Occurrence of injury and musculoskeletal symptoms in circus arts practitioners
Abstract
The practice of circus arts is compared by many authors to the practice of high performance sports. However, unlike the sports field, studies on injuries related to the practice of circus arts are scarce. The aim of this study was to identify the rates of musculoskeletal symptoms and rates of withdrawal from practice due to musculoskeletal problems in circus practitioners in the city of Rio de Janeiro. Forty-six students of circus arts participated in this study. The Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire was used to determine the rates of musculoskeletal symptoms in the last year and last week and the rates of withdrawal from practice due to musculoskeletal problems in the last year. All individuals participating in this study had some musculoskeletal symptom in the last year, although only approximately 2/3 were away from the practice in the same period. Shoulder and lower back were the regions most affected by musculoskeletal symptoms, both in the last year and in the last week, and those that most caused withdrawal from the practice during the last year. There is no difference between the sexes for the occurrences analyzed, although there are differences in the anatomical regions most affected. Our study shows the importance of monitoring musculoskeletal symptoms in practitioners of circus arts, which, for all conditions analyzed, is more frequent than withdrawing from practice. In addition, it was possible to identify the shoulder and lower back as anatomical regions that deserve special attention in prevention programs related to this practice.
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