Correlation between physical activity, fitness, and musculoskeletal injuries in police officers

Abstract

In order to explore the correlation between physical activity, fitness, and injury among police officers, a cross section of active-duty members of the Minneapolis Police Department were surveyed about their level of fitness, physical activity, and prevalence of injury and chronic pain within the past year. In the study, officers with the highest self-reported fitness levels were less likely to experience sprains (OR 0.27, 95% CI 0.08-0.88), back pain (OR 0.48, 95% CI 0.09-0.88), and chronic pain (OR 0.21, 95% CI 0.06-0.73) than those who considered themselves less fit. Officers who were the most physically active were about a third as likely to report back pain (OR 0.37, 95% CI 0.10-0.73) and less than half as likely to report chronic pain (OR 0.42, 95% CI 0.19-0.91) as those who engaged in less activity. And officers with a BMI greater than 35 were 3 times more likely to report back pain (OR 3.36, 95% CI 1.17-9.66) than those whose BMI fell in the normal range (18-25). Thus, officers who engage in higher levels of physical activity and are more physically fit have a lower prevalence of musculoskeletal injuries and chronic pain.