Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is a prevalent occurrence in the military, both during combat operations and training exercises.  A mild TBI is a pathophysiological process affecting the brain resulting from a biomechanical force impacting the head, neck, or body.  The abrupt force can either be anticipated or unanticipated.  When a mild TBI occurs, the force impacting the body is powerful enough to overcome the neck and upper body musculature’s ability to attenuate the force optimally, resulting in a whiplash effect. The excessive force causes the brain to move within the head making impact on the inner walls of the skull.  The impact produces pathophysiological effects experienced as a concussion.

During parachute landing, impacts to the head and body can be off-center and create rotational acceleration of the head. The immediate rotational acceleration may further amplify a mild TBI due to the stretching and twisting affect occurring with the nerve cells and axons.

Therefore, neck strengthening and primary prevention interventions should focus on improvements in core musculature, upper back strength, and in neck strength along three planes of motion and especially the plane of axial rotation.