ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Rehabil. Sci.
Sec. Medical and Surgical Rehabilitation
Potential influence of long-term medication on physical performance in the context of long-term rehabilitation process in soldiers: A retrospective cohort analysis
Provisionally accepted
- 1Orthopaedic Clinic and Polyclinic, University of Rostock, Rostock, Germany
- 2The Bundeswehr Center of Sports Medicine, Warendorf, Germany
- 3Institute for Biostatistics and Clinical Research, Muenster, Germany
- 4Institute of Physical Medicine and General Rehabilitation, Salzburg, Austria
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Objective: Military service is demanding and requires maintenance of optimal physical and mental health. Deployment-related incidents can precipitate the onset of physical and/or psychological trauma necessitating appropriate pharmacological intervention. However, current strategies for medical vocational rehabilitation do not include systematic medication assessment. Methods: This study analyzed physical performance and long-term medication use in middle-aged soldiers diagnosed with physical impairments and/or posttraumatic stress disorder. Patient records were analyzed to investigate the number of drugs, polypharmacy, drug‒drug interactions and drugs targeting the nervous system in relation to bicycle ergometry performance. Results: A total of 172 patients were inclusion, with 45 patients (26.6 %) receiving comprehensive medication. Patients with posttraumatic stress disorder, who were taking an average of 3.0 medications each, demonstrated significantly lower maximum performance than did the controls (n=93, 217 (200-250) W vs. n=34, 250 (225-267) W, P = 0.006). Polypharmacy (n=42, 217 (200-250) W vs. n=34, 250 (225-267) W, P = 0.017) and drug‒drug interactions (n=49, 221 (200-250) W vs. n=34, n=34, 250 (225-267) W , P = 0.024) negatively impacted maximum performance, with patients experiencing 1.6 interactions on average of varying severity. A significant negative correlation was observed between the number of drugs, anatomical-therapeutic-chemical classification, polypharmacy, number, and severity of drug‒drug interactions and poor maximum performance. Although no other significant differences were noted across all groups, posttraumatic stress disorder patients without medication achieved significantly greater performance than did somatic patients (n=34, 250 (225-267) vs. n=33, 217 (200-250), P = 0.009). Conclusion: In conclusion, highly prevalent polypharmacy may contribute to physical performance limitations, highlighting the need for further research and professional support in medication management within rehabilitation programs for mental illnesses.
Keywords: Rehabilitation, physical performance, Bicycle ergometry, Long-term medication, Polypharmacy, drug-drug-interaction
Received: 04 Apr 2025; Accepted: 31 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Schmitz, Korte, Lison, Gerß and Schulze. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Jennifer-Daniele Schmitz, jenniferschmitz980@gmail.com
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