TY - JOUR T1 - Concussion history is associated with increased lower-extremity injury incidence in Reserve Officers’ Training Corps cadets JF - BMJ Military Health JO - BMJ Mil Health DO - 10.1136/bmjmilitary-2020-001589 SP - bmjmilitary-2020-001589 AU - Katherine J Hunzinger AU - K N Radzak AU - K M Costantini AU - C B Swanik AU - T A Buckley Y1 - 2020/10/29 UR - http://militaryhealth.bmj.com/content/early/2020/10/28/bmjmilitary-2020-001589.abstract N2 - Introduction Concussions have been associated with an increased risk of lower-extremity musculoskeletal injury (LE-MSI) in athletes and US Army soldiers, creating an added economic, physical and social burden. Yet, there is a paucity of evidence on this relationship among Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) cadets, a group which engages in activities with high-injury risk and will subsequently commission as active duty officers. This study aimed to examine the association between concussions and LE-MSI in ROTC cadets.Methods 125 (83 were male) Army and Air Force ROTC cadets (19.8±2.0 years) from two large state universities’ Army and Air Force ROTC programmes participated in this study. Cadets completed a reliable injury history questionnaire to ascertain the following variables of interest: (1) any concussion history, (2) reported concussions, (3) undiagnosed concussions, and (4) potentially unrecognised concussion history and LE-MSI history (eg, ankle sprain, knee sprain or muscle strain). Data were analysed using a χ2 test for association and binary logistic regression to determine ORs.Results Cadets with any concussion history (n=42) had a significantly (p=0.035) higher association with LE-MSI (OR 2.47, 95% CI 1.05 to 5.83) than those without. Cadets who had a reported concussion (n=33) had a significantly (p=0.026) higher association with LE-MSI (OR 2.95, 95% CI 1.11 to 7.84) compared to cadets without.Conclusions ROTC cadets with a history of diagnosed concussion were more likely to have suffered an LE-MSI than cadets without a concussion history. ROTC cadre should be aware of this relationship and incorporate injury prevention protocols. ER -