Dose of Exercise Therapy Among Active Duty Soldiers With Chronic Pain Is Associated With Lower Risk of Long-Term Adverse Outcomes After Linking to the Veterans Health Administration

The Exploration of the GWOT Combat Amputee's Experience With Longitudinal Care: A Qualitative Study

INTRODUCTION

Contemporary advances in combat medicine have allowed greater numbers of wounded service members to survive their injuries. An estimated 1,705 combat veterans sustained major lower or upper extremity amputations between 2001 and 2017 during the Global War on Terror. This study intends to answer the following question utilizing a qualitative study design: What were the common and abnormal experiences of the Global War on Terror combat amputees relative to their mechanism of injury, perception of injury, and systems of care utilized during their recovery and rehabilitation process?.

METHODS

During the months of December 2022 and January 2023, individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with U.S. Marines that served in the Global War on Terror (total n = 10). Deductive and inductive approaches were employed to identify codes, themes, and meta-themes in the data.

RESULTS

All participants deployed to Afghanistan between the years 2010 and 2014 and were assigned to the following military occupational specialties: Explosive Ordnance Disposal technicians (total n = 2); combat engineers (total n = 2); and infantrymen (total n = 6). Analysis of data collected from interviews highlighted these key observations: (1) Themes in the combat amputee experience include support, systems of care, and mindset and (2) the themes synergistically contribute to the meta-themes mental health and pain and vice versa. As all participants were subjected to a blast mechanism of injury, it is difficult to determine if this played a role in deviating rehabilitation and recovery processes. Perception of injury and how well participants adapted to their new lifestyle, meaning how optimistic they were, appeared to play a significant role in recovery. Participants had mixed feelings about the care they had received but generally spoke favorably of military hospitals and were frustrated with the Veteran Affairs, and there was no clear consensus on their relationship with civilian health care, though most participants chose to seek most of their care through the Veteran Affairs.

CONCLUSION

Based on the research question, this study found an intricate relationship between mental health, pain, and the experiences of the participants regarding their care and rehabilitation. However, the nature of qualitative research makes it impossible to determine generalizations that can be used to create meaningful change to address improving combat amputee veteran care. Further research into long-term health outcomes based on hypotheses not evaluated in existing literature would further improve the ability of health care providers to care for this unique patient population.

Effectiveness of surfing on psychological health in military members: a systematic review

INTRODUCTION

Surfing, a leisure activity known for its positive physical and mental health effects, has emerged as a potential therapeutic intervention. This study aims to systematically review the available evidence on the effects of surfing on mental health in active military personnel and veterans.

METHODS

Studies were searched across four electronic databases (MEDLINE/PubMed, Web of Science, SportDiscus and Scopus) until May 2024. The methodological quality of the included studies was assessed using the Physiotherapy Evidence Database, Methodological Index for Non-Randomized Studies and the Quality Assessment Tool for Before-After Studies with No Control Group scales.

RESULTS

A total of seven studies met the inclusion criteria and were included. Depression and anxiety symptoms (n=7), positive affect (n=5) and pain (n=3) were the main outcomes analysed. Overall, the studies reviewed generally reported beneficial effects of surfing on depression, anxiety and positive affect. However, none of the four studies that examined pain as an outcome observed any positive effects of surfing.

CONCLUSION

There is evidence indicating that surfing may positively influence the management of anxiety, depression and overall positive affect among military personnel. Nonetheless, it cannot be definitively concluded that surfing provides superior benefits compared with other forms of exercise.

Implications of Physical Activity in Reducing Alcohol Use for Women Veterans: A Narrative Review

Women veterans (WV) are a fast-growing population in the United States with concerning health disparities. Reports of increased risks of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and poorer health are evident in WV compared with their civilian counterparts. The transition from active duty to veteran poses additional life stressors, causing changes in health behaviors such as unhealthy alcohol consumption and decreased physical activity, which may explain health disparities in WV. The changes in these two health risk behaviors may be influenced by each other, and emerging evidence suggests that physical activity aids in managing alcohol consumption during alcohol use treatment. In this general narrative review, we summarized findings from studies involving WV on (1) the associations between alcohol consumption and physical activity and (2) the effect of physical activity on reducing alcohol use. We also discussed the clinical consideration of adding physical activity to alcohol use interventions for WV. Most of the literature included in this review has been based on predominantly veteran men populations. This knowledge gap highlights the importance of continued efforts and research studies targeting WV to eliminate health disparities among them.