Captain Lars Nordan says it was just a “basic jump, nothing special,” but he was snowboarding off-trail in Colorado when he didn’t check the landing before launching. I made that mistake. When he took to the air, he said, he was enjoying back bowls and fresh powder. Although the landing surface was perfectly flat, he was unable to resist it until the ground suddenly stopped his momentum and the impact damaged the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), medial collateral ligament (MCL), and meniscus in his right knee. I didn’t notice.
A few weeks later, in March 2023, he underwent surgery. Then he was on crutches for the next month and a half.
There’s never a perfect time to break out a knee, but Nordan’s timing was particularly bad. He was in his final year of dental school, thanks to the U.S. Army Health Professions Scholarship Program (HPSP), which provides medical scholarships in exchange for military service. When he was assigned to Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state in July of that year, he had only been off crutches for six weeks and “my military experience was basically zero,” the 26-year-old said. he says. He had to complete a 10-week Basic Officer Leadership Course in Texas before starting his Army dental training, which was still a year away. With two healthy knees this wouldn’t have been a problem, but it was only a few months after the surgery, which made this plan more difficult.
ryan graham
Captain Lars Nordan
Fortunately, Nordan was soon enrolled in the Army’s Holistic Health and Fitness (H2F) program. The program develops Soldier health, performance and military readiness across the five pillars of fitness: physical, mental, nutritional, spiritual and sleep. “Somehow I ended up at H2F on the first day,” Nordang says. “I was well-received by the members of the H2F team and have been involved with the team every day since then. It was an all-hands-on-deck effort.”
He went through a comprehensive seven-month rehabilitation program customized to his specific needs, was allowed to undergo officer training in plenty of time before entering deployment, and was cleared of any unrelated medical conditions along the way. I also overcame it. Here’s how the H2F system guided him through a difficult but ultimately rewarding experience.
Restore strength, mobility, and mindset
The early stages of H2F were a shock to Nordang’s system. “When I came on set, I was in pretty bad shape,” he says. “Having had such extensive surgery, the healing process is still quite slow and I wanted to rehabilitate the knee as soon as possible.”
The first goal was to regain strength in the injured leg with the help of H2F’s Physical Readiness domain. Daily two-hour training sessions included manual therapy with an athletic trainer to gradually introduce basic activities to the knee, such as running and agility drills. “I had to relearn everything I had taken for granted,” Nordan says. “It was really tough, but it was exactly what I needed to get back to where I was before the injury.”
The area of mental preparation was also a big part of my recovery. In addition to training, Nordan met regularly with a sports psychologist to help him get through the mental strain of rehab. An avid recreational soccer player before his injury, he was anxious to get back on the field, but was frustrated as he felt his progress wasn’t where he wanted it to be. “I tend to be positive and don’t let anything stop me from achieving my goals,” he says. “But there were definitely days when my body wasn’t working the way I wanted it to, and mentally it was really tough. Having access to a professional helped keep things in perspective and keep me moving in the right direction.” .”
nail-biting nutrition
Another focus in the recovery process was the nutrient reserve area of H2F. Nordan, who was 6’2″ tall and a self-described “skinny guy,” lost about 30 pounds of lean body mass after surgery. “The nutrition program really helped me gain muscle mass,” he says.
The protocol includes body scan measurements to chart his progress, nutritional counseling to educate him on what to eat, and blood to monitor vitamin and electrolyte levels to develop a proper supplement plan. It included testing. Within a few months, his weight had increased to around 200 pounds.
Identifying hidden problems
Nordan’s final obstacle before being cleared for officer training was an unexpected illness. In early 2024, he was diagnosed with Wolff-Parkinson-White (WPW) syndrome. This is a congenital heart defect in which an extra electrical pathway causes an abnormally fast heart rate. In his case, up to 210 beats per minute.
Fortunately, WPW is treatable and recovery time is short. A week after undergoing treatment to treat the condition, Nordan took the Army Combat Fitness Test (ACFT) and received an impressive score of 530 out of 600. He took the test again a few weeks later and scored an even better score, scoring 571. I’m happy with that score,” he says. “From that point on, I had no more heart problems.”
In February 2024, Nordan was officially admitted to the Officer Basic Leadership Course and withdrew from active participation in H2F. Not because he was no longer benefiting from the program, but because he was nearing the start of his Army Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery training. , four years of hardship that left little time for extracurricular activities.
Provided by US military
After rehabilitation, Captain Nordan began his dental training…
Courtesy of the subject
…and back to running.
But that doesn’t mean the systems and skills he learned stopped being an important part of his life. “I incorporate a lot of what I learned from H2F into my daily life,” Nordan says. He is now a police officer with sufficient strength and mobility in both legs. “They set me up for success and gave me the tools I needed. H2F was a phenomenal experience and I am so happy and grateful that they cared for me in this way. .”
Find the strength and motivation to give your all at GoArmy.com.
