Optimal Performance
Prevalence of Sleep Apnea in Special Operations Forces
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a highly prevalent and underrecognized condition among retired and active Special Operations Forces (SOF) personnel, with unique challenges and treatment needs shaped by their service history and lifestyle.
Read More >Simple Steps to Real Relief: Reducing Reliance on Substances
By Shayla Hayward-Lundy, LPAT, CSAC-S, ATR-BC, RYT For many in the Special Operations community, alcohol, prescription medications, and caffeine are a part of daily life. Especially if you served a full career and logged hundreds of jumps and racked up many deployments, substances may seem like an efficient tool to manage chronic pain, sleepless nights,…
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When Metabolism & Immunity Collide: The Cycle Behind Chronic Illness
By Brain Treatment Center Ashburn, Marsha Lessard Dysregulated metabolism and chronic immune activation fuel each other. This is often the case in patients dealing with PTSD, trauma, TBI, autism, long COVID, and chronic fatigue. Research confirms, “Disruptions to appropriate immune responses and metabolic processes create a vicious cycle that accelerates the development of various chronic…
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Quick Reads on Allostatic Load (AKA Operator Syndrome)
Service in special operations tests the limits of human potential. SOF service members have a unique capacity to endure challenges, compartmentalize pain, and accomplish the mission before them. Yet we all know that a career in SOF is often accompanied by a commonly experienced “pattern of injuries and impairments.” These injuries and health challenges are…
Read More >V.A.L.O.R Program for SOF
Recognizing the intense need for cognitive endurance and performance in the SOF community, the Military Special Operations Family Collaborative is partnering with Dr. Megan Vaughan at iPerformance Labs to offer the VALOR program – a cognitive performance pilot program. The unique organizational structures and mission requirements of Special Operations Forces (SOF) create stressors not typically…
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Chronic Back Pain in SOF – A Deep Dive Event
On August 29th, 2023, MSOFC was proud to host David Simons and Rachelle Yusufbekov from Return to Duty (link) and neurosurgeons Dr. Peter Derman (link), Dr. Ali Mesiwala (link), and Dr. Lynn McGrath (link) for a virtual SOF Health Deep Dive event exploring chronic back pain and care in special ops. The evening kicked off with a discussion on how Return to Duty…
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Therapy is More Than Just Talking
There’s a common misconception that therapy just means sitting in a chair and talking for 45-60 minutes. Although approximately 75% of patients benefit from “traditional” talk therapy, dozens of other psychotherapy practices offer alternative and complementary avenues for healing and support. This is particularly beneficial for special operations service members, veterans, and families who face…
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SOF Health Deep Dive: Cancer in SOF
On December 19th, 2022, we hosted a live Q&A with several experts (jump to experts) leading the way to understand cancer trends in the special operations community – several of whom are cancer survivors themselves. We heard from a SOF spouse who shared her moving story about losing her husband to cancer, and also spoke…
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SOF Health Deep Dive: Traumatic Brain Injury
If you tuned into our SOF Health Deep Dive on September 19, 2022, you participated in a discussion that was specifically built around community health and well-being questions and concerns. Dr. Jason Mihalik of the Transforming Health & Resilience in Veterans (THRIVE) Program thoughtfully put together an all-star team for this Deep Dive on mild…
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SOF Health Deep Dive: High Allostatic Load (AKA “Operator Syndrome”)
Following every SOF Team Room, MSOF hosts a Health Deep Dive event to more fully cover the meaty topics that are on the minds of many of us in the Special Operations Community. Check out the replay to join our moderator SGM (Ret) Erick Miyares, Dr. Chris Frueh, Dr. Chris Fowler, and Dr. Bryan Stepanenko…
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