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MCL injuries most common in certain military collegiate sports
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A recently published study of a military collegiate population found that isolated medial collateral ligament injuries were most frequent in wrestling, judo, hockey and rugby.
Researchers performed a longitudinal cohort study of 128 cadets from the United States Military Academy who sustained isolated medial collateral ligament (MCL) sprains between 2005 and 2009. An independent orthopedic surgeon evaluated patient charts and radiographic studies to identify isolated MCL sprains necessitating time lost to sport. Incidence rates were calculated by sex, sport and level of competition, and incidence rate per 1,000 athlete-exposures (AEs) was also determined. Chi-square and Poisson regression analyses were used to examine the relationship between the variables of interest and the incidence of MCL sprains.
An incidence rate of 7.3 per 1,000 person-years was observed in this cohort. Among the 21,805 at-risk intramural athletes participating quarterly, 16 sustained isolated MCL injuries during 225,683 AEs, equating to an overall incidence rate of 0.07 per 1,000 AEs. Wrestling (0.57), judo (0.36), hockey (0.34) and rugby (men’s, 0.22; women’s, 0.23) had the highest incidence ratess per 1,000 AEs in intercollegiate athletics. The highest incidence rate ratios were seen in wrestling (13.41) and hockey (8.12). A median of 16 days (13.5 for Grade 1 MCL sprains, 29 for higher-grade injuries) were lost to injury.
Per 1,000 AEs, male athletes were determined to be at a greater risk for these MCL injuries than their female counterparts, with incidence rate ratios of 2.87 vs. 2.62, respectively.
Disclosure: The authors have no relevant financial disclosures.
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