Attenshun! By the left, a sof t-shoe shuf f le...
Study says boots should be replaced by trainers
THE traditional image of soldiers ‘square-bashing’ around a parade yard could be a thing of the past as it is damaging their health, a study has warned.
Drilling in the wrong footwear is causing injuries which results in soldiers being invalided out.
Now experts have claimed soldiers should be wearing trainers instead of boots.
The Ministry of Defence is carrying out its own inquiry into the issue, which was the principal cause of medical discharge in the Army for the past five years.
Up to 2,000 soldiers a year leave because they are no longer fighting fit, many injured in Iraq and Afghanistan.
But it has been found that almost half of British Army recruits suffer some musculoskeletal (MSK) injuries during their 26-week initial training.
Now a study led by Dr Alex Rawcliffe of Edinburgh’s Napier University has warned standard issue combat and ammo boots are responsible.
He said that, unlike traditional athletic techniques, soldiers are taught to exercise without flexing their joints and this may lead to injures such as stress fractures.
Dr Rawcliffe was previously based in the Warrior Human performance centre at the University of pittsburgh, which advises the US Special Forces Operations command on reducing the risk of injury in elite soldiers.
His report said the ‘unique landing techniques of foot-drill combined with the lack of shock absorbing capabilities of standard issue footwear,’ are responsible.
currently troops are issued HiTec Silver Shadow training shoes along with combat and ammo boots.
The report added: ‘Based on the results of the present study, it is recommended that recruits wear a form of shock absorbing footwear similar to that of the [training shoe], to reduce the high impact forces of foot-drill, that may contribute to an increased risk of lower-limb MSK injury.’
Dr Rawcliffe, a former professional footballer with St Mirren Fc, put 15 volunteers through their paces practising British Army foot-drill – most notably stand-at-attention, stand-at-ease, halt, and quick-march.
The researchers found that ‘training shoes demonstrated superior shock absorbing capabilities when compared with military boots’.
Women are particularly at risk from MSK injuries – with a US study showing that the discharge rates for musculoskeletal conditions have been as high as 140 per 10,000 army women per year, compared with 81 per 10,000 army men per year.
The MoD, which did not take part in Dr Rawcliffe’s study, has been carrying out its own independent inquiry into MSK injuries and a report is expected in 2019.
A spokesman said: ‘The health and wellbeing of our personnel is of paramount importance, and we equip and train them to the high standard required for a successful Army career.’
In 2004 the Army dipped a toe into the world of commercial sportswear by launching its own brand of trainers in collaboration with a sportswear manufacturer.
The pT-03 running shoes were the first commercial product developed by the Army, bearing its crossed swords logo under the tongue.