Abstract

VALERO CAPILLA, F.A.; FRANCO BONAFONTE, L.  and  RUBIO PEREZ, F.J.. Injuries of the Ground Forces Student Sergeants and injury risk factors. Sanid. Mil. [online]. 2014, vol.70, n.4, pp.263-269. ISSN 1887-8571.  https://dx.doi.org/10.4321/S1887-85712014000400004.

Background: military training courses are very physically demanding and they cause a significant number of musculoskeletal injuries. It is of interest to know the type of injuries observed in these courses and the associated injury risk factors in order to subsequently implant appropriate preventive measures and manage available resources. Objective: to present the type of injuries observed during the common phase of the first training course of the Ground Forces Student Sergeants and to analyze the frequency of injuries and related risk factors. Material and Methods: descriptive, observational, cross-sectional, 15 week duration study, which included 579 student sergeants (49 women), average age of 25.9 years (range 18-31). At the beginning of the course, the anthropometric parameters of students were obtained and their physical condition was measured through the marks obtained in 6000, 1000 and 50 m career, and through vertical jump and flexion/extension tests on the ground. During the course, observed injuries, their causes, location and recovery time were recorded. At the end of the course, the observed frequency of injuries and their causes were compared between men and women, and in the male group, the obtained marks and the anthropometric parameters were compared between the injured and not injured. Results: the average age of the women vs men´s group was 27.1 (3.18) vs. 25.7 (3.03) years p<0, 01; height 1.63 (0.05) vs 1.77 (0.07) m, p<0.0001; and weight 57.2 (5.04) vs 75.2 (9.14) kg, p<0.0001, respectively. The marks obtained in the women´s group were significantly lower in all tests (p<0.0001). One hundred and eleven students got injured (19.1%), with a total of 113 injuries. The most frequent injuries were sprains and tendinitis which accounted for 61% of the lesions, and the most frequent location was in lower limbs (87.6%). Overload injuries occurred in 54.4% of cases compared to 49.6% caused by accident (p = NS). Eighteen women got injured (36.7%) against 95 men (17.9%), p<0.05. In the male group, the initial marks in the subgroup with lower limbs injuries compared to the not injured, were the following: 6 km, 28.1 (2.40) vs 27.0 (2.82) min, p<0.001; in 1 km, 3.49 (0.28) vs 3.39 (0.24) min, p<0.001; in 50 m, 7.29 (0.41) vs 7.18 (0.40) sec, p<0.05, respectively. There were no significant differences neither in the marks obtained in vertical jump and flexion/extensions among the injured and not injured, nor in age, weight, height and BMI. Conclusions: it is observed that around 20% of the students get injured during the academic year, being the sprains and tendinitis the most frequent injuries. The injuries are predominantly located in lower extremities. Half of the injuries are caused by overload and the other half by accident. Women get injured more than men. Anthropometric differences and a lower physical condition might determine the major incidence of their injuries. In the male group, worse physical condition is related to an increased risk of injury, but the relationship between the frequency of injuries and age, weight, height or BMI is not found in this group.

Keywords : sergeants students; musculoskeletal injuries; lesional risk factors.

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