The Relationship Between Sport Injury Anxiety and Musculoskeletal Discomfort in Folk Dancers: An Analysis of Body Parts

Purpose: Anxiety and musculoskeletal discomfort can affect dancers separately both physically and psychologically throughout their dance life. Knowing the relationship between level of anxiety and musculoskeletal discomfort in Turkish dancers could be beneficial for the development of approaches to prevent injuries that occur different body parts. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between sport injury anxiety and musculoskeletal discomfort in folk dancers and to analyze body parts with this point of view. Material and Methods: Fifty-four folk dancers whose mean age was 22.0 years participated the study (37 males, 17 females). Sport injury anxiety was assessed using the Sports Injury Anxiety Scale while the frequency and severity of musculoskeletal discomfort were assessed with the Cornell Musculoskeletal Discomfort Questionnaire. The correlation coefficients were calculated using Spearman test. Results: Overall musculoskeletal discomfort positively and moderately correlated with total sport injury anxiety in folk dancers (p=0.001, r=0.442). On the other hand, sport injury anxiety was significantly related to musculoskeletal discomfort in neck, both legs and left foot alone when body part analyzed (p