National Injury Prevention Day: This is a Leadership issue

July 5, 2022 - Defence Stories

Q:  I have been in the Canadian Armed Forces for 21 years and was recently promoted into a command position.  During my career, I have experienced a number of injuries that would likely have never occurred if I had trained ‘smarter and not harder.’  As a leader, I believe I am responsible to help my personnel avoid making the same mistakes I did, especially when it comes to staying injury free.  By taking this approach, will I be stepping on the toes of my medical staff? 

Jamie

A:  Dear Jamie, congratulations on your promotion.  In terms of approach, it is great to see you recognize the important role leaders can play in preventing injuries.  This is just as true in the world of military fitness training as it is in the world of competitive sports.  Ambitious coaches and leaders can do a lot of damage to their athletes/personnel if they do not employ smart training strategies in their fitness programs.

Preventing injuries is a much smarter approach to fitness training than recovery post-injury.  The medical management of injuries is increasingly expensive and the time it takes to recover from some injuries can be lengthy.  Unfortunately, some people never fully recover from their injuries.  Some of these people will be given employment limitations requiring them to change trades and others will eventually be released.  The short and long term consequences of preventable injuries have an enormous negative mental and physical impact on the quality of people’s lives.  They also represent a great loss to the Canadian Armed Forces.  Think of all the skill and knowledge that disappears every time someone is released from the military with an injury that was completely preventable. 

Considering the above, there is no arguing that doing our best to prevent injuries from occurring is the smartest way to go.  Unit leadership needs to embrace this concept and take into consideration the potential for injuries in all their planning.  An important part of this approach is investing the time to ensure their personnel are given smart training programs designed to build them up rather than break them down. Your local Personnel Support Programs (PSP) fitness staff are trained to design and deliver fitness programs which are both safe and effective.  In addition to this, your local PSP Health Promotion Team are trained to deliver the Injury Reduction Strategies for Sports and Physical Training Programs (accessible only on the National Defence network) to units interested in learning more about ways they can reduce injury rates without reducing the fitness of their personnel.

The bottom line:  Whether you coach competitive athletes or lead military personnel, it is important to recognize that injury prevention is a leadership issue.  Taking a preventative approach won’t step on any “medical” toes – in fact, it will be greatly appreciated.  Seek out the help of your local PSP fitness staff and your health promotion specialists. They both have a great deal to offer in terms of helping you keep your personnel fit for duty while reducing the chances of their getting injured.  Exercise is medicine!

Dr. Darrell Menard OMM MD, Dip Sport Med

Dr. Menard is the Surgeon General’s specialist advisor in sports medicine and has worked extensively with athletes from multiple sports.  As part of the Strengthening the Forces team he works on injury prevention and promoting active living.

Strengthening the Forces is CAF/DND’s healthy lifestyles promotion program providing expert information, skills and tools for promoting and improving CAF members’ health and well-being.