UK to reduce the number of 'medically downgraded' mariners in the Royal Navy with advanced sports technology

The United Kingdom is adopting cutting-edge sports technology and sciencein order to reduce injury in the Navy.

This was revealed by the Royal Navy in their recent press release which underlined that the Royal Navy is working with experts from Southampton, Bath and Exeter universities for this purpose.

The aim is to reduce the muscular injuries faced by the Royal Marines and other Navy personnel from autumn 2023.

Known as the Royal Navy Musculoskeletal Mitigation Programme, it will improve the recovery and rehabilitation of Navy personnel and prevent injuries. It will make "more people, more ready, more of the time".

The Navy will be using special movement screening equipment developed by exercise laboratories of the concerned universities. Pressure plates, force plates and motion capture cameras will detect muscle movements for injuries and strains. This will be supported by biomechanical screening.

The Royal Navy's training centres in Britannia Royal Naval College in Dartmouth, Commando Training Centre Royal Marines in Lympstone and HMS Raleigh in Torpoint will have this equipment in place for screening. Along with that, the Navy will be collecting data on the behaviour of the Mariners' health, fitness, etc., at the beginning and end of the training.

The same thing would be done when they complete a year of service. All these records would be tallied to provide specialised treatment in case of a possible injury.

Satellite facilities from the UK Royal Navy and Royal Marines' unit will be used to monitor the situation in the later stages of the training. An additional laboratory at Portsmouth will be used for this purpose.

The Navy is determined to deliver person-centred health interventions to counter injuries and career breaks in the organisation. So, they will monitor the different milestones in a person's career and use them to create logistically feasible health interventions which would be relevant to the Mariners and applicable on a pan-organisational level.

Why is this crucial?

This is essential to reduce the number of medically downgraded personnel in the Royal Navy as half of the people who are downgraded have musculoskeletal injuries.

Twisted knees and hip injuries from physical training and poor working practices are making Royal Marines unfit for their official duties which is affecting the regular activities of the Navy. It's a burden on the Navy as they must fill up the spaces with people which is an expensive and lengthy procedure requiring rehabilitation.

The Navy already has a rehabilitation unit at Plymouth called HMS Drake but it's only used after an injury. This new program aims to prevent any kind of injury by strictly monitoring movements with new-age technology.

With the Musculoskeletal Mitigation Programme in place, crucial information for specific treatments can be gathered, analysed and reported in a timely manner. It will involve expertise in a broad spectrum of areas like social psychology, health behaviours, biomechanics and exercise physiology which would help in better training.

Lieutenant Colonel Erik Nielsen RM from the Institute of Naval Medicine reiterated when he said that half of the medically downgraded personnel have musculoskeletal injuries, which put them in long expensive rehab, preventing them from going to the sea.

Colonel Erik who leads the navy's health and fitness programme, underlined how these rehabilitation programs aren't always successful.

This collaboration will create a wholesome system that will improve the health of Mariners and reduce injuries, according to Colonel Erik.

Professor James Bilzon from the University of Bath, Applied Human Physiology Department revealed that new health interventions could be created in evidence-based ways which can reduce musculoskeletal injury risks and promote better health.