A comparison of injuries, limited-duty days, and injury risk factors in infantry, artillery, construction engineers, and special forces soldiers.
OBJECTIVE
We compared injuries/risk factors in infantry soldiers (I), construction engineers (CE), combat artillery (CA), and Special Forces (SF) during their operational and fitness activities.


METHODS
Anthropometrics, ethnicity, and fitness data were collected before review of medical records.


RESULTS
Injury rates for I, CE, and CA were 4.0, 7.2, and 5.5 injuries/100 soldier-months, respectively; over 70% of them resulted from overuse. SF soldiers had an injury rate of 3.5 injuries/100 soldier-months, 50% of them reported as traumatic. Average limited-duty days (LDDs) were threefold higher in SF. Smoking, BMI > or =25, and APFT run time for 3.2 km >14 minutes were risk factors in I. Caucasian ethnicity, height <170.2 cm, weight > or =90 kg, and BMI > or =25 were risk factors in CE and CA. Age >27 years old was a risk factor in SF.


CONCLUSIONS
Greater emphasis should be placed on risk factor identification and testing strategies to reduce injuries among SF and other troops.
Reynolds
Katy
K
Department of Health, Leisure, and Exercise Science, University of West Florida, Pensacola, FL 32514, USA.
Cosio-Lima
Ludmila
L
Bovill
Maria
M
Tharion
William
W
Williams
Jeff
J
Hodges
Tabitha
T
D001823:Body Composition; D015992:Body Mass Index; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D006801:Humans; D008887:Military Medicine; D008889:Military Personnel; D009043:Motor Activity; D016017:Odds Ratio; D010809:Physical Fitness; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology*