Cardiorespiratory fitness is a risk factor for lower-limb and back injury in law enforcement officers commencing their basic training: A prospective cohort study

Authors

Myles C. Murphy, Edith Cowan UniversityFollow
Nicole Merrick, Edith Cowan UniversityFollow
Andrea B. Mosler
Garth Allen
Paola Chivers, Edith Cowan UniversityFollow
Nicolas H. Hart, Edith Cowan UniversityFollow

Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Title

Research in Sports Medicine

Publisher

Taylor & Francis

School

School of Medical and Health Sciences / Nutrition and Health Innovation Research Institute / Exercise Medicine Research Institute

RAS ID

47200

Funders

Edith Cowan University Nutrition and Health Innovation Research Institute [G1006008] / Western Australian Police Force [G1006008] / Western Australian Defence Science Centre on behalf of the Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation [G1005141]

Comments

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in RESEARCH IN SPORTS MEDICINE on 25/10/2023, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/15438627.2022.2139618.

Murphy, M. C., Merrick, N., Mosler, A. B., Allen, G., Chivers, P., & Hart, N. H. (2022). Cardiorespiratory fitness is a risk factor for lower-limb and back injury in law enforcement officers commencing their basic training: A prospective cohort study. Research in Sports Medicine. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/15438627.2022.2139618

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.

DOI

10.1080/15438627.2022.2139618