The effect of warm-up and cool-down on preventing muscle injury among Indonesian military personnel during humanitarian operations
Abstract
Background: Humanitarian missions conducted by the Indonesian National Armed Forces require a high level of physical readiness and perform various intensive physical activities that may increase the risk of muscle injuries if not supported by adequate and proper physical preparation. This study aimed to analyze the effect of warm-up and cool-down activities performed before physical exertion on muscle injury prevention among Indonesian National Armed Forces personnel during the execution of humanitarian missions.
Methods: This study applied a mixed methods approach with an exploratory sequential design. Qualitative data were obtained through in depth interviews with 15 participants, while qualitative data analysis used Nvivo with the Nvivo word cloud feature. Quantitative data were collected from 100 Indonesian military personnel who had participated in humanitarian operations, disaster response, coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) handling, and security task forces in Papua, Indonesia, using structured questionnaires with Likert scale (1-5) distributed through Google Forms. Quantitative analysis employed Structural Equation Modeling Partial Least Squares (SEM PLS) 4.
Results: The qualitative analysis showed that physical fatigue, muscle tension, operational intensity, limited recovery time, and difficult terrain were the main factors influencing the risk of muscle injuries among Indonesian military personnel. Warmup and cool-down activities were considered important in improving physical fitness, body flexibility, operational readiness, and soldiers’ motivation during humanitarian operations. The quantitative results demonstrated that warm-up and cooldown activities had a positive and significant effect on muscle injury prevention (β = 0.490; p = 0.000; T = 8.184; R² = 0.240; F² = 0.315).
Conclusion: Warm-up and cool-down activities are important factors in preventing muscle injuries, improving physical readiness, maintaining body flexibility, reducing fatigue, and strengthening the operational spirit of Indonesian military personnel during humanitarian missions.
