ArticleBMJ open sport & exercise medicine2016
Low fitness, low body mass and prior injury predict injury risk during military recruit training: a prospective cohort study in the British Army.
Article in BMJ open sport & exercise medicine, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 25 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
25 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 78 citations in OpenAlex.
- Risk factors for musculoskeletal injuries in the military: a qualitative systematic review of the literature from the past two decades and a new prioritizing injury model.Military Medical Research · 2021Pooled it
- Exercise Programs to Reduce the Risk of Musculoskeletal Injuries in Military Personnel: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.PM & R : the journal of injury, function, and rehabilitation · 2020Pooled it
- What Are the Acute and Chronic Effects of Initial Military Training on Physiological and Neuromuscular Performance in Military Populations? A Narrative Review.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2026Review
- Can Baseline Recruit Characteristics Predict Actual Injuries Sustained During New Zealand Army Basic Training?Military medicine · 2026Article
- Improved dietary intake and readiness among United States Navy Future Sailors following mobile health application use.Frontiers in digital health · 2026Article
- Efficacy of neuromuscular exercises to promote movement quality and reduce musculoskeletal injury during initial military training in Royal Navy recruits.BMJ military health · 2025Article
- Associations Between Self-Reported Injury History, Physical Complaints, and Medical Attention Injury During Army Basic Military Training.Military medicine · 2025Article
- Cardiorespiratory demands of firearms training instruction and 15m shuttle tests in British law enforcement.PloS one · 2025Article
- Beyond change scores: Employing an improved statistical approach to analyze the impact of entry fitness on physical performance during British Army basic training in men and women.Scandinavian journal of medicine & science in sports · 2024Article
- High Physical Exposure During Female Recruits' Basic Military Training in Sweden-A Descriptive Study.Military medicine · 2024Article
- A Comprehensive Analysis of Injuries During Army Basic Military Training.Military medicine · 2024Article
- Profiles of Recruits Entering Army Basic Training in New Zealand.Military medicine · 2023Article
- The Influence of Previous Lifestyle on Occupational Physical Fitness in the Context of Military Service.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- Quantification of Recruit Training Demands and Subjective Wellbeing during Basic Military Training.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Factors Predicting Training Delays and Attrition of Recruits during Basic Military Training.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- One out of four recruits drops out from elite military training due to musculoskeletal injuries in the Netherlands Armed Forces.BMJ military health · 2022Observational
- Unsupervised Clustering Techniques Identify Movement Strategies in the Countermovement Jump Associated With Musculoskeletal Injury Risk During US Marine Corps Officer Candidates School.Frontiers in physiology · 2022Article
- Tibial Bone Geometry Is Associated With Bone Stress Injury During Military Training in Men and Women.Frontiers in physiology · 2022Article
- Grit was not associated to dropout in Dutch Marine recruits.Military psychology : the official journal of the Division of Military Psychology, American Psychological Association · 2022Article
- Soldier Load Carriage, Injuries, Rehabilitation and Physical Conditioning: An International Approach.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundInjuries sustained by military recruits during initial training impede training progression and military readiness while increasing financial costs. This study investigated training-related injuries and injury risk factors among British Army infantry recruits.
methodsRecruits starting infantry training at the British Army Infantry Training Centre between September 2008 and March 2010 were eligible to take part. Information regarding lifestyle behaviours and injury history was collected using the Military Pre-training Questionnaire. Sociodemographic, anthropometric, physical fitness and injury (lower limb and lower back) data were obtained from Army databases. Univariable and multivariable Cox regression models were used to explore the association between time to first training injury and potential risk factors.
results58% (95% CI 55% to 60%) of 1810 recruits sustained at least 1 injury during training. Overuse injuries were more common than traumatic injuries (65% and 35%, respectively). The lower leg accounted for 81% of all injuries, and non-specific soft tissue damage was the leading diagnosis (55% of all injuries). Injuries resulted in 122 (118 to 126) training days lost per 1000 person-days. Slower 2.4 km run time, low body mass, past injury and shin pain were independently associated with higher risk of any injury.
conclusionsThere was a high incidence of overuse injuries in British Army recruits undertaking infantry training. Recruits with lower pretraining fitness levels, low body mass and past injuries were at higher risk. Faster 2.4 km run time performance and minimal body mass standards should be considered for physical entry criteria.
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