Correlação entre fatores de risco e prevalência de lesões osteomioarticulares em cheerleaders do estado de Minas Gerais

Abstract

Background: Cheerleading is an independent sport, that combines specific movements, such as lifting and throwing, acrobatics, and human pyramids. The practitioners are divided into the base and flyer positions and competing in various categories and levels of difficulty. Due to its complexity, cheerleading requires agility, strength, power, flexibility, and muscular endurance. This practice started in the United States of America, and its popularity spread to many countries, arriving in Brazil in 2008. The cheerleading growth at the national level exposed the risk of injuries and the necessity to develop studies to evaluate sociodemographic, biomechanical variables, the prevalence of injuries, musculoskeletal pain, and associated injury risk factors. Objectives: Investigate the association of possible risk factors for the occurrence of musculoskeletal injuries in cheerleaders, characterize them in terms of information about the practice of cheerleading and analyze the prevalence of musculoskeletal injuries and pain levels. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study approved by the Research Ethics Committee. The sample included 112 cheerleaders belonging to teams in Minas Gerais (MG) aged over 18 years. Initially, the research team contacted some coaches and team leaders to explain the study. Afterward, a form prepared by the researchers was passed on and duly analyzed. The form contained identification questions (email, name, date of birth and sex), information regarding the practice of cheerleading (practice time, belonging team, city where it practices, position, frequency of training and participation in championships), history of injuries (presence and number of musculoskeletal injuries, type of injury and when it occurred), the practice of other sports and physical exercises (type, frequency and reason) and, finally, subjective perception of pain (Visual Analogue Scale [level] and place). Statistical analysis was performed using the Jamovi software. For correlation, the cheerleaders were separated by the history of injuries (yes or no), performing association tests, comparison between groups, and effect size. Results: The sample had a mean age of 21.60±2.60 years, composed mostly of female practitioners, with experience over 12 months in cheerleading, frequency of practice over 3 times a week, belonging to University teams, who perform other sports or physical exercises that have already competed. 53.98% of cheerleaders have already been injured due to practice, with a total of 129 self-reported injuries, the most injured site was the lower limbs and as a type, muscle stretch, in relation to pain, 66.96% of cheerleaders reported pain. Of the variables analyzed, only the time of practice showed a correlation with a history of injuries. Conclusion: It is observed that there is a relatively high prevalence of injuries and pain in MG cheerleaders, and that the time of practice can be an important predictor of injuries in them, however there is need for further research to establish reliable parameters and mainly related to physical variables.