Abstract
BackgroundHigh rates of musculoskeletal injuries such as plantar fasciitis and stress fractures have been observed among physically active military personnel. During service time, infantry soldiers use issued boots daily that should fit well and provide comfort to prevent injuries and decrease lower extremity pain effectively. The association of military boot comfort with overuse injuries remains unclear. This study investigates the relationship between the chosen military boot size, perceived boot comfort and lower leg overuse injury.MethodsDuring the cross-sectional study, 227 (males, n = 213; females, n = 14) active-duty infantry soldiers at a mean age of 29.5 years old, and with an average service time of 7.2 years were assessed for a history of overuse injury, footprint length, appropriate shoe size, and footwear comfort. Males with a history of overuse injury (n = 32) and non-injured age-matched controls (n = 34) were selected for detailed testing and establishing the possible relationship between footwear comfort and lower leg overuse injury.ResultsNo relationship was found between footwear comfort and a history of lower leg overuse injury. N = 38 (57.6%) of study subjects were wearing an inappropriate shoe size daily. Inappropriate shoe size usage affected footwear comfort ratings significantly.ConclusionsStudy results showed that improper boot size was significantly related to comfort ratings but was not associated with a history of lower leg overuse injury.
Highlights
High rates of musculoskeletal injuries such as plantar fasciitis and stress fractures have been observed among physically active military personnel
This study explores military boot comfort and its relationship with musculoskeletal overuse injury in detail
Footwear comfort rating Footwear comfort rating was assessed for all study participants (n = 227)
Summary
High rates of musculoskeletal injuries such as plantar fasciitis and stress fractures have been observed among physically active military personnel. Infantry soldiers use issued boots daily that should fit well and provide comfort to prevent injuries and decrease lower extremity pain effectively. Typical injuries associated with physical training and prolonged load carriage are cumulative micro-traumatic lower extremity overuse injuries [4]. Injuries such as stress fractures, shin splints, patellofemoral pain, plantar fasciitis, and Achilles tendinopathy. Foot health and footwear comfort are crucial for the military readiness of infantry soldiers. Footwear shock-absorbance study results among Israeli infantry recruits showed that soldiers who used basketball shoes during basic training had a lower incidence of overuse
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