Comparison of injury during cadet basic training by gender
P. E. Bijur, M. Horodyski, W. Egerton, M. Kurzon, S. Lifrak and S. Friedman
Department of Pediatrics, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA. bijur@aecom.yu.edu
OBJECTIVES: To describe the rate and distribution of injuries during basic
training in male and female cadets and to assess the contribution of
pretraining conditioning and height to the male-female differential in
injuries. DESIGN: Cohort study. SETTING: The US Military Academy, West
Point, NY. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 558 cadets from the class of 1995 at
the US Military Academy. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The rate of injuries
resulting in 1 or more days excused from physical activities per 100 cadets
and the rate of injuries resulting in hospitalization of 1 night or longer
per 100 cadets. RESULTS: Women had 2.5 times the rate of injuries as men
and 3.9 times the rate of injuries resulting in hospitalization. Women had
significantly more stress fractures and stress reactions than men. The
median number of days excused from physical activities for women's injuries
was significantly higher than that from men's injuries. Pretraining
conditioning, measured by performance on a 2-mile (3.2-km) run, accounted
for approximately half the difference in rates of injuries between men and
women; differences in height among men and women did not account for
differences in injury rates. CONCLUSIONS: The women had a higher risk for
injury during military training than men. Increased pretraining
conditioning may substantially decrease the risk for injury.
