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

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).

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Chronic Pain; Athletic Injuries; Physical Disability
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Qualitative study. Pain in competitive athletes with physical disabilities and techniques for its management.

Detailed Description

Qualitative study with in-depth interviews to find out the perception of sports agents (coaches, physiotherapists and psychologists) and athletes on how pain can affect the development of the sports career and to determine what techniques are known and/or implemented by sports agents (coaches, physiotherapists and psychologists) and athletes to manage pain.

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Actual): 21

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Spain
  • Madrid, Spain, 28410
    • Universidad Politecnica de Madrid

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 15 years to 55 years (Child, Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

• 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)

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

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

Exclusion Criteria:

• Not meeting the above requirements

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Observational Models: Other
• Time Perspectives: Other

Number of groups / cohorts

1

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort

Intervention / Treatment

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.; 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.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
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

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Universidad Politecnica de Madrid
• Investigators: Study Director: María I. Barriopedro, PhD in Psychology, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): December 18, 2020
• Primary Completion (Actual): January 16, 2021
• Study Completion (Actual): January 28, 2021

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: November 21, 2022
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 2, 2022
• First Posted (Actual): December 12, 2022

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimate): December 14, 2022
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 10, 2022
• Last Verified: December 1, 2022

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Chronic pain; Athlete; Physical disability; Psychological models; Competition
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Pain; Neurologic Manifestations; Wounds and Injuries; Chronic Pain; Athletic Injuries
• Other Study ID Numbers: UPMadrid

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: No

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No