The Association of Self-Reported Measures With Poor Training Outcomes Among Male and Female U.S. Navy Recruits

Abstract

This prospective study evaluated the association of self-reported health habits and behaviors in 2,930 Navy recruits with poor training outcomes, defined as graduating late or separating from training. Although 17% of the men and 21% of the women had a poor training outcome, results suggest that some self-reported measures were associated with poor training outcomes. Men who did not run or jog at least 1 month before basic training or had a previous lower limb injury without complete recovery and women reporting the same or less physical activity compared with their same-age counterparts were more likely to have a poor training outcome. An important first step in decreasing poor training outcomes is encouraging incoming recruits to participate in physical activity and taking steps to identify and rehabilitate recruits who are not completely healed from a lower limb musculoskeletal injury before reporting to basic training.

Low fitness, low body mass and prior injury predict injury risk during military recruit training: a prospective cohort study in the British Army

“…Although it is not clear from this analysis if the injuries reported during training were the same as those previously experienced, it can be speculated that some injuries may have recurred due to premature return to activity, weakened tissues, strength deficits or altered mechanical characteristics. 25 Recent studies in US recruit populations have found that incomplete recovery from an injury is a better predictor than past injury per se, [26][27][28] supporting the inclusion of more refined injury-related questions in pretraining questionnaires.…”

Markers of Bone Health and Impact of Whey Protein Supplementation in Army Initial Entry Training Soldiers: A Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Study

“…Musculoskeletal injuries (MSI) are a primary cause of lost training time, recycle (repeating training), and attrition in US Army initial entry training (IET). MSIs are a universal problem in this population, with all military branches [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 ] and multiple nations [ 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 ] combating the same issues. The low level of recruit fitness is a serious and worsening problem [ 16 ] that mirrors the poor fitness and nutritional status of the population as a whole.…”

Revisión sistemática de la repercusión fisiológica de los cursos militares operacionales cortos para el soldado

“…El riesgo de lesión e incapacidades se asoció con los peores resultados de la prueba de aptitud física de ingreso. Estos hallazgos pueden tener implicaciones para la política de adiestramiento y acceso militar, así como para otros programas con entrenamientos físicamente exigentes, como la policía, los bomberos y el atletismo (Trone et al, 2013).…”