Injuries associated with sport participation amongst Australian Army Personnel

Purpose: Injuries are of detriment to military
capability and interrupt active duty. Limited research
exists regarding injuries associated with sports
participation in army personnel. The purpose of
this study was to investigate patterns of injury from
sport participation in Australian Regular Army (ARA)
personnel, in order to guide prevention strategies.
Methods: Injury data was obtained over a twoyear
period (01 July 2012-30 June 2014) from the
Department of Defence Workplace Health, Safety,
Compensation and Reporting database. The data
were analysed descriptively to ascertain the sports
giving rise to the largest numbers of injuries,
the leading body sites of the sports injuries, the
predominant natures of the sports injuries, and the
key mechanisms of the sports injuries.
Results: Sports participation accounted for 11%
(n=1,092) of reported injuries (n=9,828) over the
data collection period. Soccer was found to have the
highest number of sporting injuries (n=254, 23.26%),
followed by rugby union/league (n=250, 22.89%),
touch football (n=203, 18.59%), Australian rules
football (n=131, 12.00%) and basketball/netball
(n=130, 11.90%). The ankle, knee and shoulder were
the most commonly injured joints (n=212, 21.90%;
n=166, 17.15%; n=112, 11.57% respectively), with
soft tissue injury, dislocation and fractures being
the most common nature of injury (n=533, 55.06%;
n=123, 12.71%; n=115, 11.88% respectively). These
injuries were most commonly due to contact with
objects (n=340, 35.12%), falls (n=265, 27.38%) and
muscular stress (n=250, 25.83%).
Conclusion: Sports participation is a leading cause
of injuries in ARA personnel, with soccer and rugby
being the leading sports associated with these
injuries. The ankle, knee and shoulder are the joints
most commonly injured in sporting activities in ARA
personnel. It would appear that the current injury
rates, locations and mechanisms are similar to those
reported in historical defence injury reports.