Parachute Ankle Brace Effectiveness Evaluation

摘要

OBJECTIVES: This report provides a comprehensive description of the Airborne School student population and injuries experienced during training, including evaluation of the effectiveness of an outside-the-boot parachute ankle brace (PAB) in preventing injury. METHODS: Databases maintained by the U.S. Army identified first time Airborne School students, attending October 1998 to December 2006. Inpatient and outpatient records were used to construct site-specific and summary injury measures. Poisson regression models determined the effect of PAB use on selected injury outcomes for men. RESULTS: Compared to men who didn't use the PAB, those who did had 40% lower risk of ankle injury, with no differences in risks of other injuries. Results persisted with alternate definitions of cohort or risk period. 78% of men finished School in three weeks; 86% finished successfully. Injury during the prior year was more common among men with training interruption(s) and non-graduates. Women had no increases in injuries associated with PAB use.