Influence of 15 km moderate or high-intensity interval military load carriage activity on postural stability

Abstract

Purpose: The high injury rate among military populations has been associated with frequent load carriage activities. This study aimed to evaluate changes in postural sway responses to moderate and high intensity interval military load carriage activity under 15 or 25 kg load conditions. Methods: The study utilized a randomized crossover design. Sixteen healthy young males performed military load carriage activity twice (a 15 km moderate intensity interval military load carriage activity under 15 kg or a high intensity interval military load carriage activity with a 25 kg load). The internal load was analyzed using Firstbeat SPORTS. The center of pressure (CoP) movements was analyzed by calculating the average velocity of the CoP movement and direction (with 60 s). Results: Although the mean heart rate, excess post-exercise peak oxygen consumption and training impulse significantly increased (p < 0.05), the mean CoP related parameters for the 15 km high intensity interval military load carriage activity under 25 kg load conditions were not significantly changed compared to rest and 15 km moderate intensity interval military load carriage activity under 15 kg load condition (p ≥ 0.05). Conclusion: As the total training load increased, the ability to control posture based on the demands of a concurrent task is maintained, suggesting that good postural adaptations could also occur.

Keywords:

• military load carriage activity
• postural sway
• postural adaptations
• high intensity interval training

Public Interest Statement

Load carriage has been shown to be an essential aspect of military occupation. The main objectives of this work were to investigate the postural sway response to acute 15 km moderate or high intensity interval military load carriage activity under 15 or 25 kg load condition. The results showed that the postural stability is able to keep successfully in spite of increased total training load. This specific adaptation may be related to the military load carriage training. It may provide useful knowledge for designing training programs for specific military load carriage activity.

Competing Interests

The authors declare no competing interest.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Zeng Gang Wang

Zeng Gang Wang is a graduate student at the PLA Army Engineering University who has a strong interest in military physical training plan. He is also a member of the Research Center of Military Physical Adaptation Training and the Lab of Military Physical Conditioning and Motor Function Assessment. He received his engineering degree from the PLA University of Science and Technology, and then worked as an officer in the PLA Army Engineering University. In recent years, his research fields are optimizing military physical readiness and preventing musculoskeletal injuries.