Work. 2024 Mar 29. doi: 10.3233/WOR-230569. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Load carriage tasks during United States Marine Corps (USMC) recruit training can cause injury. Load carriage conditioning, if optimized, can reduce injury risk.
OBJECTIVE: To compare injuries sustained by USMC recruits following participation in either the Original Load Carriage (OLC) program or a Modified Load Carriage (MLC) program.
METHODS: Retrospective musculoskeletal injury data were drawn from the USMC San Diego Sports Medicine injury database for recruits completing the OLC (n = 2,363) and MLC (n = 681) programs. Data were expressed as descriptive statistics and a population estimate of the OLC:MLC relative risk ratio (RR) was calculated.
RESULTS: The proportion of injuries sustained in the MLC cohort (n = 268; 39% : OLC cohort, n = 1,372 : 58% ) was lower, as was the RR (0.68, 95% CI 0.61- 0.75). The leading nature of injury for both cohorts was sprains and strains (OLC n = 396, 29% ; MLC n = 66; 25% ). Stress reactions were proportionally higher in MLC (n = 17, 6% ; OLC n = 4, 0.3% ), while stress fractures were proportionately lower (MLC n = 9, 3% ; OLC n = 114, 8% ). Overuse injuries were lower in MLC (- 7% ). The knee, lower leg, ankle, and foot were the top four bodily sites of injuries and the Small Unit Leadership Evaluation (SULE), Crucible, overuse-nonspecific, running, and conditioning hikes were within the top five most common events causing injury. The prevalence rates of moderate severity injury were similar (MLC = 23% ; OLC = 24% ), although MLC presented both a higher proportion and prevalence of severe injuries (MLC = 6% ; OLC = 3% , respectively).
CONCLUSION: A periodized load carriage program concurrently increased exposure to load carriage hikes while reducing injuries both during the load carriage hikes and overall.
PMID:38552130 | DOI:10.3233/WOR-230569
