Prevalence and incidence of low back pain between dancers of the School of Dance at the Federal University of Bahia

Abstract

The prevalence of low back pain (LBP) in the general population has been studied by several authors, but these studies are rarely found among the arts or sports. The objective of this study was to establish evidence of the LBP frequency among dancers from the School of Dance of the Federal University of Bahia (UFBA). The methodology employed was a prospective transversal study to determine current prevalence and cohort study to establish the incidence of LBP. In order to establish prevalence, four consecutive samples were analyzed, and for the study of the incidence of LBP, a cohort of n=27 students were followed for three years. The results according to an intervalar estimative and with 95% of confiance demonstrates a maximum prevalence of 47%. The incidence of LBP in three years was 40.7%, 36.8%, and 30.4% respectively. Prevalence of LBP in dancers seems to be no greater than that of the general population. The rates incidence indicate a light/moderate endemic frequency of LBP in the studied population.