Posture change, body pain and injuries in Brazilian national team’s field hockey athletes

Abstract

This descriptive study aimed to analyze: the relation between postural changes, body pain, time of practice and injuries suffered by male and female Brazilian National Team’s Field Hockey athletes. Sixteen female athletes and fourteen male from the Field Hockey Brazilian National Team participated in the study. A questionnaire and a postural evaluation protocol (PSU) were used. Descriptive statistics and Spearman correlation were used with p≤0,05. Higher frequency of injuries in the female team: low-back (8/39), wrist and hand (7/39); for the male team: knee (7/26) and shoulder (5/6). The female team showed posture changes: RCP (1/12) and RAQ (2/12); the male team: RCDL (3/12) and RAQ (4/12). No athlete was below the index recommended for a good posture (ICP). In general the athletes demonstrated body pain in the low-back (8/41), leg (9/41) and thigh (12/41). Among the variable studied, it appears that body pain derived from physical activity can be explaining the posture change.