Effect of wheelchair basketball on the quality of life of people with disabilities

Objective: To evaluate the effect of wheelchair basketball (WBC) training frequency on the quality of life of people with physical disabilities (PWD). Methods: Randomized clinical trial in male PWDs who lived in the urban perimeter of the Cuiabá city, MT, Brazil. A stratified draw was made into two arms (which considered the etiological factor of the injury) and paired (which considered the level and sequelae of the injury) to equalize the functionality of the participants, who were allocated (n=48) to the BCR intervention group (GBCR; n=21) and control group (CG; n=27). Was used the Quality of Life instrument for People with Intellectual and Physical Disabilities (DISQOL) and the semiology medical. The GBCR performed 2 hours of training, twice a week for 12 months, in stretching techniques, flexibility, warm-up and basic tactical and technical fundamentals of the BCR sport, while GC did not perform the physical training. The data were analyzed by the Shapiro-Wilk test, paired and unpaired t-test, and multivariate factorial analysis, with a significance of p<0.05 and confidence interval (CI) at 95%. Results: There was an improvement in the pre and post intragroup variables in the IWBF functional test (p=0.05). Frequency above 60% in training is required, and only the discrimination variable (p=0.023) was significant with an increase in QOL. Conclusion: Both groups obtained improvement, demonstrating that the clinical conduct corroborated health. Sports programs help improve the health of PCD and should be promoted by the government.