Juman l, schneider e, koehlmoos t

Abstract accepted at the 2024 Association of Military Surgeons of the United States

The U.S. military consists of approximately 1.4 million active-duty personnel and is responsible for providing a combat-ready force to protect the nation. Deployment limiting medical conditions (DLMCs) affect up to 7% of the military’s total force. Musculoskeletal injuries (MSKIs) degrade the physical fitness of individual service members through lost duty time & reduced training. In 2018, MSKIs accounted for >2 million outpatient medical encounters among military service members & are the leading reason for lost training time among Army personnel. It has been estimated that MSKIs result in >25 million limited duty days annually across all the Services.

This research makes a first attempt at identifying a standardized set of common data elements for musculoskeletal injuries across the DoD. This list of common data elements will enhance the capabilities of the MHS to study MSKIs in hopes of empowering the research community to drive meaningful understandings of the epidemiology of MSKIs in the MHS.