ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES:
In light of the social and economic impact caused by pain and the evidences of benefits provided by physical activity to individuals affected by this unpleasant sensation, this study aimed at evaluating the prevalence of selfreported musculoskeletal pain and at determining its association with the level of physical activity of males aged 40 years or above, dwellers of the urban zone of the city of Pelotas-RS.
METHODS:
This is an observational, cross-sectional and population-based study. The level of physical activity was measured by means of leisure and commuting sections of the International Physical Activities Questionnaire, being classified as insufficiently active those with scores below 150 minutes/week. To evaluate pain self-perception, a question of the Aging Male's Symptoms Scale was used. Those reporting moderate, severe and intense pain were classified as having pain.
RESULTS:
The prevalence of pain self-perception was 27.0% (CI95% 22.7 - 31.3) and was significantly associated to the level of physical activity (p<0.001). Males performing 150 minutes/ week or more of physical activity had 60% protection against pain report as compared to those not reaching this cutoff point, being that this result was maintained significant even after adjustment for confounding factors (p=0.02).
CONCLUSION:
This study has shown that reaching physical activity recommendations may be a protection against musculoskeletal pain perception among studied males.
Keywords:
Epidemiology; Males; Musculoskeletal pain; Pain; Physical activity
