Injuries in Naval Special Warfare Sea, Air, and Land Personnel: Epidemiology and Surgical Management

Several epidemiologic studies are described in the literature on all different types of sporting activities as well as military personnel. No studies to our knowledge have investigated the injury patterns and treatment of United States Naval Special Warfare personnel. The purpose of this study is to present the injuries of the Naval Special Warfare community that presented to the combined orthopedic/human functional performance clinic during a 3-year period, as well as the surgical management of these injuries. Medical records generated during a 3-year period yielded diagnoses that were stratified according to body part and location. The surgical procedures were divided by body part location and were correlated to the initial diagnosis. A calculation was then made based on the percent of patients who eventually progressed on to surgical intervention. Injuries were most frequent to the back/neck, knee, and shoulder in order of decreasing frequency. Surgical management was highest for the knee, followed by the shoulder and foot/ankle. A primary diagnosis involving the knee led to surgery 33% of the time. Similarly, a primary shoulder diagnosis involving the shoulder progressed to surgery 32% and with the foot/ankle 18% of the time. The varied injury and surgical management patterns suggest that the Naval Special Warfare community is composed of truly “unique” athletes, not easily categorized into any previously described sporting activities.