Objectives: To record and analyse the injuries and conditions requiring referral to the Colchester Garrison Sports Injury and Rehabilitation Centre over a three year period, with special reference to type and site of injury, aetiology, and outcome.Methods: An ongoing prospective study in which data on the diagnosis, cause of injury, and treatment of all patients referred to the Centre was coded and stored on a database. A total of seventeen variables were recorded.Subjects: All patients were trained, serving soldiers in the British Army referred via their General Practitioner to the Sports Injury and Rehabilitation Centre.Results: A total of 3921 referrals were made over the three-year period. The most common specific condition seen was low back pain (22.2%) followed by sprain of the ankle (15.1%). Lower limb conditions, both overuse and traumatic, accounted for over half (55.8%) of all referrals. Military training was the most common cause of all conditions (35.2%) followed by organised or personal sport (28.5%). In addition to medical treatment and physiotherapy, 30% of patients required formal rehabilitation.Conclusions: This is the first full review of the data collected by the Sports Injury and Rehabilitation Centre. It defines the injury patterns for trained soldiers rather than military recruits. Low back pain is identified as a major cause of morbidity in this population.The review serves as a benchmark in the planning of injury prevention strategies and the establishment of future rehabilitation services. IntroductionThe concept of primary care rehabilitation began in Colchester in 1996 with the aim of providing physiotherapy and simple gymnasium based rehabilitation to injured soldiers in order to accelerate return to full fitness and reduce the incidence of re-injury. Locally known as "Bodyshop", the Colchester Garrison Sports Injury and Rehabilitation Centre expanded in 1998 with the arrival of a general practitioner with a special interest in sports and training injuries medicine.The Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation Centre now encompasses the seamless progression of the injured soldier from the general practitioner, through physiotherapy, to rehabilitation and return to full fitness and duty. Staffing currently comprises two special interest general practitioners, three chartered physiotherapists and a qualified remedial therapist. A consultant orthopaedic surgeon performs an outpatient clinic approximately twice per month. All clinics, physiotherapy, and rehabilitation occur on-site and are colocated with the medical centre. In addition to the clinical activities, the centre regularly communicates with unit physical training instructors regarding individual and unit training as well as providing feedback to the command structure on unit injury rates. Patients who fail to respond to treatment are either referred for orthopaedic or rheumatology opinion, or if the condition is considered permanent, downgraded.Much work has been published on the types of injury commonly suffered by military r...

Conclusions: Female soldiers are more likely to sustain an injury than their male counterparts. Specific injuries account for the majority of this difference. Military training, work, and recreation are more likely to be the cause of injury in the female soldier. Conditions existing prior to military service were also more common. There was no gender difference in the injuries caused by sport or road traffic accidents. These results may act as a basis for targeted intervention in order to reduce inequality without reducing overall training standards.

Female soldiers are significantly more likely to suffer low back pain as a result of physical military training, their occupation, or off-duty activities. Sporting activities do not cause low back pain in women to a greater extent than men By demonstrating the scale of the problem and by determining of the cause of injury, it should now be possible to propose methods of effective intervention to reduce injury, implement those interventions and audit effectiveness.

SUMMARY: A case of opisthotonus following the use of the anaesthetic induction agent propofol is described. The patient was a woman with a known history of epilepsy. It is recommended that propofol should not be used in such patients .

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