Cross-sectional study of the quality of life and functional disability report in young basketball athletes – a pilot study

Resumo

Introduction: With the increasing number of young athletes within a competitive scenario the onset of traumatic and non-traumatic injuries also increases, causing pain, dysfunction, and changes in the quality of life of these young competitors. Objective: The goal of this pilot study was to identify the domains (components) of the quality of life questionnaire of these athletes and also to evaluate whether a degree of functional disability was present. Volunteers: Twelve 16-year-old male volunteers participated in this research. Material and Method: Data collection occurred during the pre-season practices, through the application of the Brazilian Portuguese translated version of Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36), and the Oswestry Functional Disability questionnaire. This procedure was redone after 8 weeks, where the young athletes were already engaged into competition. Results: There was no statistically significant alterations (p≤0,05) considering the overall quality of life observed for the entire team, though the scores altered in most of the domains of the questionnaire. Also, the functional disability degree remained minimal throughout the competition for the sample selected.