title: Screening tests detect knee pain and predict discharge from military service.
abstract: This study evaluated the capacity of a screening test to predict discharge from military training. When starting their training, 590 artillery and 258 ranger conscripts were tested in step-up, step-down, rising from a 0.40-m-high bench, and bilateral squat tests, with pain intensity ratings. Ranger conscripts who did not complete their training were noted. The rising test identified 82% and the step-down test 81% of artillery conscripts who reported pain at any level during any of the screening tests. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis revealed that both the step-down test and the rising test were good in predicting discharge from military ranger training because of knee problems. The step-down test identified 80% of ranger conscripts who did not complete training because of knee disorders. The tests constitute a simple, time-saving, cost-effective tool in a systematic process for screening knee pain to identify high-risk groups, for prioritization of interventions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences, and Society, Division of Physiotherapy, Karolinska Institute and Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Helena
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Larsson
authors.forename: Matthias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Larsson
authors.forename: Hanna
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Osterberg
authors.forename: Karin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Harms-Ringdahl
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005080:Exercise Test; D006304:Health Status; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D008887:Military Medicine; D008889:Military Personnel; D009140:Musculoskeletal Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*; D016272:Occupational Health; D010147:Pain Measurement; D012372:ROC Curve; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013548:Sweden