Tactical athlete is a term that has become more common in the medical community as we have acknowledged the unique physical challenges faced by soldiers and first responders. The unique combination of stressors placed on these individuals via physical demands, environmental demands, mental stressors, and fatigue all contribute to higher risks of injury.

In 2014 the US military reported 836,000 musculoskeletal injuries. ¹ Other studies have found that 1/3 of all injuries that police officers reported to the emergency room for were sprains and strains.² And of the ~63,000 injuries reported by firefighters 27% were due to overexertion or strain. This injury trend remains true in wartime situations with 54,000/65,000 medical evacuations during the 8 years of war in Iraq 2001-2009 being non-battle related musculoskeletal injuries. Though tactical athletes differ from traditional athletes in numerous ways, one consistent truth between them is that the majority of injuries are preventable.

Injury prevention starts with the basics: balance, mobility, strength, and power. Establishing a true baseline of where your tactical athletes are is key to proactive prevention of injury. Athletes with decreased balance compared to their peers are 7X more likely to experience an injury. ³   As with other athletic endeavors, prior injury is one of the leading predictors of future injury. And poor body mechanics, neuromuscular control, and slowed decision-making all increased the risk of injury. By receiving a detailed assessment of the key metrics of balance, mobility, strength, and power at Invoke doubt can be removed from the equation and your tactical athletes can focus their energies on what they need to do to reach their maximum potential.

The use of functional movement screens and advanced technology allows the ability to test and retest in a variety of situations and environments. The numbers will verify whether the intervention strategies utilized are working and how well. Much like tactical athletes, the ability to adapt and modify demand is a need not a want, and we can provide that at Invoke with our performance PT.

Invoke takes a more comprehensive approach to not only the healing process but the performance process as well. Integrating the wellness components of nutrition, rest, wellness and wellbeing is even more important in the tactical athlete as their exposure to traumas of different varieties can impact their readiness and healing process adversely. Recent studies have found that trauma exposure inversely affects functional mobility.  Movement capacity, and balance were reduced with repeated traumatic exposure. ⁴

A thorough assessment of all the variables that can be accounted for is the difference between doing enough and doing the best you can. Reach out to us at Invoke Therapy and Wellness to get the knowledge needed to prevent injury, or to recover from any injuries you do have to the fullest potential.

1. Hauret, KG, Bedno S, Loringer K, Kao TC, Mallon T, and Jones BH. Epidemiology of exercise- and sports-related injuries in a population of young, physically active adults: A survey of military servicemembers. The American Journal of Sports Medicine 43(11): 2645-2653, 2015.
2. Haynes, H. NFPA report – Firefighter injuries in the United States. Retrieved July 9, 2018, from https://www.nfpa.org/ News-and-Research/Fire-statistics-and-reports/Fire-statistics/ The-fire-service/Fatalities-and-injuries/Firefighter-injuries-inthe-United-States.McGuine, T. Sports injuries in high school athletes: A review of injury-risk and injury-prevention research. Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine 16(6): 488-499, 2006.Trauma Exposure and
3. Functional Movement Characteristics of Male Tactical Athletes

Marcus K Taylor *,‖, Lisa M Hernández *,†,✉, Pinata H Sessoms ‡,‖, Colton Kawamura §, John J Fraser ‖