Incidence and Mechanisms of Musculoskeletal Injuries in Deployed Navy Active Duty Service Members Aboard Two U.S. Navy Air Craft Carriers

Abstract

Introduction This brief report describes the number and nature of cases of musculoskeletal pain and injury among sailors and marines presenting to the ship’s physical therapist during recent, respective deployments of two U.S. Navy aircraft carriers. Materials and Methods The case definition for this study was cases of work-limiting medical complaints involving the musculoskeletal system presenting, or referred, to the ship’s physical therapy services for evaluation and treatment. The population for this study was drawn from ship’s company from two Nimitz class carriers on their respective deployments. Potential subjects were recruited at their index visit for their complaint. Participants completed a survey of their symptoms while at the ship’s medical department. Data for analysis consist of counts of cases, body part affected, self-reported mechanism of injury, age, and gender of the subject. Data were analyzed by generating descriptive tables. Results One hundred ninety-seven cases were captured across the two carriers. Injury to the low back was the most frequent (34%), followed by shoulder (25%) and knee (15%). Twenty one cases (11%) were reported to be exacerbation of previous injuries and the rest new injuries. Of the 176 new injury cases, 93 (53%) were of an insidious onset and the remainder had a specific, identifiable onset. Of the 82 cases with a specific identifiable onset, 38 cases (46%) occurred during participation in sport and exercise activity on board ship, and the remainder of the cases occurred during the performance of duty-related work. None of the cases required evacuation off of the ship. Conclusion Care should be used interpreting the results since participants were volunteers and a small proportion of eligible subjects chose not to participate in the study. Nevertheless, our data are generally consistent with other studies of musculoskeletal injury on board U.S. Navy ships and are useful for health care planning purposes and for planning for future studies that may take place on board U.S. Navy vessels. The novel and important finding of this study suggests that sports and exercise activity on board ship may warrant a new area of attention for safety.

The effects of ergonomic intervention on the musculoskeletal complaints and fatigue experienced by workers in the traditional metal casting industry

“…The ergonomic intervention in this study had the effect of reducing the workers' musculoskeletal complaints with regard to their backs, waists, left and right thighs, right knees, right ankles, and left legs. Meanwhile, the effects of the work organization improvements in similar studies also showed a reduction in complaints of pain in the neck, shoulders, hands, lower back, and legs [44]; lower back, shoulders, and knees [45]. However, complaints in the neck and upper back had the highest prevalence rates, amounting to 55.8% and 89.9%, respectively [46].…”

Epidemiology of Musculoskeletal Injuries in the Navy: A Systematic Review

“…A total of 17 studies (published between 2000 and 2021, the epidemiology data were collected between 1980 and 2016) were included in this systematic review. In terms of the study design, 1 study [20] was a prospective study, 9 studies [21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29] used a retrospective study design, and 7 studies [13,[30][31][32][33][34][35] were crosssectional studies. Fifteen articles originated from the United States, and the 2 other studies [13,34] originated from China and Brazil.…”

“…Fifteen articles originated from the United States, and the 2 other studies [13,34] originated from China and Brazil. Of those, 9 articles [13,20,21,28,[30][31][32][33][34] reported the sample size ranging from 210 to 424596, and 5 studies [13,30,[32][33][34] reported participants' age; the mean age ranged from 19.32 to 28.80 years. Five studies [13,20,21,28,30] involved both female and male participants, with the percentage of females varying between 11.77% and 39.73%, but 3 studies [32][33][34] recruited only male subjects.…”

“…Table 2 provides a summary of the prevalence and incidence of MSIs. Seven studies [13,21,[30][31][32][33][34] reported the prevalence of multi-site MSIs. The overall prevalence of MSIs ranged from 12.69% to 48.81%.…”

“…Specifically, the prevalence of head and face injuries varied from 0.11 to 0.66% according to the data from 3 studies [30,32,34]. Five studies [30][31][32][33][34] showed that the prevalence of upper extremity injuries ranged from 0.53% to 11.47% (shoulder, 0.41%-7.14%; upper arm, 0.12%-0.95%; elbow, 0.43%; forearm, 0.22%-1.43%; wrist, 0.48%-1.06%; and hand and fingers, 1.43%-1.66%) and the prevalence of lower extremity injuries ranged from 0.4% to 21.17% (hip, 0.04%-3.97%; thigh, 0.87%-2.38%; knee, 0.25%-13.5%; lower leg, 1.32%-2.17%; ankle, 0.11%-4.3%; and foot, 1.43%-7.28%). In addition, 6 studies [13,21,[30][31][32][33] reported that the prevalence of spine injuries ranged from 0.75% to 12.09% (cervical, 0.02%-1.43%; thoracic and lumbopelvic, 0.73%-12.09%).…”