Sports Injuries among Deployed US Service Members between October 2001 and December 2018

Sports injuries are an important non-battle cause of attrition and morbidity among deployed US service members (SMs). Injuries secondary to sport may cause physical disability and prolonged periods of limited duty days. Our objective was to provide a descriptive analysis of sports injuries sustained by US SMs which may assist in the preventive strategies and thereby decrease their burden on the deployed force.

Using the Department of Defense Trauma Registry's (DoDTR) data between October 2001 and December 2018, a retrospective cross-sectional analysis was conducted. We reported summary statistics of injury characteristics and care provided, stratified by geographic location.

We found 1,578 causalities with sport injuries (4.9% of DoDTR); 1,081 (68.5%) in Iraq and Syria and 497 (31.5%) in Afghanistan. Most casualties had mild injuries (injury severity score: 1-9; n=1,514; 95.9%) and most sustained injuries in the lower extremities (n=741; 47%) followed by upper extremities (n=430; 27.2%). Most injuries were caused by a striking force (n=827; 52.4%) followed by overexertion (n=444; 28.2%), and 512 casualties (32.4%) had a fall incident. About 833 casualties (52.8%) received at least one surgery, and 931 casualties (59%) were hospitalized for two days or more. One casualty died of wound (0.1%).

Sports injuries continue to be an important source of morbidity and attrition and require disproportional medical attention, relative to their mild severity, representing a significant burden to the deployed health care system and impact combat readiness. Further research addressing the prevention of sports injury among deployed US SMs is needed.