Unmasking the divide: Musculoskeletal injury and physical fitness disparities among military and emergency responders

Abstract:Introduction: Musculoskeletal injuries (MSKi) are a burden on military, first responder, and health care personnel. Military and emergency services populations are often grouped together in research, but direct comparison of physical fitness or injuries of these groups has not been conducted for females. Moreover, interactions among parity status, occupation, and injury history with respect to physical fitness have not been explored. Methods: Fifty-seven female firefighters, paramedics, law enforcement officers, or health care providers (non-military [NM]) and 90 female Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members completed testing for flexibility (sit and reach), muscular power (standing long jump and medicine ball throw), muscular strength (back squat and bench press), muscular endurance (Biering-Sorenson test, single-leg wall sit, and push-ups), and aerobic capacity (graded treadmill maximal oxygen uptake test). Results: Likelihood ratios indicated the CAF group had more injuries involving the back, hip, foot, and lumbopelvic hip complex, whereas the NM group had more thumb injuries. One-, two-, and three-way analysis of variance identified multiple interactions among MSKi, occupation (military vs. NM), and parity status with respect to physical fitness, with the NM group performing better on multiple physical test components. Discussion: Physical fitness disparities and differences in body regions injured suggest that CAF and NM populations are less comparable than traditionally thought. Moreover, parity status appears to play a role in physical fitness for individuals employed in these occupations. Initiatives and research to support females in arduous careers should consider parity status and injury history while differentiating between military and NM populations.