LOW BACK AND NECK PAIN IN PHYSICAL EDUCATION STUDENTS: PREVALENCE AND ASSOCIATED FACTORS

ABSTRACT Objective: To analyze the prevalence of low back and neck pain in Physical Education (PE) students at the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS) and the associated behavioral and postural factors. Methods: The study design is observational with descriptive analytics. Healthy PE students of both sexes participated in the study and answered the Back Pain and Body Postural Evaluation Instrument for Adults. Data were analyzed using SPSS software (21.0) using descriptive statistics, calculating the prevalence ratios and 95% confidence intervals. The significance level adopted was 0.05. Results: Ninety-two PE students answered the questionnaire, 45 of whom were females (48.9%) and 47 of whom were males (51.1%). The prevalence of low back pain was 76.1% and of neck pain was 58.7%. There was no association with most of the behavioral and postural factors assessed. Conclusions: The prevalence of low back and neck pain in PE students at UFRGS is high and this pain is not associated with the factors investigated. Level of Evidence II: Prospective study of less quality.