Role of joint function screening and correction in preventing training injuries for new recruits: a randomized controlled trial

Objective‍ ‍To investigate the effects of joint function screening and correction on intervention efficacy of prevention and assessment score of training injuries in new recruits. Methods‍ ‍ A randomized controlled study was conducted on 265 new recruits subjected from two organizational units of an army unit with cluster sampling. Based on entire organizational unit, the participants were randomly divided into a control group (n=132) and an experimental group (n=133). The experimental group received joint function screening and corrective movement training, which was subsequently applied in the new recruit training, while the control group underwent training according to conventional methods. Joint function were collected before and after training. The demographic data, assessment score of training, and incidence of training injuries were collected through the participant’s own organizational unit. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was plotted to evaluate the efficacy of joint function screening in predicting training injuries, and binary logistic regression and general linear regression analyses were applied to verify the correlation of joint function screening score with training injuries and assessment score of training. Results‍ ‍After new training, the score of joint function screening was significantly higher in the experimental group than the control group (16.62±1.87 vs 14.92±2.58, P<0.001). And the score was obviously increased in the experimental group (16.62±1.87 vs 12.82±1.98, P<0.001) and the control group (14.92±2.58 vs 12.95±1.81, P<0.001) when compared with the corresponding score before training. The area under the ROC curve (AUC) of joint function screening in predicting training injuries was 0.762 (95%CI: 0.694~0.830), indicating good predictive efficacy. During the new training process, the incidence of training injuries in the experimental group (13.53%) was significantly lower than that in the control group (24.24%, Chi-square=4.963, P=0.026). Binary logistic regression analysis showed that the pre-training assessment score of joint function screening was an important influencing factor for training injuries in new recruits (OR=0.552, 95%CI: 0.413~0.660, P<0.001). The experimental group obtained notably higher mean assessment score than the control group [733.00（716.00，752.75） vs 728.79（710.46，744.28）, P=0.027]. Linear regression analysis revealed a correlation between post-training score of joint function screening and the assessment score of newly trained personnel (P<0.001). Conclusion‍ ‍Joint function screening and correction for newly trained personnel can effectively prevent training-related injuries during the new training period, and correcting joint function through training can effectively improve the assessment score of newly trained personnel.