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Traumatic Combat Injuries

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Musculoskeletal Injuries in the Military

Abstract

At present, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have produced approximately 50,000 wounded American personnel with the majority of casualties having one or more injuries to the musculoskeletal system. It is important to understand the combat-related context in which modern war wounds occur, as well as the types of injuries and wounding patterns that have been encountered. In contrast to previous wars, there is a large amount of published data on Iraq and Afghanistan combat casualties that engenders an epidemiological appreciation for the extent of combat musculoskeletal trauma. Estimates of the incidence of battle-related musculoskeletal wounds for the armed forces as a whole are in the range of 3 per 1000 deployed personnel per year, with this figure about 10 times higher for those with extensive combat exposure. Nearly 75–80 % of all musculoskeletal casualties occur as a result of explosive blast, resulting in elevations in the rate of major traumatic amputations, pelvic injuries, and spinal wounds. Fractures represent 40 % of all injuries, with those involving the tibia/fibula and foot found to be most frequent. Although the case fatality rate for the present conflicts is the lowest in military medical history, approximately 35 % of personnel with war wounds will be unable to remain on active duty. Many of these individuals are of young age and have associated mental health conditions and/or musculoskeletal combat wounds that necessitate ongoing treatment in the veterans affairs system or the civilian sector.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 75 Francis St, 02115, Boston, MA, USA

    Andrew J. Schoenfeld MD

  2. Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, William Beaumont Army Medical Center, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, 5005 N. Piedras Street, 79920, El Paso, TX, USA

    Colonel Philip J. Belmont MD

Authors
  1. Andrew J. Schoenfeld MD
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  2. Colonel Philip J. Belmont MD
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Correspondence to Philip J. Belmont MD .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Keller Army Hospital, West Point, New York, USA

    Kenneth L. Cameron

  2. Keller Army Hospital, West Point, New York, USA

    Brett D. Owens

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Schoenfeld, A., Belmont, P. (2016). Traumatic Combat Injuries. In: Cameron, K., Owens, B. (eds) Musculoskeletal Injuries in the Military. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-2984-9_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-2984-9_2

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4939-2983-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4939-2984-9

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