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Army Doctor: “Nintendo Generation” more injury prone
Fort Leonard Wood, MO – Post Medical Readiness Line Chief, MAJ Thibodeau, attributes the physical fragility of today’s newest troops on a generally sedentary life style prior to enlisting. In a DVIDS interview, Thibodeau stated that “The ‘Nintendo Generation’ Soldier skeleton is not toughened by activity prior to arrival, so some of them break more easily.”
Army Capt. Lydia Blondin, assistant chief of physical therapy at the General Leonard Wood Army Community Hospital stated, “We see injuries ranging from acute fractures and falls, to tears in the ACL, to muscle strains and stress fractures, with the overwhelming majority of injuries related to overuse.”
According to a DOD release these injuries are generally located in the lower extremities and are more prominent in female Soldiers than in males.
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While specific standards and expectations have continued to improve and adapt over the years, the physical requirements of Basic Combat Training have not. Rather, 18 – 25 year old recruits who have lived generally inactive lives up to this point, are showing up softer than recruits from earlier generations.
The Pentagon strongly suggests that young enlistees planning to attend Basic Training do some form of individual work-up prior to shipping off. Activities focused on weight bearing, running, or competitive sports are a great way to prepare an otherwise under-prepared body for the intense rigors of military entry training.
Not just getting in shape, but physically toughening the body is imperative to ensure a successful transition from a sedentary, low-impact life to the physicals intensity of military life.
