Physical activity and mental health levels in brazilian wheelchair basketball athletes during isolation social in the covid-19 pandemic

Abstract

Introduction: Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, several countries have adopted social isolation (lockdown) as a containment measure to reduce the spread of the virus and the risk of overloading the health system. Regular physical exercise during the pandemic could mitigate the damage of isolation and maintain the mental health and well-being of wheelchair basketball athletes. Objective: To evaluate the association between physical exercise levels and mental health levels in wheelchair basketball athletes during social isolation. Methods: We used an online questionnaire divided into two sections: mental health assessment and physical exercise level assessment. Results and discussion: Lower scores on the Short Form 36 (SF-36) questionnaire were observed in the domains “vitality” with a score of 16, “limitation by emotional aspects” with a score of 55, “limitation by physical aspects” with a score of 62.5 followed by “general health status” with a score of 63. The Physical Activity Scale for Individuals with Physical Disabilities (PASIPD) showed a low perception of physical activity level in people with disabilities. Conclusion: The general health domains with lower scores in lockdown were “vitality” (16) and “emotional aspects” (55) and no strong association was observed between the different domains of the SF-36 scale and the level of physical activity through the PASIPD Scale (p>0.005).