With all of the risks and sacrifices that our military members face every day, you may be surprised to know that most of the injuries that happen during active duty, are not combat related. When joining the military you start from basic or boot camp with strenuous physical training (PT) and challenges. After that, depending on your unit and job, you may be required to PT every day, or even twice per day.
Some of the most common complaints of service members involve back pain, knee pain, ankle pain and foot pain. Why? Because generally these joints and muscles are being overworked on a consistent schedule. Not only do service members have to do PT a lot, but their bodies are often times ill equipped for the training that they are doing. For example, in the Marine Corps, often times when there is a small group training, the group won’t do any sort of injury prevention or stretching before starting the run/hike. This can lead to injuries in itself, especially when the PT is designed to exhaust the marine.
Injuries in the military are taken with a grain of salt. Generally if the service member has an injury or is on light duty, there is still a chance they will be doing the same training as the rest of the group. Not only this, but if the injury is not properly treated, there is a higher chance of re-injury or permanent damage. Not to mention, the competition that goes on in the military to be the best of the best. This can lead active duty military member to overexert themselves during PT or other physical exercise such as athletics and weight lifting
It’s important to make sure that you are avoiding over-training as much as possible. Also, make sure that if you are doing PT, you have stretched and done the steps to get your body ready for the activity. If you are injured, get to medical as soon as possible in order to avoid furthering your injury and pain with continued use. Use proper technique while you are doing workouts and sports. Focus on working on your core and balance in order to help avoid further injuries while you’re running or doing PT.
Here at Oahu Spine & Rehab we are happy to provide injury prevention training, injury correction treatment, and pain relief treatment. Due to the high risk of training and day to day injury risk, we know that it’s important to get you back to 100% so that you are able to complete your daily tasks and physical training. If you are an active duty service member and you or a family member are suffering from chronic pain or an injury, give us a call today to make an appointment at 488-5555!
