OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to assess the incidence, kind, etiology and anatomical site of musculoskeletal injuries of athletes of the Brazilian Women's Speed Canoeing Team for the 2006 season. METHODOLOGY: All eight athletes of the main team participated on the study. Their mean age was 19.50 years (± 3.78); mean body mass of 58.67 kg (± 5.44) and mean height of 162.00 cm (± 4.00). RESULTS: After the analysis of data, a rate of 5.06 injuries/ athlete/ 1000 hours of sports practice was found. We also found that 87.50% of the athletes experienced injuries, totaling 82.05% of recurrences. -The most common injuries seen were: muscle contraction (48.72%) and tendonitis (23.08%). The trunk (56.41%), particularly the thoracic and thoracolumbar region, and the UULL (41.03%), particularly the shoulder, were the areas that were shown to be most frequently affected. CONCLUSION: As a result of the sportive gesture, the etiology of injuries was non-traumatic especially due to overload of anatomical structures. We believe that with the characterization of injuries in this sport activity, it will be possible for sportive physical therapy to develop a preventive work focused to the specific injuries found with the purpose of reducing their incidence and recurrence rates.
Epidemiology; Trauma in athletes; Women
