Factors predisposing Army conscripts to knee exertion injuries incurred in a physical training program.

Factors causing predisposition to knee exertion injuries were sought by means of a questionnaire and detailed quantitative physical measurements in 62 healthy Finnish Army conscripts. The subjects consisted of two groups of 18- to 26-year-old conscripts; Group A comprised 34 subjects without knee exertion injuries and Group B, 28 subjects who experienced knee exertion injuries during the first eight weeks of military service. In Group B the extensor mechanism was the most common source of symptoms. The factors found in Group B that differed significantly from those in Group A included increased height (p less than 0.05), increased leg length inequality (LLI) (p less than 0.01), increased passive mediolateral patellar range of motion (PMLPM) (p less than 0.01), and increased knee laxity sum index (LSI) (p less than 0.05).