Are We Able to Determine Differences in Outcomes Between Male and Female Service Members Undergoing Hip Arthroscopy: A Systematic Scoping Review — MHSRS 2021
Greenlee T, Wright A, Dickens J, Rhon D
Abstract submitted to Military Health System Research Symposium 2021.
Research has shown that females in the military are at increased risk (as much as 3x greater) to sustain lower extremity musculoskeletal injuries than their male counterparts. For instance, females in Army basic training have 2.2 times the incidence of lower extremity overuse injuries as males. The hip is a commonly injured joint in the lower extremity, most often by stress fractures, and particularly problematic amongst female military members. Surgical treatment of non-acute hip pain in young athletes is becoming a mainstream intervention, with an 18-fold increase from 1999 to 2009 in the United States. In the Military Health System (MHS), hip arthroscopy is rising at similar rates. Females in other settings are considered to have worse outcomes following surgical interventions for some of these injuries, such as hip arthroscopy for femoroacetabular impingement or labral repair; however, the data on the influence of female sex on outcomes after hip arthroscopy are conflicting. Females, in general, are poorly represented in exercise and sports medicine research. It is unknown whether the current body of research has been designed to reveal differences related to sex and hip arthroscopy in the military. The recent shift within the last decade to open up combat military occupations to individuals of both sexes elevates the importance of understanding sex-specific outcomes in this setting. Females make up approximately 15% of all military service members, and 10% of service members that deploy. This has led to symposiums, task forces, and calls for a greater research focus on the issue of injuries in female military service members. These calls align strongly with a push to improve research on sex disparity in general, and specifically in female athletes which is greatly lacking.