Musculoskeletal pain in undergraduate health students: prevalence and associated factors

Abstract

Objective: To assess the prevalence and factors associated with musculoskeletal pain in undergraduate health students. Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted with undergraduate students from a university in the south of Brazil between April and July 2017. The Brazilian version of the Standardized Nordic Questionnaire and a questionnaire for the characterization of students were used. Descriptive statistics, the chi-square test and Poisson regression were used for the analysis. Results: Participation of 792 undergraduate health students. The region of the vertebral column had a higher prevalence (74.9%) of musculoskeletal pain. The variables of female sex, age between 18 and 20 years, overweight, not having time for leisure, six or more daily hours of mobile phone use, having a clinical condition with medical diagnosis and attending the intermediate or final semesters of the course were associated with musculoskeletal pain. Conclusion: The high prevalence of musculoskeletal pain demonstrates the need for strategies aimed at preventing this aggravation still in the academic setting.