Young paramilitary troopers going weak at the knees

NEW DELHI - An increasing number of paramilitary troopers deployed on hilly terrain develop weak knees with around 70 percent of them requiring surgery.

Doctors at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) said they get nearly 25 cases of such patients every month from the Border Security Force (BSF), the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF).

“Most of the patients are from Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand and northeastern states, Ravi Mittal, a senior orthopaedic doctor at AIIMS, told IANS.

He said in the last few years, he has treated several thousands of paramilitary troopers in the age group of 25-35.

“In 70 percent of the cases, these paramilitary force personnel undergo surgery,” Mittal added.

“The problems range from ruptures in one tissue to four tissues. The ligament injury is quite nasty and unless they are treated, people can become less productive,” said the doctor.

He said that while some of them get fit within a week, some others take nearly six months to recuperate.

When asked about the reason behind such large numbers of knee injuries, he said majority of these are injuries due to a fall or during rigorous training.

The doctors said that patients from paramilitary units of Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan also come for treatment.