Association between movement patterns and risk of musculoskeletal injuries in navy cadets: A cohort study.

Objective: To investigate the association of movement patterns evaluated by the Dynamic Movement Assessment (DMA) with the occurrence of musculoskeletal injuries in navy cadets.

Design: Cohort study.

Setting: Participants were filmed performing the six functional tests of the DMA (deep squat, step up, single-leg squat, hop, plank and side-plank tests).

Participants: 240 navy cadets.

Main Outcome Measurements: Depending on the number of certain movement patterns on the Dynamic Movement Assessment (DMA), participants were classified as high, moderate, medium or low risk of developing injuries. Predictive associations between injuries and risk classification were examined using logistic regression analysis.

Results: Considering sex, previous injuries and the type of secondary school as covariates, participants who were classified as high risk were not more likely to develop injuries. Non-military high school was an independent risk factor for any injuries (OR = 3.14, 95% CI [1.43,6.91]; OR = 4.57, 95% CI [1.92,10.83]), overuse injuries (OR = 2.58, 95% CI [1.05,6.30]; OR = 2.55, 95% CI [1.06, 6.14]) and acute injuries (OR = 4.88, 95% CI [1.19,19.99]), respectively. Previous musculoskeletal symptoms also increased the chance of AI (OR = 4.45, 95% CI [1.15,17.18]; OR = 5.91, 95% CI [1.13,30.88]).

Conclusions: Movement patterns evaluated by DMA are not associated with an increased risk of injuries. However, attendance of a non-military high school and previous musculoskeletal symptoms are associated with musculoskeletal injuries.