Antecedentes

Study Title:

The effects of military style marching on lower extremity loading.

Person in Charge of Study (Principal Investigator):

The Principal Investigator (PI) for this study is Jennifer Earl-Boehm, Ph.D., LAT. Dr. Earl- Boehm is a faculty member in the Department of Kinesiology and is the Director of the Athletic Training Education Program. The Co-PI on this study is Daniel Poel.

2. Study Description

You are being asked to participate in a research study. Your participation is completely voluntary. You do not have to participate if you do not want to.

Study description:

The purpose of this study is determine the forces being applied to the body after performing a ruck march.

This study is being done to determine the effects ruck marching might have on the human body, allowing for a greater understanding of ruck marching and to offer insight as to why ruck marching injuries might occur.

The study will take place in the Neuromechanics Laboratory (Enderis 132) at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and in the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Klotsche center gymnasium. Approximately 23 subjects will participate in this study.

3. Study Procedures

What will I be asked to do if I participate in the study?

If you agree to participate you will be asked to report to the Neuromechanics Laboratory (Enderis 132) at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee for session.

Part 1 (~30 minutes)

 You will need to wear your military uniform (fatigues) and boots, and bring your helmet and vest.

 You will be asked several questions about your medical history, history of injury to the lower extremity, and about your physical activity.

 Your name and preferred email will be recorded into the participant key and will be linked to your unique participant ID code under which all of your data will be saved.  Someone will ask your age and measure your height and weight

 A researcher will contact the ROTC office to obtain your most recent Army Physical Fitness Test score, if you are regular Army you will be asked to provide these scores yourself.

 You will put on a heart rate monitor that is a strap that you will wear around your chest under your shirt. There is a private place to change and put on the monitor. You will also be given a watch to wear during testing to measure your heart rate.  You will lie down on a padded bed for 5 minutes while we measure your resting

heart rate

 You will perform a 5 min. warm-up consisting of treadmill walking at a brisk self- selected pace

 You will complete 3 maximum vertical jumps

 The ankle strength on your dominant leg will be tested

o 3 measures will be collected in each of four movements 

Part 2 (~90 minutes)

 Next you will put on your complete military uniform including helmet, vest, and a 16kg ruck sack that will be provided for you.

o You will walk across the room at a brisk pace (1.79m/s) and step on a force plate. You can practice this several times until you feel comfortable and your foot hits the force plate.

o 5 more walking trials will be done

 You will then be escorted by a research assistant and walk outside to the Klotsche Center (~200 m). You will complete a 4 mile ruck march around the indoor track of the Klotsche center. You can select your preferred walking pace, but you must walk (not run) and complete the 4 miles in under 60 minutes.

 Without stopping at all, you will walk back to the lab in Enderis and immediately perform 5 more walking trials following the same procedure as above

 You will then perform 3 more maximum vertical jump tests without your helmet vest or ruck sack

 Your ankle strength will be measured again following the same protocol as above

4. Risks and Minimizing Risks

What risks will I face by participating in this study?

Physical Risks

 Musculoskeletal injuries such as muscle strain as a result of testing (unlikely)  Musculoskeletal injuries to the foot, ankle, shin, knee, thigh, or hip as a result of the

ruck march (unlikely) Protection of Physical Risks

 The inclusion and exclusion criteria were established to help decrease the risk of these injuries

 To reduce the above risks, you will be allowed to practice all tests prior to data collection until you feel comfortable with the task. If you feel any soreness or strain while participating in this study, please tell the investigators as soon as possible. You will be provided initial care by investigators, who are all certified in first aid and CPR, and will then be referred to the Norris Health Center (student) for follow-up care for follow-up care.

Psychological or Social Risks  None

Risk to Privacy and Confidentiality:

 Since your private information will be collected for this study, there is always a risk of breach of confidentiality (less than 1%).

Protection of Risk to Privacy and Confidentiality

 All data will be stored in a locked filing cabinet in a locked room. All data will be given a letter and number that is uniquely associated with you. This code will not contain any partial identifiers (i.e. last four digits of your SSN) and will be stored in a separate locked office in a locked filing cabinet. No identifiers will be stored with the research data. Only those individuals with an active role in this study will have access to the research data and only the PI and Co-PI will have access to identifying information. When all participants complete active participation in the study and data collection is completed, the code will be destroyed. All appropriate measures to protect your private information will be taken.

5. Benefits