The Relationship of snowmobile year, track length, and riding terrain to the occurrence of musculosketetal symptoms in recreational snowmobile drivers

摘要

The purpose of this retrospective study was to examine the occurrence of musculoskeletal symptoms in recreational snowmobile drivers and relate them to the manufacture year of the snowmobile, the length of the track, and/or the riding terrain. Participants included 186 males and 57 females (n=243), aged 18 years and older, and were all snowmobile drivers. Subjects were asked to complete either an online survey or a paper survey to gather information about the year of snowmobile they drove, the track length of that snowmobile, the typical riding terrain they drove on, and any musculoskeletal symptoms they developed from driving snowmobile. Each variable (snowmobile year, track length, and riding terrain) was compared to the musculoskeletal symptoms reported to find the percentage of each symptom (soreness in the neck and shoulders, arms, lower back, legs, and no soreness reported) reported in each category. In all three categories (snowmobile year, track length, and riding terrain) musculoskeletal symptoms in the neck and shoulder (45%) regions were most commonly reported followed by, symptoms of the lower back (33%) and drivers reporting to have multiple symptoms (33%) (those who reported more than one symptom).