Head impact forces in blind football are greater in competition than training and increased cervical strength may reduce impact magnitude.

Paralympic Blind Association Football has the highest rate of injury of any Paralympic sport and head injuries are common. This study aims to quantify head impact incidence and magnitude in Blind Football, and to examine contributing factors. This Observational study based on a Blind Football Team comprising seven male athletes 28.63 years (SD 9.74, range 16-46) over 6 months. Head mounted impact sensors were used to measure the frequency and location of impacts, as well as their linear acceleration and rotational velocity. Cervical isometric strength and proprioception was measured. There were 374 impacts recorded in 212.5 athlete hours. There was a higher rate of impacts in matches than training (Incidence Risk Ratio 2.58, 95% CI 2.01-3.30). Greater cervical strength was associated with reduced linear acceleration of impacts (R2 = 0.1912, p = .020). Blind Football players are exposed to a greater number of head impacts in matches than training. Neck muscle strength may influence magnitude of head impact forces in this sport but further study is required to further investigate.

Rapid identification of sound direction in blind footballers.

Earlier studies have demonstrated that blind footballers are more accurate in identifying sound direction with less front-back confusion than sighted and blind non-football playing individuals. However, it is unknown whether blind footballers are faster than sighted footballers and nonathletes in identifying sound direction using auditory cues. Here, the present study aimed to investigate the auditory reaction times (RTs) and response accuracy of blind footballers during auditory RT tasks, including the identification of sound direction. Participants executed goal-directed stepping towards the loudspeaker as quickly and accurately as possible after identifying the sound direction. Simple, two-choice, and four-choice auditory RT tasks were completed. The results revealed that blind footballers had shorter RTs than sighted footballers in the choice RT tasks, but not in the simple RT task. These findings suggest that blind footballers are faster in identifying sound direction based on auditory cues, which is an essential perceptual-cognitive skill specific to blind football.

The Effect of Sports on Perceived Quality of Life of People with Visual Disorder / O Efeito do Esporte na Qualidade de Vida Percebida de Pessoas com Deficiência Visual

A prática esportiva melhora a qualidade de vida de pessoas com diferentes características, mas ainda não há informações sobre o impacto do esporte na qualidade de vida de pessoas com deficiência visual. O objetivo deste estudo foi identificar a percepção da qualidade de vida de atletas cegos de futebol de cinco e de goalball e compará-la com a qualidade de vida percebida de pessoas com deficiência visual fisicamente inativas. Trinta e sete homens com deficiência visual, separados em três grupos: 12 atletas de futebol de cinco (idade: M = 27,3 anos, DP = 10,2), 13 atletas de goalball (idade: M = 30,3 anos, DP = 7,0) e 12 pessoas fisicamente inativas (idade: M = 25,3 anos, DP = 2,3), responderam ao questionário WHOQOL-Bref. Atletas com deficiência visual obtiveram maior pontuação na Qualidade de Vida Global e Saúde Geral e em todos os domínios do WHOQOL-Bref do que pessoas fisicamente inativas. Não houve diferença entre a qualidade de vida percebida dos atletas de futebol e de goalball. Portanto, a despeito do tipo de esporte, sua prática está relacionada a uma melhor qualidade de vida de pessoas com deficiência visual. (AU).

Sports practice improves quality of life of people with different characteristics, but there is still no information about the impact of sport on quality of life among people with visual disorder. The aim of this study was to identify the perceived quality of life of blind football and goalball athletes and to compare it to perceived quality of life of physically inactive people with visual disorder. Thirty seven men with visual disorder, separated into three groups: 12 blind football athletes (age: M = 27.3 years, SD = 10.2), 13 goalball athletes (age: M = 30.3 years, SD = 7.0) and 12 physically inactive people (age: M = 25.3 years, SD = 2.3), answered the WHOQOL-Bref questionnaire. Athletes with visual disorder obtained a higher score in the Overall Quality of Live and General Health and in all domains of the WHOQOL-Bref than physically inactive people. There was no difference between the perceived quality of life of football and goalball athletes. Therefore, despite the type of sport, its practice is related to a better quality of life of people with visual disorder. (AU).