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While aging equipment and bureaucracy continue to put a strain on the military's performance, training injuries are also taking a devastating toll.

Soldiers injured during training missed more than 4 million duty days in the first half of 2019 alone, medical researchers said during a panel at the Association of the US Army's conference in Washington, D.C.

"Injuries are the number-one medical threat to readiness," preventative medicine researcher Dr. Bruce Jones said Wednesday. "Musculoskeletal injuries, due mostly to training and vigorous operational activities, are the biggest portion of that problem."

More than three out of four of these kinds of injuries are from overuse. Running accounted for 43% of training injuries, according to Jones, making it the leading cause. Work-related tasks, equipment maintenance, and similar activities were also significant contributors.

The US Army

Research also showed that the slower the runner, the more they risked injury. And while the Army has strict body mass index requirements for its soldiers, Jones' research found those who had middle to high BMIs had less chance of injury compared with those with lower BMIs.

"So it appears being somewhat overweight, but physically fit, is protective against musculoskeletal issues," Jones said.

High rates of training injury given the requirements put on the modern soldier might not be surprising, but the Army has established a network of Army Wellness Center locations in an effort to promote a healthier force. The centers test a soldier's body fat composition, caloric needs, and aerobic capacity in order to help them meet their fitness goals.

"Instead of going [with] the traditional health education, health promotion, what we wanted to do was something a little bit more evidence-based," said Todd Hoover, the Army Wellness Center operations division chief. "So instead of just like lecturing people, holding classes, and stuff like that, what we wanted to do was assess where they're at."

The Army could see more soldiers injured in training as it begins to implement its new fitness test, which aims to mirror the physical requirements expected in the field. The new dead lift, for example, could increase back injuries for soldiers unfamiliar with proper weightlifting techniques.

Jones told the Washington Examiner he suspects there could be more injuries associated with the new test, but it's too soon to tell.

"The bottom line is we will have to wait and see," he said.

See the rest here:
The biggest threat to military readiness has nothing to do with combat - Business Insider

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