Fall 2022 - 22

encounters across the US military services,
half of which were caused by physical training,
exercise, or sports participation. Clearly, we
need to determine complementary factors in
tactical athletes that decrease injury risk and
are modifiable with training.
Functional movement characteristics
are potentially modifiable and may help to
decrease injury risk in tactical athletes. Some
attention has been given to measures of
fundamental movement patterns and dynamic
balance as univariate predictors of injury in
sport participants and tactical athletes with
varied results.
Factors that have been routinely cited as
influencing functional movement among
sport participants and tactical athletes
include age, body composition, flexibility, and
previous injury. Yet, these are unlikely to be
the sole determinants. In fact, psychological
antecedents of physical performance and
injury risk are increasingly being recognized in
athletes. In one such study, self-reported fear
predicted hop-test performance and isometric
leg strength in athletes returning to sport after
anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction.
Trauma exposure is a significant,
psychologically relevant factor that shapes a
tactical athlete's occupational and life history.
Such trauma exposure could include surviving
22 | Tactical Training & Conditioning | Fall 2022
a natural disaster, childhood physical abuse,
sexual abuse, or physical assault. These
types of events may exacerbate acute stress
responses, predict cognitive impairment
and poor physical health, and disrupt pain
processing. It is, therefore, conceivable
that trauma exposure may influence FM
characteristics in tactical athletes. However,
it is also likely that older tactical athletes have
sustained more trauma exposure and have
poorer FM characteristics than their younger
counterparts. Furthermore, traumatic exposure
may co-occur with physical injury, which
may also disrupt FM. Finally, bodily pain is
empirically linked to trauma exposure and FM
and, hence, may function as a mediator.
To promote successful injury treatments
and recoveries, clinicians might consider
incorporating a metric of trauma exposure
into patient intake assessments as well as
treatment and rehabilitation plans. Such a
multidisciplinary approach could optimize
patient care and health outcomes. n
Key Points
* Greater trauma exposure was associated with
lower scores for functional movement.
* The influence of trauma exposure on
functional movement was neither confounded
by physical injury nor mediated by bodily pain.
* These findings will inform algorithms that are
designed to predict injury risk in military and
other tactical athletes.
* Clinicians and researchers in sports medicine
and orthopedic settings should consider the
individual's trauma history when performing
preparticipation physical screening and
assessment after injury.
Fall 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Fall 2022
