title: Reported load carriage injuries of the Australian army soldier.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Many injuries experienced by soldiers can be attributed to the occupational loads they are required to carry.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to determine whether contemporary military load carriage is a source of injuries to Australian Regular Army soldiers and to profile these injuries.
  
  
  METHODS
  The Australian Defence Force 'Occupational Health, Safety and Compensation Analysis and Reporting' database was searched to identify all reported injuries sustained during load carriage events. Key search terms were employed and narrative description fields were interrogated to increase data accuracy.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 1,954 injury records were extracted from the database. Of these, 404 injuries were attributed to load carriage. The majority of these load carriage injuries involved either the lower limb or back, with bones and joints accounting for the most frequently reported body structures to be injured. Field activities were the leading activities being performed at the time that load carriage injuries occurred, and muscular stress was identified as the mechanism of injury for over half of reported load carriage injuries.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study suggests that load carriage is a substantial source of injury risk to Australian Army soldiers. Physical training may fail to adequately prepare soldiers for load carriage tasks during field training exercises.
authors.affiliation: Bond Institute of Health and Sport, Bond University, Gold Coast, QLD, 4226, Australia, rorr@bond.edu.au.
authors.forename: Robin M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Orr
authors.forename: Venerina
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Johnston
authors.forename: Julia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Coyle
authors.forename: Rodney
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pope
mesh_terms: D001315:Australia / Q000453:epidemiology; D019567:Back Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D016208:Databases, Factual; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D050723:Fractures, Bone / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D015601:Injury Severity Score; D008297:Male; D008889:Military Personnel / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D009140:Musculoskeletal Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D016272:Occupational Health; D060051:Occupational Injuries / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment; D013180:Sprains and Strains / Q000453:epidemiology; D016474:Weight-Bearing