Introduction: Brazil leads the production of sugarcane and its derived commodities, sugar and ethanol. The fact that it is predominantly manually harvested exposes the workers to a variety of health hazards. Since the harvest is a labor activity that exacts from the worker a heavy physical toll, involving the exertion of quick, repetitive movements that intensely overburden both one's muscles and skeletal frame. Objective: To assess the health profile and functional independence in former workers who operated in a biofuel plant in Bahia. Methods: This is a descriptive, exploration-oriented study conducted with 42 workers formerly employed as cane cutters, both male and female and over 18 years old, all of them living in the town of Amélia Rodrigues (BA). The self-administered Nottingham Health Profile (NHP) was used to measure their quality of life, based on the World Health Organization's classification of disabilities; the Functional Independence Measure (FIM) metrics was employed to keep track of functional independence. The FIM focuses on two aspects, motile and cognitive, subdivided further into categories designed to assess individual independence in tackling basic activities effectively and satisfactorily. Results: 42 individuals were assessed, most of them men (54.8%), predominantly adults (73.8%) of African descent (61.9%). Evidence, along with the correlation coefficient to analyze the FIM and the NHP, presents a significance level of 0.05 in the categories: Total NHP, Energy Level, Pain and Physical Abilities. Conclusion: This study found that there is harm to the health of former cane cutters as far as their sleep, energy levels and physical abilities are concerned. With these remarks, the authors expect to motivate health surveillance efforts regarding the risks in those work environments and the associated health issues, so that preventive and interventive public health measures can be implemented.

Background: Large-scale cane cultivation can promote health impacts of workers, resulting from weight bearing and repetitive movements. Musculoskeletal conditions can alter balance and increase risk of falls. Aim of Work: The objective of this study is to identify clinical characteristics and to correlate balance with functional capacity in ex-cane cutters. Methods: This was a descriptive exploratory study, 42 former workers of the cane cut, with mean age of 49 (±13) years, who were submitted to balance evaluation through the Berg Balance Scale (BSE) and the functional capacity was evaluated by the Incremental Shuttle Walk Test (ISWT). To investigate respiratory symptoms, the Medical Research Council questionnaire was used. Results: The individuals reached a mean of 52 points in BSE, considered low to moderate risk for falls and the average distance traveled of 446.2 (±188.5) meters, corresponding to 52.9% (±23.1) of the normal distance. Weak and negative correlations were found between changes in balance and exposure time (r2 −0.16). Conclusion: It is concluded that excessive physical effort contributes to changes in the balance and, consequently, diminish functional capacity.

A pandemia da Covid-19 levou a um cenário sanitário mundial crítico, declarado uma emergência de saúde global pela Organização mundial de saúde. Na reabilitação destes pacientes, vale destacar o papel do Fisioterapeuta, através da intervenção precoce e com o propósito de minimizar sequelas. O objetivo deste trabalho é avaliar as evidências científicas sobre os protocolos de reabilitação fisioterapêutica aplicados em pacientes pós Covid-19. Trata-se de uma revisão de literatura integrativa, utilizando as bases de dados: Biblioteca da Literatura Latino-Americana e do Caribe em Ciências da Saúde (LILACS), MEDLINE, Secretaria Estadual de Saúde de São Paulo e Índice Bibliográfico Espñol em Ciencias de la Salud (IBECS), através da Biblioteca Virtual em Saúde (BVS); PubMed; Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro) e Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO). Foram analisados os protocolos de reabilitação, assim como os principais resultados obtidos e considerações finais em cada estudo a respeito da reabilitação fisioterapêutica pós Covid-19. Como resultados deste estudo, não foram encontrados uma uniformidade nas condutas realizadas, no entanto pôde ser observado que o tratamento fisioterapêutico apresentou resultados positivos em pacientes pós Covid-19. Pode-se concluir que ainda há poucas evidências sobre o assunto, carecendo assim de mais estudos com intervenções bem detalhadas, a fim de que se estabeleça um protocolo para esse perfil de pacientes.