Exercise-related injury profile amongst recruits during basic military training in 3 South African Infantry Battalion at Kimberley

[摘要] English: The aim of the study was to assess the injury profile of recruits during BMT at 3 SAI Bn Kimberley. The study objectives were to identify and describe the demography, socio-economic status and medical history of these recruits, as well as the type and mechanism of exercise-related injuries among them. The design involved a quantitative, non-experimental, descriptive design with a self-reported questionnaire as data collection technique. The demography of the recruits indicated a large majority of Blacks (83%) with very few Coloureds, Whites and Indians. The gender distribution was 46.9% (n=173) female and 53.1% male (n=196). Gender (P=2.351E-10) statistically contributed to injuries. Participants had significantly better socio-economic living standards than the average South African. The overall injury prevalence was reported as 25%, of which 19% were reported by female and 6% by male participants. Injury rates were the highest during weeks 3-4 of the BMT programme. Smoking, contraception use, amenorrhea and miscarriages prior to BMT were not found to be statistically significant injury risk factors. Being unfit was indicated as a statistically significant risk factor for injuries (P=0.0091). Having participated in sport (P=0.0296), and specifically in weight–bearing types of sport (P=0.0023), was found to have significantly reduced injuries. Females experienced higher stress levels which made a statistically significant (p=0.0034) contribution to injury prevalence. The most frequent sites of injury were the knee (40%), ankle (19%). lower leg (13%) and lower back (9%). Hydration and nutrition, as well as warm-up activities to prevent injuries were investigated. The biomechanical aspects that were reported, inter alia, indicated that the majority of the respondents had sustained injuries during activities which entailed running or falling, and most sustained muscle/tendon dislocation injuries during obstacle course training (P=0.0178). The questions regarding back-packs and external loads revealed that these did not have an impact on the prevalence of injuries. Environmental risk factor responses regarding the weather indicated that it was found very hot during training, but neither rain nor wind played a role in the injuries. The terrain mostly contributed to ligament injuries (P=0.0063) which occurred in the afternoon, especially in the middle of the training programme. The recommendations are aimed at establishing task teams to consider pre-enlistment fitness criteria, as well as remedial fitness training. Other recommendations deal with a balanced physical fitness programme, injury control programmes, and health promotion programmes. Attention is also paid to smoking, stress factors, communicable disease transmission; haemoglobin screening and the use of sun block.

[发布机构] University of the Free State