Musculoskeletal pain and sports injury in wheelchair soccer players

Abstract

Introduction: Wheelchair soccer (RCF) is the only collective sports modality that allows the participation of people with severe physical disabilities, who need the use of motorized wheelchairs on a daily basis. This public can live with chronic pain due to the characteristics of the disability and associated treatments, interfering in scenarios that range from general health, personal and social life, and emotional aspects. Sometimes, pain also limits participation in sports activities - either because it is present or because of the fear of having it present due to the practice of sports. The research becomes relevant due to the scarcity of studies on the theme in question. Objective: To investigate the prevalence of musculoskeletal pain in FCR players and to analyze the incidence of traumatic injuries during a championship of the sport. Methods: A sectional observational study was conducted with the participation of 30 FCR athletes (93.33% male) with a mean age of 22.37±9.79 years. Data collection was performed during a South American FCR championship, which lasted three days. Three evaluation moments were considered: (i) investigation of the presence of musculoskeletal pain through the application of a self-completed questionnaire on the first day of the championship. At this point, questionnaires to assess sleep quality and mood were also applied; (ii) investigation of the occurrence of traumatic injuries by observing the matches; and (iii) confirmation of the occurrence of traumatic injuries by accessing the medical department records. Results: A total of 30% (n=9) of the sample presented pain on the day of the evaluation, in an intensity of 5.67±3.35 points on the visual analog scale (VAS). Of this total, 13.33% (n=4) of the pains were in the lumbar region, 10% (n=3) in the cervical and 6.67% (n=2) in the lower limbs, From the total, 46.67% (n=16) reported pain in the month before the data collection, but in a lower intensity, with 2.56±4.03 points, with the following distribution: 20%(n=6) in the lower limbs and cervical, and 13.33% (n=4) in the lumbar. The relationship between quality of sleep and pain showed p=0.87 for good quality of sleep and p=0.75 for excellent, thus, there was no association between quality of sleep and pain. The mood state in relation to pain presented p>0.05 for all the mood subscales, where "vigor" presented the highest score, followed by "tension", however, there was also no association of mood state and pain. After checking the medical department records, no traumatic injuries were identified during these South American games. Conclusion: About one-third of wheelchair soccer players have musculoskeletal pain. Wheelchair soccer does not seem to present a risk of traumatic injury to its players.