Can an injury prevention program delivered during pre-week of Australian Defence Force (ADF) Infantry training lead to a decrease in preventable injuries amongst trainees: a randomized controlled trial.

Can a 2 hour presentation on intrinsic and extrinsic injury risks, injury risk management and biomechanical awareness given to Infantry trainees in their pre-week of training decrease the number of trainees sustaining preventable injuries ie, those that are caused through over-use, overloading or poor biomechanics.

Status

Completed

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Interventional

Source

ANZCTR

Registry ID

ACTRN12615000053527

Enrollment

403

Registered

2015-01-22

Start date

2012-01-31

Completion date

2012-10-29

Last updated

2020-01-13

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

None listed

Brief summary

The aim of this project is to decrease the number of infantry trainees being removed from training and placed into SSW due to preventable injuries. These injuries can be partially attributed to intrinsic risk factors such as poor biomechanics, poor footwear/fitness/body awareness, over training, history of prior injury and BMI <20 or >27. Data collection from six training platoons between 7th February 2011 and 12th August 2011 revealed a mean of 26% of trainees per platoon being injured during the course of training. Of these 53% were classified as preventable injuries and 46% of those trainees were removed from training. This represents a significant number of members incurring injuries that may otherwise have been avoided. From this the concept for implementing some injury prevention training and education evolved and a collective decision was made to examine the implementation and effectiveness of such a program. This will be a randomly controlled trial conducted at the Physiotherapy Department, School Of Infantry, Singleton. It will consist of several components: 1. All members in both the control and intervention groups will be given a questionnaire to fill in regarding intrinsic risk factors to injury. BMI will be assessed. 2. The intervention group will receive a one hour theoretical session on intrinsic risk factors for injuries and how to take active steps to avoid injury (ten tips for injury prevention). 3. The intervention group will then receive a one hour small group practical session looking at biomechanics, posture and body awareness. 4. Trainees identified as having significant risk factor (for example pronating feet) will be given an individual assessment and intervention if required. Potential outcomes of the trial include: - Decrease the number of trainees removed from training and placed in SSW due to preventable injuries - Provide the SOI with an injury prevention strategy that is simple and cost effective - Increase throughput of Infantry members - Reduce number of staff required to manage soldier support wing - Decrease costs associated with trainees moved into soldier support wing (medical, physiotherapy, psychology support, staffing for SSW) - If the program is successful it could be utilised within other areas of the ADF - Increasing retention rates - Decreasing rehabilitation costs and TRW burden - Improve morale amongst trainees by improving health outcomes - Data collection may reveal secondary trends.

Interventions

On the Tuesday of pre-week (that is the week before IET training commences) 1. All members in the intervention groups will be given a questionnaire to fill in regarding intrinsic risk factors to injury. BMI will be assessed. 2. The intervention group will receive a one hour theoretical session, delivered by the researchers, on intrinsic risk factors for injuries and how to take active steps to avoid injury (ten tips for injury prevention). 3. The intervention group will then receive a one hour small group practical session, delivered by the researchers, looking at biomechanics, posture and body awareness and the impact of these on minimising overuse/preventable injuries. 4. Trainees identified as having significant risk factor (for example pronating feet), or those who wish to have raise an issue with the physiotherapist will be given an individual assessment and intervention if required. 5. Details of trainees presentation to physiotherapy, treatment and injuries sustained will be recorded throughout their time in training

Study design

Allocation

Randomised controlled trial

Primary purpose

Prevention

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

Male

Age

17 Years to No maximum

Healthy volunteers

Yes

Inclusion criteria

Any IET trainees that are to commence and complete their 13 week training course between the 30th January 2012 and the 31st December 2012.

Exclusion criteria

No exclusion criteria

Outcome results