Injuries caused during military duty and leisure sport activity.

BACKGROUND

Physical demands on soldiers in mission have increased in the past decades. Physical fitness training is included into duty schedules in most armies in order to achieve and maintain a high physical fitness level, but at the same time involving the risk of sport injuries and subsequent sick days.

OBJECTIVE

Due to missing data concerning soldiers' sport injuries during duty and leisure time, epidemiology data is required for adequate prevention and therapy.

METHODS

A prospective and descriptive epidemiology study has been conducted. All soldiers with sport injuries caused by duty sport (DS) or by sport during leisure time (LTS) were recorded over three years in a German Army tank brigade.

RESULTS

673 injuries during DS and 600 injuries during LTS were analysed. While on duty, most of the injuries occurred during soccer (35.2%) and long distance running (30.2%). Ankle joint (27.3%) and knee (24.1%) were most affected. Soldiers with injuries to knee, ankle joint, shoulder or hand were absent from duty for a longer period of time. Similar results were found during LTS: Soccer (66.0%) was the most frequent cause for injuries and ankle joint (22.8%) and knee (20.3%) were the most affected body parts.

CONCLUSIONS

Duty and leisure time sport mainly caused injuries to the lower limb. These injuries caused long absence from duty. Therefore, profound knowledge of physical examination, medical treatment and rehabilitation is necessary for the military physician in order to provide an adequate therapy.