Participation habits, physical complaints and injuries in a sample of Portuguese female artistic roller skaters

Educators and health professionals need to gain knowledge of the special needs of artistic roller skaters if they seek effective training and preventing physical complaints or injuries. In the absence of epidemiological studies on artistic roller skaters, it is useful to characterize the participants, their participation habits, and the occurrence of physical complaints or injuries. A web-based survey was designed to collect epidemiological information on female artistic roller skaters. The self-report questionnaire included information about the participant, her participation habits, injury history, and physical complaints in the past 12 months. A total of 143 female artistic roller skaters were included in the study. Sixty-seven [46.9%] of the participants had 175 physical complaints in the past 12 months, for an average of 2.61 complaints per skater. The physical complaints mainly affected the lower limbs (53.1%), followed by the trunk (24.0%) and upper limbs (22.9%). The most affected sites were the knee (16.6%), back (10.9%) and wrist (10.3%). Our results suggest that physical complaints are common in artistic roller skating. It becomes crucial to study the etiology of physical complaints and/or injuries. Preventing physical complaints and injuries is crucial for athletes’ well-being. Our study results may draw attention and help coaches and educators implement adequate preventive measures.