Prevalence and Factors Associated with Pain and History of Musculoskeletal Injuries in Skateboarders.

ABSTRACT

Objective (a) To identify the prevalence of current musculoskeletal pain and injury in the last year and (b) to verify the association of the presence of current pain and the history of injury with demographic, sports, and health characteristics in skateboarders. Method A cross-sectional observational study was conducted with 64 skateboarders who answered a questionnaire addressing demographic, sports practice, and health characteristics. The Fisher exact test verified the association of these characteristics with the presence of current pain and with the report of injury in the last year. The chi-squared test verified whether there was a difference between the observed and expected distribution for the body segment reported with pain and history of injury, and with the type of injury. Results The prevalence of pain was of 82.8%, and the observed frequency was higher than expected ( p < 0.01) in the knee, the ankle, the lumbosacral region, and the foot. The presence of pain was associated with age ( p = 0.05) and with whether the patient had already undergone physical therapy treatment ( p < 0.01). The prevalence of injury in the last year was of 68.8%, and the frequency observed was higher than expected ( p < 0.01) in the knee, the ankle, the wrist, the hand, the foot, and the shoulder. Sprain and fracture showed a higher frequency than expected ( p < 0.01). The history of injury was associated with the use of protective equipment ( p = 0.01), having already undergone surgery ( p = 0.02), and physical therapy treatment ( p = 0.03). Conclusion The practice of skateboarding presents a high prevalence of pain and injuries in the last year. The findings may contribute to the planning of preventive strategies.