Injuries and injury prevention among senior military officers at the Army War College

Injuries and activities associated with injuries were extracted from a retrospective review of the medical records of officers attending the U.S. Army War College during academic years 1999 and 2000 (AY99 and AY00). In AY99, cumulative injury incidence (officers with one or more injuries) was 56%. The next year (AY00), there was command emphasis on injury reduction and education of students on injury prevention strategies. Cumulative injury incidence in AY00 was 44%, significantly lower than in AY99 (p = 0.01, risk ratio [AY99/AY00] = 1.3, 95% confidence interval = 1.1-1.5). Among activities that could be linked to injuries, sports were associated with 41% in AY99 and 45% in AY00. Recommendations for ongoing injury reduction include the following: (1) continued command emphasis and instruction on injury reduction techniques; (2) encouraging the use of semirigid ankle braces to reduce ankle sprains; (3) reducing the number of practice and game sessions in sports activities; (4) encouraging overrunning of second and third base in softball; (5) prohibiting contact with the center line below the net in volleyball; and (6) encouraging medical care providers to record the activity associated with each injury in the medical records.