ABSTRACT
The current article analyses the activity of raftsmen in the capture expedition in the urban beach of Ponta Negra, Natal-RN-Brazil emphasizing the prevalence of pain/discomfort.
2 MATERIALS AND METHOD
Work Ergonomic Analysis-WEA was used as a reference methodology (Guèrin et al, 2001; Vidal, 2003). In order to perform the modelling, observational and interactional methods were used and also specific protocols. The observational methods include systematic open observational techniques and simulations and also the use of auxiliary resources to record and further analysis, such as photographic and video cameras. The methods and interactional techniques used were the following; social and economical questionnaire, conversational actions, spontaneous and provoked verbalizations, self-confrontations and workshops (collective analysis). The diagram of painful areas was applied (Corllet et al, 1980) and the Nordic Questionnaire for the analysis of musculoskeletal symptoms (Kourinka, 1986) in search of report of pain from the raftsmen. Twenty-one raftsmen participated in the research (50% of the population). For the statistic analysis of data it was used Microsoft Office Excel 2007 and the software R(version 2.11.1).
