Improvements in gait speed and weight shift of persons with traumatic brain injury and vestibular dysfunction using a virtual reality computer-assisted rehabilitation environment.

Many people sustaining a traumatic brain injury experience vestibular pathology requiring physical therapy for treatment. This study measured improvements in gait speed and weight shift for subjects receiving vestibular physical therapy using a Computer-Assisted Rehabilitation Environment (CAREN). A 6-session CAREN, 6-session traditional vestibular therapy group was compared with a 12-session CAREN only (0 traditional sessions) therapy group.

A systematic literature review of the use and effectiveness of the Computer Assisted Rehabilitation Environment for research and rehabilitation as it relates to the wounded warrior.

Background: Several U.S. military treatment and research facilities employ a Computer Assisted Rehabilitation Environment (CAREN) [Motek Medical BV, Amsterdam, The Netherlands] for research and rehabilitation of complex injuries exhibited by Wounded Warriors.

Effect of psychological skills training during military survival school: a randomized, controlled field study.

In this randomized, controlled field study, we examined the effects of a brief psychological skills training (PST) intervention on stress responses during military survival school. A second purpose was to build upon prior research in this unique environment by extending the follow-up window to 3 months. Baseline subjective distress (dissociative) symptoms were measured in 65 male military subjects, who were then randomized either to PST or a control group that received no training beyond the normal survival school curriculum.

Effects of dehydroepiandrosterone supplementation during stressful military training: a randomized, controlled, double-blind field study.

Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and DHEA sulfate (DHEAS) are anabolic prehormones involved in the synthesis of testosterone. Both have been shown to exert neuroprotective effects during stress. In this randomized, controlled, double-blind field study, we examined the effects of a 12-day DHEA regimen on stress indices in military men undergoing survival training.

Anger expression and stress responses in military men.

Introduction: A better understanding of individual differences in the human stress response may enhance prevention and treatment of operational stress reactions. In this study, we examined the relationships of anger experience and expression to stress indices during daily living and in response to military survival training in 45 men.

Methods: Prior to participation in survival training, subjects completed self-report measures of perceived stress and anger.

Behavioral predictors of acute stress symptoms during intense military training.

A better understanding of factors influencing human responses to acute stress is needed to enhance prevention and treatment of stress-related disorders. In the current study, the authors examined predictors of acute stress symptoms during intense military training in 35 men. In univariate and multivariate models, perceived stress, passive coping, and emotion-focused coping during daily living predicted acute stress symptoms in response to realistic survival training, whereas active coping and problem-focused coping did not.

Physical fitness influences stress reactions to extreme military training.

Background: Physical fitness and physical conditioning have long been valued by the military for their roles in enhancing mission-specific performance and reducing risk of injury in the warfighter. It is not known whether physical fitness plays a causal role in attenuating acute military stress reactions or the evolution of post-traumatic stress disorder.

Objective: The objective of this study was to determine whether physical fitness influences the impact of stressful events during military survival training in 31 men.

Trait anxiety and salivary cortisol during free living and military stress.

Introduction: Accumulating evidence suggests that negative affect is associated with elevated cortisol. Limited research has investigated this association in young, highly functioning, and stress-resilient populations.

Methods: We examined the relation of trait anxiety with total and diurnal salivary cortisol during free-living conditions and during a stressful military exercise in 26 military men ages 19-30 yr (M = 21.

Stressful military training: endocrine reactivity, performance, and psychological impact.

Introduction: We examined the responsiveness of both cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS) to the stress of survival training in military men and evaluated relationships to performance, peritraumatic dissociation, and the subsequent impact of stressful events.

Methods: Baseline salivary cortisol samples were self-collected by 19 men at 0900 and 1930 in a free-living (FL) environment. DHEAS samples were also collected in a subset of this sample (N = 12).