Clinical trial NCT03415464: Prevention of Musculoskeletal Injuries in Slovenian Armed Forces
Official title: Prevention of Musculoskeletal Injuries in Slovenian Armed Forces
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Knee Injuries and Disorders
Ankle Injuries and Disorders
Low Back Pain
Lead sponsor: University of Ljubljana
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2018-01-30
Enrollment: 160
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 18
Maximum age (years): 55
Standard ages: ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Primary purpose: PREVENTION

Brief summary: Physical readiness of military personnel is a cornerstone of any army, as soldiers are expected to meet high physical demands on a daily basis, and soldiers must complete one hour of physical conditioning each day. Participation in physical conditioning increases the risk of musculoskeletal injuries, and our 10-year retrospective analysis shows that 5% of soldiers sustain a sports injury during physical conditioning each year, and that ankle and knee injuries have the highest incidence rates of 25% and 20%, respectively. The primary objective of our study is to decrease the rate of ankle and knee injuries by implementing a preventive training program. The study is designed as a prospective randomized controlled trial with two arms (experimental and control).

Detailed description: Members of Slovenian Armed Forces - SAF (age range 18-51 years) are expected to participate in the study. Prior to recruitment the whole project will be explained to soldiers in a form of briefing during which they have the opportunity to ask and have answers to any questions concerning the nature of subsequent research. Following that explanation each participant will sign a consent form to voluntarily participate. No compensation will be given or promised for participation in a study that was approved by the Ethical board of the Faculty of Sport in Ljubljana (No. 454/2017). At the time of testing all soldiers must be free of acute injuries and should not reported any pain in musculo-skeletal system. Prior to the implementation of the preventive program all participants will underwent the set of functional testing that includes counterMovement jump (CMJ) testing, stork balANce test, pUll-ups, single leg hAmstrings bridge test, and loaded prone pLank test - MANUAL. Following initial testing a 15-week preventive training program will be implemented in experimental group, while control group will be training as usual. Following the intervention final testing will be performed to check for effectiveness of the intervention. After that a follow-up period will start during which injuries will be registered in both groups and later compared between groups (control and experimental) and within (2016-2017 injuries) groups to see if incidence rate of ankle and knee injuries has fallen.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* no major injuries that would require more than 4 weeks to recover upon entry into the study
* age \>18 y
* finished initial Army training

Primary outcomes:
measure: Number of Soldiers With Ankle and Knee Injuries
timeFrame: 1 year
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Vertical Jump Performance
timeFrame: 15 weeks
measure: Pull-ups Performance
timeFrame: 15 weeks
measure: Hamstring Repetitive Strength
timeFrame: 15 weeks
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Ljubljana
country: Slovenia
facility: University in Ljubljana
Study officials:
References:
citation: Kovcan B, Vodicar J, Simenko J, Videmsek M, Pori P, Vedran H. Retrospective and Cross-sectional Analysis of Physical Training-Related Musculoskeletal Injuries in Slovenian Armed Forces. Mil Med. 2019 Jan 1;184(1-2):e195-e199. doi: 10.1093/milmed/usy156. No abstract available.
citation: Vodicar M, Kovcan B, Pori P, Vodicar J, Simenko J, Karpljuk D, Markovic G, Hadzic V. Regular strength training and baseline fitness in overweight infantry members of Slovenian Armed Forces. BMJ Mil Health. 2022 Apr;168(2):141-145. doi: 10.1136/bmjmilitary-2020-001451. Epub 2020 Jun 2.
citation: Simenko J, Kovcan B, Pori P, Vodicar J, Vodicar M, Hadzic V. The Relationship Between Army Physical Fitness and Functional Capacities in Infantry Members of the Slovenian Armed Forces. J Strength Cond Res. 2021 Dec 1;35(12):3506-3512. doi: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000003344.
citation: Kozinc Z, Sarabon N, Kovcan B, Simenko J, Pori P, Vodicar J, Hadzic V. Effects of 12-week full body resistance exercise on vertical jumping with and without military equipment in Slovenian Armed Forces. BMJ Mil Health. 2023 Oct;169(5):391-396. doi: 10.1136/bmjmilitary-2021-001899. Epub 2021 Sep 7.