test time (sec) (0.608,
= 0.004), and immediate post-test blood lactate (IPE (BLa)) (0.716,
= 0.001). For performance validity, moderately strong relationships (
< 0.05) were found between VO
max
A (r =-0.648,
= 0.005), O
pulse (r= -0.623,
= 0.008), VEmax (r = -0.509
= 0.037), and 457-m swim times. The swimming flume protocol examined is a reliable and valid assessment of VO
max
and offers an alternative for military, open water, or those seeking complementary forms of training to improve swimming performance.
The 2016 United States (U.S.) Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth provides a comprehensive evaluation of physical activity levels and factors influencing physical activity among ...children and youth.
The report card includes 10 indicators: Overall Physical Activity, Sedentary Behavior, Active Transportation, Organized Sport Participation, Active Play, Health-related Fitness, Family and Peers, School, Community and the Built Environment, and Government Strategies and Investments. Nationally representative data were used to evaluate the indicators using a standard grading rubric.
Sufficient data were available to assign grades to 7 of the indicators, and these ranged from B- for Community and the Built Environment to F for Active Transportation. Overall Physical Activity received a grade of D- due to the low prevalence of meeting physical activity guidelines. A grade of D was assigned to Health-related Fitness, reflecting the low prevalence of meeting cardiorespiratory fitness standards. Disparities across age, gender, racial/ethnic and socioeconomic groups were observed for several indicators.
Continued poor grades suggest that additional work is required to provide opportunities for U.S. children to be physically active. The observed disparities indicate that special attention should be given to girls, minorities, and those from lower socioeconomic groups when implementing intervention strategies.
Pletcher, ER, Lovalekar, M, Coleman, LC, Beals, K, Nindl, BC, and Allison, KF. Decreased percent body fat but not body mass is associated with better performance on the Marine Corps Combat Fitness ...Test. J Strength Cond Res 37(4): 887-893, 2023-The military uses a variety of physical fitness tests to assess physical readiness. The Marine Corps designed the Combat Fitness Test (CFT) to emphasize functional fitness related to operational demands. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between body mass (BM), fat free mass (FFM), and percent body fat (BF%) measured via air displacement plethysmography with CFT performance in male and female marines. Two-hundred 10 male (22.4 ± 2.6 years) and 84 female (22.6 ± 2.8 years) marines were grouped into quintiles according to BM (in kilograms), FFM (in kilograms), and BF%. Kruskal-Wallis test or 1-way analysis of variance were used to determine if significant differences in CFT total and component scores existed between the groups of subjects classified into quintiles of BM, FFM, and BF%. No significant differences in CFT scores were observed between BM quintile in either men or women. No significant differences in CFT scores were observed between FFM quintiles in men. Total CFT score ( p = 0.002), movement to contact (MTC; p = 0.014), maneuver under fire (MANUF; p = 0.008), and ammunition lift (AL; p = 0.014) were all significantly different among FFM quintiles in women. Total CFT score ( p = 0.007), MTC ( p = 0.001), and MANUF ( p = 0.022) were significantly different among BF% quintiles in men. Total CFT score ( p = 0.008), MTC ( p = 0.033), and AL ( p = 0.016) were significantly different among BF% quintiles in women. Male and female marines in the quintile with lowest BF% had better CFT scores than those in higher quintiles. Targeted physical training and nutrition considerations to optimize BF% may help improve military task performance.
PDF
