The 6th Congress of Exercise and Sport Sciences

Generating a New Therapeutic Tool in the IDF – The Protocols for Performance improvement and Training Injured Troops

Uria Moran 1 Shani Punk 2
1Medical corps, Israel Defense Forces, Tel Aviv, Israel
2Combat Fitness Department, Israel Defense Forces, Netanya, Israel

Background: Musculoskeletal injuries are a significant cause for loss of training days and combat readiness amongst IDF combatants. While it is well-known that correct physical preparation may prevent musculoskeletal pain symptoms, even a well-constructed training program, suited to most soldiers, may be insufficient for some, who develop musculoskeletal pain during training. According to research based evidence from the IDF and the US army, approximately 30-70% of all physician encounters taking place in combat units result with a diagnosis relating to musculoskeletal injury. With the purpose of proving the unit physician with a primary treatment tool, protocols for performance improvement were written for 6 main diagnoses, covering over 90% of all injuries: foot, ankle, shin, knee, lower back and shoulder.

Purpose: To generate a generic primary treatment tool suitable for the initial post injury stage of most musculoskeletal injury amongst soldiers.

Method: Combined working groups of physical therapists and physical fitness officers were created. Each team was responsible for one protocol, conducted a literature review and combined the training experience of the physical fitness officers. The most validated exercise existing in the literature were to be incorporated in the strength, stability and flexibility categories.

Results: Six protocols were published in the form of PDF files, followed by matching videos. For several years now, the protocols have been in use by unit physicians as a therapeutic tool, making accessible the knowledge and ability to provide soldiers with an initial array of exercises, which is highly probable to aid them and alleviate the symptoms from which they suffer. At the same time, if no improvement is observed, the physician can refer the soldier to physical therapy.

Uria Moran
Uria Moran








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