ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: Research suggests the importance of psychosocial factors in recovery from musculoskeletal injuries. The objective of this study was to identify predictors of recovery among U.S. Marines who had musculoskeletal injuries of the back, knee, or shoulder. METHODS: A sample of 134 participants was assessed at baseline and followed for 1 year to determine outcome information. RESULTS: The strongest predictor of injury recovery at the 1-year follow-up was recovery expectations. In a multivariate logistic model with key demographic and psychosocial factors controlled, individuals who had high recovery expectations at baseline were over five times as likely to be recovered at follow-up as individuals who had low expectations (OR = 5.18, p\.01). CONCLUSIONS: This finding is consistent with a large body of research that has linked recovery expectations with better recovery outcomes in patients with musculoskeletal injuries as well as with research linking recovery expectations with better outcomes across a wide range of medical conditions.Applied to military populations, interventions designed to modify recovery expectations may have the potential to improve rates of return to duty and to reduce rates of disability discharge.
Subject(s)
Attitude to Health , Back Injuries/rehabilitation , Knee Injuries/rehabilitation , Military Personnel/psychology , Return to Work/psychology , Adolescent , Adult , Back Injuries/psychology , Catastrophization/psychology , Depression/psychology , Fear/psychology , Female , Follow-Up Studies , Humans , Job Satisfaction , Knee Injuries/psychology , Male , Naval Medicine , Pain Measurement , Prospective Studies , Recovery of Function , Shoulder Injuries , Social Support , United States , Young AdultABSTRACT
Exertional heat injuries have gained public attention over the past several years, as have the means to prevent and treat them. One of the simplest preventive measures is to refrain from physical training and competition during times of increased environmental heat stress. Unfortunately, this often is not possible or desirable in certain populations. As a result of operational and training requirements, the U.S. Marine Corps and the U.S. Navy medical team have developed an effective exertional heat injury prevention strategy that relies upon education, leadership, and continuous hands-on observation. The fundamental aspects of this approach can be applied to other team sporting activities.
