The effect of a modified physical training program in reducing injury and medical discharge rates in Australian Army recruits

This uncontrolled observational study examined the injury and medical discharge outcomes in 318 female and 1,634 male recruits as a result of changes to the Australian Army recruit physical training program. Changes included cessation of road runs, introduction of 400- to 800-m interval training, reduction in test run distance from 5 to 2.4 km, standardization of route marches, and the introduction of deep-water running. There was a 46.6% reduction in the rate of total injury presentation (chi 2 = 14.31, p = 0.0002) after the change. The annual rate of male medical discharges decreased 40.8% from 81.1/1,000 recruits in 1994/1995 to 47.0/1,000 recruits in 1995/1996 (chi 2 = 26.33, p = 0.0001). Female rates increased 58.3% from 104/1,000 recruits to 164.2/1,000 recruits (chi 2 = 6.09, p = 0.014). The decrease in the male medical discharge rate resulted in an estimated saving of $1,267,805 Australian. Bone scans were reduced by 50%, resulting in an estimated annual saving of $61,539 Australian. The disparity between male and female injury rates is a concern. The merits of mixed-gender physical training should be reviewed in the light of these observations, and the establishment of initial entry fitness standards for recruit training may need to be considered.