FORT LEE, Va. (July 20, 2017) -- The Armed Forces incorporate physical activity into everyday life. All military members are held to a standard that is assessed by a mandatory fitness test. Integrated into these standards is a portion that tests a member's aerobic fitness and muscular endurance.

Each branch conducts a run as part of the fitness test. The distance ranges from 1.5-3 miles. Soldiers complete a two-mile run. Marines are assessed with a three-mile run. The Air Force, Navy and Coast Guard complete a one-and-a-half-mile run. The scores received are further gauged by age and gender. Successful completion of the event demonstrates good cardiovascular and overall aerobic health.

Unfortunately, there is a downside to this form of testing as well as the weekly formation runs that require participants to match the pace of the cadence caller and others in the group. The military community has witnessed a marked increase in musculoskeletal injuries due to poor running form. Some health experts have even labeled it a "serious epidemic."

Our culture has changed. Many young adults who now join the armed forces have led lives that keep them physically inactive. Due in part to social media and the internet, they less-and-less are going out and conducting any form of physical activity.

Fixing the problem is a matter of awareness and education. With the application of the correct techniques, injuries will be reduced and trainers will maintain the true health benefits of running.

Let's get the obvious injury prevention steps out of the way first. Every runner should warm the muscles with light-to-moderate exercise before hitting the treadmill, track or roadway. New runners should start with short distances and slowly increase the intensity. Don't focus on "feeling the burn." Concentrate on what feels comfortable with pace, balance and length.

Most experts agree the four primary characteristics to running form are posture, mid-foot strike (toe or heel is not first hitting the pavement), cadence and the angle of fall. The easiest of these to change, and possibly the key to immediate injury reduction, is the increase in stride rate or cadence. One study published by the National Center for Biotechnology Information revealed a 10 percent increase in the typical self-selected cadence of 172 steps-per-minute significantly decreased impact at the knee and hip joints.

Cadence calling usually averages 148 steps-per-minute during military unit runs. Some Soldiers treated at Kenner Army Health Clinic complain of lower back, hip or knee pain during group runs, which could be attributed to this slow cadence. A double-time march, according to Training Circular 3-21.5, section II, 4-14, should be at a cadence of 180 steps-per-minute. A slower rate of 148 spm is a decrease of 18 percent, which increases hip, knee and ankle impact.

No matter how slow or fast you are running, keeping a cadence of 180 steps per minute should not change. Many Soldiers have stated that they cannot keep this cadence when running slow or during a formation run. This is not the case. The rate in which you fall forward and let gravity do its job dictates how fast or slow you will go.

A smartphone metronome app could be used during a run to make sure the unit is maintaining the recommended "double-time-march" cadence. Using the app and studying the running reports widely available on the internet would fit the category of training smarter, not harder.

Dr. Tamara Elzey, physical therapist at KAHC, warns "if your body hurts during or immediately after running, then something is going wrong and you are injuring yourself. The bottom line is that running should never hurt. I hear so many Soldiers talk about shin splints as if it's a normal result of running but it's not. Shin splints are 100-percent preventable by stretching and correcting your running form. Get the training and learn how to run smarter."

The Physical Therapy staff at KAHC is a good resource for exercise-related injury prevention information. Training videos and instructional pages with helpful graphics are available at www.goodruningform.com. Other helpful online resources include www.runnersworld.com and the Army Public Health Center website at www.phc.amedd.army.mil.