Knee pathology among seafarers: a review of 299 patients

A retrospective study was carried out on 1,250 patients who were referred to the orthopaedic clinic of the Dreadnought Unit during 1989 and 1990. These included 299 actively serving or retired seafarers (24%) with knee pathology, who form the basis of this study. Fifty-one per cent of these patients had a diagnosis of knee osteoarthritis, with a predominance of medial compartment degenerative change (34%). Genu varus or bow legs was present in 31% of seafarers studied. Osteoarthritis of the knee, particularly genu varus, among seafarers may result from acute minor trauma to the medial compartment upon which is superimposed a lifetime of working and living in the vertical environment of a moving ship. It is proposed that improvement in ship design, such as the installation of a two lift system, together with sound working practices would be effective in reducing the incidence of osteoarthritis of the knee among seafarers.