OBJECTIVES: The aim of our research was to investigate the most common painful joint regions of hobby athletes doing conditioning training and the frequency of visiting a doctor.

METHODS: Type of research is quantitative, cross-sectional. Sample number was 150 people (N=150). Type of selection is targeted, expert sampling. Data were collected using Nordic standardized questionnaires, supplemented with self-edited questionnaire.

RESULTS: 87% (n=131 people) of the subjects examined reported that they suffered from a pain, which emerged solely because of conditioning gym training in the past year. They have been doing sports for an average of 4 years, and the number of their training sessions are typically 3.2 times a week. The average length of their training is 1 hour and 42 minutes, their average warm-up time is 4.8 minutes, and their stretching time is 3.8 minutes. The most common painful regions among the conditioning training practitioners are the shoulder (48.1%) and low-back (39.7%), but there is no region within the joints of subjects we studied, which shows a result below 20% pain presence. With ongoing complaints, medical visits are most often due to low-back (21.45%) and knee pain (18.9%). There is a significant relationship between the frequency of medical visits and the presence of pain (p=0.039). In case of no-load-bearing joints, the frequency of medical visits is significantly lower (p=0.041).

CONCLUSIONS: Based on our results, it can be concluded that conditioning training among lay people poses a significant risk in the development of injuries, thus placing a heavy burden on the health care system. Among the complaints of examined subjects, mostly those load-bearing joints are affected (low-back, knee) by medical visit, that cannot be relieved by sparing the affected subjects, thus having a significant negative impact on their quality of life.