151. Cardiorespiratory fitness is a risk factor for lower-limb and back injury in law enforcement officers commencing their basic training: a prospective cohort study.
- Author
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Murphy, Myles C., Merrick, Nicole, Mosler, Andrea B., Allen, Garth, Chivers, Paola, and Hart, Nicolas H.
- Subjects
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CARDIOPULMONARY fitness , *RISK assessment , *WOUNDS & injuries , *T-test (Statistics) , *RESEARCH funding , *FUNCTIONAL assessment , *MULTIPLE regression analysis , *BACK injuries , *FUNCTIONAL status , *RETROSPECTIVE studies , *DESCRIPTIVE statistics , *ODDS ratio , *PHYSICAL fitness , *POLICE , *EXERCISE tests , *BODY movement , *COMPARATIVE studies , *CONFIDENCE intervals , *DATA analysis software , *EPIDEMIOLOGY , *LEG injuries , *DISEASE incidence , *PROPORTIONAL hazards models - Abstract
We aimed to report the epidemiology of lower-limb and lumbosacral injuries in Police Force recruits. We performed a cohort study of Police Force recruits undergoing a six-month training program with prospective injury data collected between 2018 and 2021. Cardiorespiratory fitness was quantified by the beep-test and police-specific-functional-capacity was quantified using a specifically designed physical performance evaluation (PPE) tool. Injury frequency and prevalence were reported. Fifteen percent (n = 180) of study Police Force recruits (n = 1,181) sustained a lower-limb or lumbosacral injury. The six-month training program significantly improved cardiorespiratory fitness (p < 0.001) and functional capacity (p < 0.001). Increased cardiorespiratory fitness at baseline decreased injury risk (OR = 0.8, 95%CI: 0.66–0.97, p = 0.019). Injury rates decreased over time and females were injured significantly earlier than males (HR = 0.70, 95%CI: 0.52 to 0.95, p = 0.021). Interventions that can pre-condition Police Force recruits prior to the commencement of their basic physical training may reduce the number of lower-limb and lumbosacral injuries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
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