Descriptive Profile of Upper Limb Injuries in a Specialized Police Intervention Unit: A Retrospective Study

Area of Science:

• Occupational Health
• Sports Medicine
• Forensic Science

Background:

• Police work, especially in tactical units, involves high physical demands and injury risks.
• Musculoskeletal injuries are prevalent in law enforcement, often leading to work incapacity.
• Limited data exists on upper limb injuries within specialized police intervention units.

Purpose of the Study:

• To characterize upper limb injuries in a Portuguese police intervention unit.
• To analyze the association between injury type, surgical treatment, and work incapacity duration.
• To identify factors influencing recovery time for duty-related upper limb injuries.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective observational study of upper limb injuries from 2021-2025.
• Data collected from official injury registry of a Portuguese Public Security Police Intervention Corps unit.
• Statistical analyses included Welch's t-test, Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney test, and Kendall's τb correlation.

Main Results:

• 54 injury events analyzed; 50% resulted in temporary total work incapacity.
• Shoulder (27.8%), fingers (22.2%), and hand (16.7%) were most affected.
• Surgical treatment (14.8%) correlated with longer incapacity (median 90 days); arm/shoulder injuries had longest recovery.

Conclusions:

• Upper limb injuries significantly impact work capacity in specialized police units.
• Surgical intervention and proximal injuries (shoulder/arm) necessitate longer rehabilitation periods.
• Findings underscore the need for targeted prevention and rehabilitation strategies for tactical law enforcement personnel.