U.S. Army Holistic Health And Fitness (H2f) Programs Outperform Traditional Physical Therapy Models For Soldiers

Whitehurst r, Romanello a, Davis s, Reilly n, Goss d

Abstract accepted for the 2024 American Physical Therapy Association Combined Sections Meeting

By the nature of their work, Soldiers are regularly subjected to vigorous physical activity and corresponding increases in musculoskeletal injury risk1,2. Holistic Health & Fitness (H2F) is an interdisciplinary approach developed for the implementation of multidimensional care and attainment of optimal performance within the U.S. Army. Specifically, H2F was developed to enhance physical, mental, spiritual, nutritional and sleep readiness for Soldiers in contrast to reactive management of injury-induced symptomology observed in many hospital settings3. This study examined the clinical outcomes and corresponding efficacy of the H2F program in comparison to standards of practice currently in place across the U.S. Military Health System.

The H2F program saw more expedient treatment operations for Soldiers with musculoskeletal injury and observed significantly improved clinical outcomes compared to standard practices conducted at major hospitals.