Improving the Quality of Musculoskeletal Injury Research in Military Settings: Introducing the Reporting of...

Noncombat musculoskeletal injuries are the single greatest threat to medical readiness. They also impart a tremendous burden on the Military Health System, accounting for the most medical encounters of any kind, more than double the next most common cause, mental health disorders. This has mobilized efforts to better understand injury causes, risk factors, and methods to mitigate the onset and impact of injuries. However, lack of standardization has led to great variability in how injury, risk factors, and injury-related outcomes have been defined. The variability in the definition of these terms limits the comparisons that can be made. Ultimately, this variability impacts our ability to understand the generalizability and applicability of current research. It also limits the ability to conduct meta-analysis, where data from multiple studies is combined and analyzed in aggregate, improving the precision of current research, and answering additional questions that could not be addressed by the original individual studies alone. The recent conclusion of an international effort led by the Reporting of Musculoskeletal Injuries in the MILitary (ROMMIL) workgroup to reach consensus on the recommended minimum data elements that should be collected and reported when assessing injury risk in military populations aims to help close this gap. The value of injury-related research in military medicine has the potential to substantially improve with widespread adoption of the ROMMIL checklist. Scientists working in military settings should use this checklist when planning their studies and when reporting their findings. Funders and journal editors should encourage use of the ROMMIL common data elements checklist whenever applicable.