Sedentary individuals, particularly new military recruits, who start a physical training program have a substantial risk of developing an
overuse injury of the lower limb. In this study we investigated the effect of
neoprene insoles on the incidence of
overuse injuries during 9 weeks of basic military training. The experimental group consisted of 237 randomly selected new recruits, while 1151 recruits were the control group. Insoles were given to the experimental group and compliance was monitored. A panel of doctors documented and classified all
injuries occurring during the 9 week period. A total of 54 (22.8%) and 237 (31.9%)
injuries were reported in the experimental and control groups, respectively. In both groups, the majority of
injuries were overuse (experimental group, 90.7%; control group, 86.4%). The mean weekly incidence of total
overuse injuries and tibial stress syndrome was significantly lower (P less than 0.05) in the experimental group. The mean incidence of
stress fractures was lower in the experimental group but not significantly so (0.05 less than P less than 0.1). This study shows that the incidence of total
overuse injuries and tibial stress syndrome during 9 weeks of basic military training can be reduced by wearing insoles.