INJURY EPIDEMIOLOGY IN BEACH TENNIS: INCIDENCE AND RISK FACTORS.

Introduction: Due to the growing increase in beach tennis practice in Brazil and the lack of studies on the injuries that occur in this sport, it has become necessary to develop more research on the subject.

Objective: to identify risk and protection factors for injuries in beach tennis, in order to generate prevention strategies for musculoskeletal injuries.

Method: A cross-sectional epidemiological study, level 3 of evidence, was carried out through an electronic form with 698 Beach Tennis players, who answered questions about their relationship with the practice of the sport and occurrences of injuries. We researched the prevalence of injuries, their types, and their relation with personal physical characteristics and the practice of other sports.

Results: We found a positive relationship between injuries when associated with longer exposure time and the presence of a previous injury. We did not find differences regarding BMI, gender, and stretching and muscle strengthening performance.

Conclusion: the most frequent non-traumatic injuries were to the elbow and shoulder (tendonitis) and traumatic (sprain) injuries to the knee and ankle.