Profiles of musculoskeletal injuries among greek army officer cadets during basic combat training

Abstract

Objective: Injury prevalence and types of injury were recorded among Greek Army Officer cadets during basic combat training (BCT). Methods: Two hundred thirty-three male recruits from the Hellenic Army Academy were monitored for musculoskeletal injuries during a 7-week BCT period. Results: Sixty-six (28.3%) recruits suffered from some form of injury, leading to 1.22 training days lost per study recruit. More than half of the injuries (51.3%) occurred in the fi rst 2 weeks of the BCT, with ankle/foot strains and sprains being the most common injuries. Conclusion: Despite the absence of fractures and the low number of upper extremity injuries during the BCT, injury prevalence was high, with ankle- and foot-related injuries to be responsible for a long period of lost training days. Preventive efforts should focus on addressing the high rate of fi rst-time and recurrent ankle ligament sprains and possible protective equipment to limit their frequency and severity. © Association of Military Surgeons of the US.