The epidemiology of knee and ankle injuries on Macquarie Island.
Macquarie Island is a small, rugged sub-Antarctic island with a scientific research station and a considerable reputation for knee and ankle injuries amongst the Australian Antarctic Division expeditioner population. In order to examine the accuracy of this reputation, a 10-year retrospective analysis of all knee and ankle injuries recorded by the Macquarie Island Medical Officer in the medical logs was undertaken. Knee and ankle injuries comprised 13% of the 2,678 recorded medical consultations. The majority of initial injuries occurred in the field and almost a third occurred during work related activities. Ankle ligament sprains were the most commonly recorded injury (17%), followed by achilles tendonitis (14%), enthesopathy of the knee (16%), and chondromalacia patellae (10%). Meniscal tears and collateral ligament of the knee sprains contributed a further 11 and 9%, respectively. While there were few significant knee and ankle injuries during this period, around a third of the expeditioners represented to the Medical Officer with recurrent difficulties.
Australian Antarctic Division, Kingston, Tasmania, Australia. ingridmcg@optusnet.com.au
Ingrid
I
McGaughey
Peter
P
Sullivan
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D016512:Ankle Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology*; D000864:Antarctic Regions / Q000453:epidemiology; D005101:Expeditions; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007718:Knee Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects; D012189:Retrospective Studies