Abstract

Objective: To determine the frequency and common area of musculoskeletal discomfort among table tennis players and the association between participation limitation and level of musculoskeletal pain/discomfort.
Methodology: This cross-sectional survey included 148 table tennis players and was conducted from August 2018 to January 2019. Regular or professional players aged 18-45 years were included while beginners, injured persons due to cause other than table tennis and people with congenital abnormalities were excluded from the study. Nordic musculoskeletal questionnaire, Numeric Pain Rating Scale and a self-structured questionnaire were used for data collection from sports clubs, academies and universities of twin cities of Islamabad, Pakistan. Data were analyzed using SPSS 21.
Results: Majority (82.4%) of the participants experienced mild to severe musculoskeletal pain. Spine had the highest frequency of discomfort (39.2%), followed by upper limb (31.4%) and lower limb (27.7%). No association was found between musculoskeletal pain/discomfort and participation limitation.
Conclusion: Musculoskeletal discomfort was prominent among more than three fourth of the participants. Lower back and shoulder were the most prevalent areas of discomfort. Majority of the participants did not miss the game due to pain and no association was found between musculoskeletal discomfort and participation limitation.

Key words: Lower limb, musculoskeletal pain, shoulder, tennis.