Dual tasking to optimize performance for the tactical athlete

Abstract

This session with cover aspects of the DoD's Intrepid Spirit (IS) model for caring for service members with symptoms of traumatic brain injury (TBI) and comorbidities and taking care further with interdisciplinary management of the high-level functioning tactical athlete. Traumatic brain injury and concussion are common injuries among service members and athletes. As more research is completed on concussion, consequences of this injury have become better understood, but much is still left unknown, to include proper treatment for high performance tactical athletes and service members. This lecture will discuss interdisciplinary treatment for high-level performance needs with emphasis on utilization of dual tasking. This session will describe the IS mission and programs available through the Warrior Recovery Center at Fort Carson then further expand upon specialized co-treatments between Speech-Language Pathology (SLP) and Physical Therapy (PT) to push high-level patients to a higher standard. These interventions include aggressive dual-task demands with balance, exertional, and endurance tasks combined with challenges of working memory, delayed recall, visual tracking, language fluency, visual reasoning, and executive functions in English and the service member's secondary language. A case report will be provided to offer example interventions as well as improvements throughout treatment for service members who participated in this advanced intervention.