Pain in Competitive Athletes With Physical Disabilities and Techniques for Its Management

NCT05647031 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: UPMadrid
• Study Type: observational
• Target: 21
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

There are psychosocial factors that affect pain, and therefore, psychological intervention techniques have been added to its usual pharmacological and physiotherapeutic treatment. Despite the abundant evidence that addresses psychosocial factors as clear mediators in the perception of pain, the use of psychological techniques for pain management in competitive athletes, and more especially in competitive athletes with physical disabilities, is scarce. The purpose of this study was to ascertain the perception of high-level competitive athletes with physical disability and sports agents (coaches, physiotherapists and psychologists).

Conditions

Athletic Injuries; Physical Disability; Chronic Pain

Keywords

Athlete; Physical disability; Competition; Chronic pain; Psychological models

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Perception of pain in competitive athletes with physical disabilities and techniques for its management.(Qualitative methodology).

  This research focuses on the subjective reality of individuals regarding their life experiences of how pain can affect a sporting career. It was based on a relativistic ontology, situated in an overlapping phenomenological and interpretative epistemology.The organisation of the information collected was carried out with "Nuevo NVivo" text processing software. The codes extracted from the thematic analysis were entered. Followed by a thematic analysis of their content and according to the specific objectives of the study. The steps followed were those proposed by Braun and Clarke (2006). Two types of triangulation were applied (Flick, 2014): investigator and data triangulation. Pain has a negative impact on the athlete's sporting career: directly or indirectly through the psychological consequences. Athletes perceive that support of a psychologist are performance oriented and not pain management.

  2 months

Study Arms (1)

20 participants were interviewed on a voluntary basis

A total of 20 participants were interviewed on a voluntary basis (7 competitive athletes with 17 physical disabilities, 4 physiotherapists, 5 coaches and 4 psychologists)

Other: Qualitative study. Pain in competitive athletes with physical disabilities and techniques for its management.

Interventions

Qualitative study. Pain in competitive athletes with physical disabilities and techniques for its management. OTHER

This study used a qualitative, exploratory and descriptive methodology, with a semi-structured interview technique. The purpose was to respond to the specific objectives set out in this research from the perspective of competitive athletes and sports agents (physiotherapist, coach and psychologist). The thematic cores that served as a script for the interview were for the athletes and sports agents 1) sporting characteristics of the professionals; 2) perception of how pain affects this type of athlete and what repercussions it has on the development of their sporting career, and 3) knowledge of techniques and/or strategies for pain management (athlete, coach and psychologist). The interviews were conducted via skype. After transcription of all the interviews, validation by the interviewees was applied for the reliability of the research. Two types of triangulation were applied to ensure the quality of the data.

20 participants were interviewed on a voluntary basis

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 15 Years - 55 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Child (0-17), Adult (18-64)
• Sampling Method: Probability Sample

Study Population

A total of 20 participants were interviewed on a voluntary basis (7 competitive athletes with physical disabilities, 4 physiotherapists, 5 coaches and 4 psychologists) after being informed of the research objectives. The sports agents (coaches, physiotherapists and psychologists) were active and worked with high-level athletes in their professional field. As for the athletes, all were active except one, who had been retired for eight years, and took part in national and international competitions and Paralympic Games in their respective sports disciplines. All of them belonged to the Spanish Sports Federation for People with Physical Disabilities (FEDDF)

You may qualify if:

• For the athlete:
• Physical disability.
• Participate in high performance competition
• Aged between 15 and 55 years old;
• For the sports agents:
• To exercise their profession with high performance athletes with physical disabilities

You may not qualify if:

• Not meeting the above requirements

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Universidad Politecnica de Madrid: lead

Study Sites (1)

Universidad Politécnica de Madrid

Madrid, 28410, Spain

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Athletic Injuries; Chronic Pain

Interventions

Methods

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Wounds and Injuries; Pain; Neurologic Manifestations; Signs and Symptoms; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Investigative Techniques

Study Officials

• María I. Barriopedro, PhD in Psychology

  Universidad Politecnica de Madrid

  STUDY DIRECTOR

Study Design

• Study Type: observational
• Observational Model: OTHER
• Time Perspective: OTHER
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Principal Investigator

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: November 21, 2022
• First Posted: December 12, 2022
• Study Start: December 18, 2020
• Primary Completion: January 16, 2021
• Study Completion: January 28, 2021
• Last Updated: December 14, 2022

Record last verified: 2022-12

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

ES (1)