Participation habits, physical complaints and injuriesin a sample of Portuguese female artistic roller skaters

Abstract

Educators and health professionals need to gainknowledge of the special needs of artistic roller skatersif they seek effective training and preventing physicalcomplaints or injuries. In the absence of epidemiologicalstudies on artistic roller skaters, it is useful to characterizethe participants, their participation habits, and theoccurrence of physical complaints or injuries. A web-based survey was designed to collect epidemiologicalinformation on female artistic roller skaters. The self-report questionnaire included information about theparticipant, her participation habits, injury history, andphysical complaints in the past 12 months. A total of 143female artistic roller skaters were included in the study.Sixty-seven [46.9%] of the participants had 175 physicalcomplaints in the past 12 months, for an average of2.61 complaints per skater. The physical complaints mainlyaffected the lower limbs (53.1%), followed by the trunk(24.0%) and upper limbs (22.9%). The most affected siteswere the knee (16.6%), back (10.9%) and wrist (10.3%). Ourresults suggest that physical complaints are common inartistic roller skating. It becomes crucial to study the etiologyof physical complaints and/or injuries. Preventing physicalcomplaints and injuries is crucial for athletes’ well-being.Our study results may draw attention and help coaches andeducators implement adequate preventive measures.