Clinical Trial Details
— Status: Completed
Administrative data
| NCT number |
NCT05216146 |
| Other study ID # |
0120-495/2021/6 |
| Secondary ID |
|
| Status |
Completed |
| Phase |
N/A
|
| First received |
|
| Last updated |
|
| Start date |
November 17, 2022 |
| Est. completion date |
October 31, 2023 |
Study information
| Verified date |
January 2024 |
| Source |
University of Ljubljana |
| Contact |
n/a |
| Is FDA regulated |
No |
| Health authority |
|
| Study type |
Interventional
|
Clinical Trial Summary
Regular and optimal fitness training has a positive effect on reducing risk or injury in
addition to enhancing psychophysical and combat skills. On the other hand, excessive fitness
training is one of the risk factors for injuries in soldiers. For this reason, it is
necessary to establish a new system of the training process and regular monitoring of
physical and combat readiness of the SAF with the help of scientific and professional
methodology. The proposed research project will run for two years. The main goal of the
project is to enhance physical and combat readiness and determine the epidemiology of
injuries of members of the Slovenian Armed Forces (SAF). Within this aim, we will also run a
validation study aimed to improve existing testing batteries for armed forces.
Description:
The doctrine of Slovenian Armed Forces defines combat morale, which includes the readiness of
the members of the Slovenian Armed Forces, as the greatest physical effort to overcome
natural or artificial obstacles that must be overcome in the workplace or battle. Therefore,
the military has specific requirements for military service. One of these is combat
readiness, with physical fitness being the basis for action at the level of the human body
and mind, for those who wish to achieve the skills that enable the exercise required for the
professional soldier. From the viewpoint of the individual, no matter if he/she is a soldier
or officer, he must be able to withstand the stresses and strains of various situations in
the field, even in emergencies. This means that the body must adapt to a given situation,
which requires extensive psychophysical preparation for a given situation. The profile of a
high-class soldier must meet the criteria of a top athlete who is psychophysically healthy
and at the highest level of his abilities when it is most needed. Certainly, there is a
direct correlation between a soldier's health and his fitness, individual performance, and
professional development. Throughout a career, unhealthy habits inhibit a soldier's
development in the operational, self-developmental, and institutional areas of an Army
leader's development strategy. Regular and optimal fitness training has a positive effect on
reducing risk or injury in addition to enhancing psychophysical and combat skills. On the
other hand, excessive fitness training is one of the risk factors for injuries in soldiers.
For this reason, it is necessary to establish a new system of the training process and
regular monitoring of physical and combat readiness of the SAF with the help of scientific
and professional methodology. The proposed research project will run for two years. The goal
of the project is to enhance physical and combat readiness and determine the epidemiology of
injuries of members of the Slovenian Armed Forces (SAF). The results of the planned studies
will be used in parallel to develop a mobile application that will facilitate the training
process of SAF members and the transfer of knowledge to other interested entities and
organizations. According to the project goals set, we will conduct several individual
studies. Briefly, Study 1 will be a cross-sectional prospective study with the main aim to
conduct an epidemiological screening of injuries and estimate the risk factors, addressing
only the most common injuries (≥30 per year). Research 2 will be a longitudinal
cross-sectional study in which we intend to validate testing batteries for the physical and
combat readiness of SAF members. Research 3 will be a longitudinal intervention study in
which we will compare the new strength and conditioning system with the existing system. We
will sample adult subjects, i.e. officially employed members of the SAF (18-45 years of age,
Study 1-3), of both genders, based on detailed inclusion and exclusion criteria for each
study separately. The project will leave an extremely useful trail, such as a mobile
application with a series of testing batteries aimed to determine physical and combat
readiness, as well as preventive and rehabilitation practices for the most common injuries
among SAF members. It should be emphasized that the project is limited to ensuring physical
fitness for combat operations. For example, the project does not provide guidelines for the
handling of firearms - that is, the accuracy of shooting, but the physical effort required to
carry the weapon and prepare it for shooting. We believe that the new training system,
supported by a mobile application, will come to life and provide SAF members with a more
in-depth and better individualized approach to the training process, allowing individuals to
optimally develop their physical and combative readiness, thus achieving greater visibility
both domestically and internationally.
