Prevalência de lesões musculoesqueléticas em cadetes do curso de formação de oficiais da Polícia Militar do Estado do Maranhão

Abstract

The Military Police is an institution characterized by a uniformed body and an active presence within communities, playing a fundamental role in maintaining public order and safeguarding society. To perform their duties with excellence, officers are subjected to high physical and mental demands from the outset of their training, making them susceptible to a range of issues, including musculoskeletal injuries. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of musculoskeletal injuries among cadets enrolled in the Officer Training Course of the Military Police of the State of Maranhão. This is an observational, cross-sectional study with a quantitative approach, conducted with 51 cadets enrolled from the 1st to the 4th year of the training course. Data collection was carried out using two instruments: a sociodemographic questionnaire and the Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (NMQ), following approval by the Research Ethics Committee (approval no. 7.314.28807). To analyze the data, the prevalence of injuries was calculated based on the number of cases relative to the total population. Data were organized using Microsoft Excel and analyzed with R software (version 4.4.0), employing measures of central tendency and dispersion. To assess statistical associations, Chi-square and Fisher’s exact tests were applied, with a significance level set at 5%. These analyses enabled the identification of correlations between categorical variables and the occurrence of injuries. The results revealed a prevalence of 18.32% (n = 35) of musculoskeletal injuries among cadets, with medial tibial stress syndrome being the most prevalent condition (61.1%, n = 22). The most affected regions were the knees and ankles/feet (37.3%, n = 19), followed by the lower back (33.3%, n = 17). Physical overload was identified as the primary etiological factor (60.0%, n = 24), with most injuries (82.8%, n = 29) occurring during the first year of training. Statistically significant associations were found between injuries and physical overload (p = 0.021), year of training (p = 0.008), and lack of pre-exercise warm-up (p = 0.043). In contrast, the variable sex (p = 0.185) showed no relevant correlation, and stretching (p = 0.057) showed only a trend toward association. It is concluded that the high physical demands imposed during training, particularly in the initial phase, increase the risk of musculoskeletal injuries among cadets. Therefore, the implementation of preventive strategies is recommended, with an emphasis on physiotherapeutic interventions to promote health and preserve the performance of future officers.