ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES:
Low back pain is one of the most common musculoskeletal symptoms in industrialized societies, according to the World Health Organization. This study aimed at investigating the prevalence of low back pain among bodybuilding professors of fitness centers of the city of Rio de Janeiro and at observing correlations between age, working time, working hours and low back pain intensity.
METHODS:
The adapted questionnaire of the Quebec Pain Disability Scale was applied to 50 physical education professors of both genders (age = 31.86±6.86 years) working with bodybuilding in fitness centers, with minimum weekly working hours of 12h, and at least three years acting in the area. This was a survey-type descriptive cross-sectional study.
RESULTS:
From 50 interviewed professors, 62% have stated not feeling any type of lumbar discomfort, while just 38% have stated feeling some type of pain. From these, 20% have stated feeling daily pain, 6% weekly and 12% have reported monthly pain. About pain intensity in its worst moment, 14% have stated it is mild, 20% moderate and just 6% have reported severe pain. There has been positive and significant correlation (p<0.05) between age and working time and between working time and low back pain intensity.
CONCLUSION:
Low back pain prevalence was not high among interviewed professionals. Results show that older individuals working for a longer time are those with more severe low back pain.
Keywords:
Age; Low back pain; Prevalence; Professor; Work