Self-reported health, physical activity and prevalence of complaints in elite cross-country skiers and matched controls |
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Authors: | Alricsson M Werner S |
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Institution: | Section of Sports Medicine, Department of Surgical Sciences, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden. marie.alricsson@telia.com |
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Abstract: | AIM: The purpose of this study was to compare physical health, physical activity and location for possible symptoms in high school students with cross-country skiers of the same age from ski high schools. Another aim was to study back pain with regards to influence on skiing. METHODS: The subjects studied were: 92% (n=120) of all Swedish cross-country skiers at ski high schools and 68% (n=993) of regular high school students from the North part of Sweden answered a reliable questionnaire (r=1) with regards to health, physical activity and location of possible symptoms/injuries during the last 3 months. Furthermore, the skiers answered questions on possible ski related back pain. RESULTS: All skiers were active also in other sports compared with 26% of the controls and at considerably higher levels of physical effort than the controls; 92% of the skiers and 76% of the controls described themselves as healthy, meaning 'very good' or 'good' (P=0.0001); 55% of the skiers and 64% of the controls reported recent symptoms (P=0.06); 47% of the skiers reported previous or present complaints of back pain, mainly low back pain, which could be relieved by changing body position from a flexed to a more extended one while skiing, and 77% reported their back pain to disappear during rest. CONCLUSIONS: These results show the need for encouraging regular high school students to participate in sport. It also shows the importance of introducing preventative strategies regarding back pain to long-distance cross-country skiers, who are exposed to a prolonged flexed position of their back. |
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