Sports, recreation and employment following spinal cord injury–a pilot study

Abstract

Study design: A pilot postal survey. Objective: To examine the levels of sporting/recreational activities, education and employment in people with spinal cord injury (SCI) and to assess if involvement in sport and recreation is associated with higher levels of education and employment. Setting: National Spinal Injuries Centre (NSIC), Stoke Mandeville Hospital, Aylesbury, UK. Methods: Forty-®ve subjects, who met the following criteria: SCI at level C5 or below, wheelchair dependent, aged between 18 and 50 at the time of injury, injured at least 10 years ago, admitted to the NSIC within 6 months of injury and resident in the UK, completed a 26-item postal questionnaire. Results: Among the 45 subjects 47% participated in physical activities (20% in sport; 27% in recreation), 33% were employed (29% full-time) and 18.5% had undergone further education at the time of the survey. Participation in sports as well as employment status decreased after injury (P50.01) usually as a result of poor access to sports and work facilities. Only 4% of investigated SCI patients started to practise physical activity after the accident whilst 42% stopped. Conclusions: Levels of sporting/recreational activities and employment decreased signi®cantly after injury. No signi®cant correlation was found between sport/recreation involvement and education/employment status. Further investigation with a large number of participants that will enable additional analysis of subgroups, such as level of injury and functional independence, is required.

A multi-centre study of the community needs of people with spinal cord injuries: the first 18 months

“…However, despite the average score being relatively low, frequencies revealed that 17% of participants were experiencing pain 'as bad as one can imagine'. Due to the relationship between pain and quality of life and the negative impact on participation, 7,10 it is essential that pain is addressed for people living in the community and that they should have regular reviews of pain management and medication.…”

“…In Tasiemski et al 10 sport participation and employment declined after injury due to reduced access to facilities, whereas in a separate study work and leisure time was found to reduce by 40% compared to preinjury status. 11 Access to employment has been recognized as particularly weak within the community for people with SCI.…”

Participation and satisfaction after spinal cord injury: results of a vocational and leisure outcome study

“…As was expected from literature, the participation in sports diminished significantly. 31 On average twice as much more time was spent on self-care. Only an additional 40 min a day were reported, which seems of little clinical relevance.…”

An investigation of seasonal variation in leisure-time physical activity in persons with spinal cord injury

“…For each model, age, sex, injury status, years post-injury and mode of mobility were included as covariates in the first step because they predict MV-LTPA participation and differed significantly between seasonal groups. 6,18,19 Season was entered in the second step. In this analysis, season was contrast coded with winter as the referent category.…”

“…5 This low participation rate is often attributed to many factors such as poor weather, lack of motivation, time and access to facilities for activity. 6 Although people with SCI frequently cite weather as a physical activity barrier, 7 there is no research, to our knowledge, that has specifically addressed and quantified the influence of weather as a barrier to MV-LTPA access for this population. Understanding the impact of weather on MV-LTPA participation among people with SCI will enable practitioners to better focus interventions to increase MV-LTPA during the times of the year that individuals struggle to be active.…”