Profiling lower extremity injuries sustained in a state police population: a retrospective cohort study

Abstract

Background Tactical populations, such as military, firefighter and law enforcement populations, are known to suffer a relatively high number of musculoskeletal injuries, with the lower extremity of notable concern. The aim of this retrospective cohort study was to determine the profile of lower extremity musculoskeletal injuries within a state police agency. Methods Injury data were collected by an Australian state police force over a 7-year period (2009–2016) and records not meeting the definition for lower extremity musculoskeletal injury were excluded. Statistical analyses were descriptive, with frequencies, means and standard deviations calculated where applicable. Chi-square analysis was performed to compare injury profiles by gender. Ethics approval was granted by Bond University Human Research Ethics Committee (Research Protocol 15360). Results Of the initial 65,579 incident records, 12,452 (19%) related to lower extremity musculoskeletal injuries. The knee was the most commonly injured site (31.4%) with sprains/strains (42.3%) the most common nature of injury and arresting offenders (24.2%) the most common activity at time of injury. Slips/trips/falls (37.8%) was found to be the most common cause of injury. Variations were found between genders, most notably within the injury activity (p < .001). 27.1% of male officers were injured when arresting offenders compared to 16.5% for female officers. Walking/running contributed to 17.9% of female officer incidents compared to 9.3% for male officers. The mean number of hours worked prior to injury occurrence was 6.00 ± 3.56 h with significantly more injuries occurring in the middle third of the shift (4.34–8.67 h, p < 0.001). Conclusions While the proportion of injuries that affected the lower extremity was lower for police, the leading sites of injuries (knees and ankles) were similar to those of military and fire and rescue populations. Variations between genders suggest there may need to be differences in return-to-work rehabilitation.

Profiling the injuries of law enforcement recruits during academy training: a retrospective cohort study

“…While differing from other research in law enforcement populations [ 42 , 45 ], the injury profile presented in this current study is similar to previous findings in military recruits. Injuries in military recruits are more likely to occur at or below the knee and consist of overuse or stress syndromes, muscle strains, and ankle sprains [ 46 ].…”

“…This discrepancy between upper and lower limb injuries may be due to law enforcement officers engaging with and subduing suspects rather than long distance runs [3]. Although law enforcement officers are more likely to experience upper limb and back injuries [3], lower limb injuries can account for 13-30% of all injuries [43][44][45]. These injuries were found to typically be sprains and strains, and most often occurred at the knee and ankle [45].…”

“…Although law enforcement officers are more likely to experience upper limb and back injuries [3], lower limb injuries can account for 13-30% of all injuries [43][44][45]. These injuries were found to typically be sprains and strains, and most often occurred at the knee and ankle [45]. As one of the best predictors of future injury is having suffered a previous injury, the high number of strains and sprains suffered by law enforcement recruits at this academy may influence future lower extremity injuries when working as officers.…”

The Impact of Footwear on Occupational Task Performance and Musculoskeletal Injury Risk: A Scoping Review to Inform Tactical Footwear

“…Certain occupations exist that work in potentially dangerous environments, such as, but not limited to, construction workers [ 1 ], underground coal miners [ 2 ], and tactical professionals, inclusive of military personnel [ 3 ], firefighters [ 4 ], and law enforcement [ 5 ]. Due to these potentially hazardous environments, persons working in these occupations wear specialised personal protective equipment (PPE).…”

“…Considering the potential impact of occupation footwear on physical function there is a need to ensure that the boots are designed to mitigate injuries, not to become a cause of them. For example, a leading cause of injury in military, firefighters, and law enforcement is through slips, trips, and falls [ 5 , 18 , 19 ]. Considering this, movement at the ankle (the ‘ankle strategy’) is an important part of balance recovery [ 20 , 21 ].…”