Customized assessments helping to reduce injuries in US military

Anne Silverman, Rowlinson Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Colorado School of Mines, is developing a project that is designed to make musculoskeletal predictions with a high degree of success to properly assess the risk of injury due to heavy backpack loads. The issue has been prevalent in the US military in recent years. 

Silverman had this to say about the study: “Ruck marching is a biomechanically demanding activity commonly associated with injury occurrence in the military. This project will be a great step in improving our understanding of injury risk at an individual level.”

Studies have found that walking with heavy backpacks can cause muscle and joint damage and overuse injury. This has become one of the most common injuries in the military in recent years. Though it is known that heavy backpack loads lead to injury, in the past it has been difficult to assess why some individuals are at increased risk for injury than others. 

This study aimed to determine what the risk factors are and how to identify those that may be at increased risk for injury by carrying heavy backpack loads. 

Silverman said, “With this project, we’re working to establish overall mechanistic relationships that describe how deficits in strength of specific muscles influence joint contact loads. Joint loads can vary widely from person to person and are important for understanding injury risk, but cannot be measured directly. Through modeling approaches, we can estimate these quantities non-invasively. By determining relationships between muscle weakness and injury risk factors like joint contact loads, we can guide specialized strength training programs that reduce an individual’s injury risk."

To test their theories and determine what factors to look at, Silverman has established a musculoskeletal model that will simulate walking and added weight to allow Silverman and her team to observe the effects. Her team includes many professionals from the school.