Jacques Rousseau

Citation

Thesis Title
Lower limb injury prevention in the New Zealand Army

Military personnel commonly suffer lower limb injuries. Major Rousseau investigated and identified the biomechanical aspects and muscle activation of long-term military boot wear. He found that wearing boots for 12 months led to maladaptations that caused the ankle joints to become unstable. Major Rousseau proposed replacing the military boot with a flexible shoe. This change led to a reversal of the negative adaptations of long-term boot wear. Major Rousseau concluded that long-term boot wear is a leading cause of ankle and lower limb injury. Based on this conclusion, the New Zealand Defence Force has developed a comprehensive shoe-wearing policy. Presentations of this research have attracted global interest from defence forces with the same lower limb injury problems.

Supervisors
Dr Sally Lark
Mr Paul Nealis
Associate Professor Wyatt Page