While reading a paper on Parkinson's Disease this week, I came across this gem:
"Research demonstrates that people with disabilities are less physically active than people without disabilities, although the reasons for this are unclear." - 2009
Really?!
Thinking of my patients I can think of several reasons for each of the patients I have seen in the past few weeks as to why they would be less physically active than the non-disabled population. Maybe this is demonstrating a gap between researchers and clinicians. I am sure there are other researchers that are well aware of the barriers to activity for disabled people.
From these past two weeks alone I can think of several reasons
1. Fatigue - usually a symptom of brain injury like stroke or traumatic head injury. People with these types of injuries require more sleep and have barely enough energy just to get through their activities of daily life, let alone go for a walk or participate in a community exercise program.
2. Mobility - people with disabilities often have a more difficult time getting around from place to place. If they feel like they can't exercise or be active in their home or neighborhood for safety concerns it is an extra effort or expense or burden on a family member to get them to a place where they can participate in an activity.
3. Stigma - Firstly, there is the idea in many cultures and the older generations that once you are injured or sick that you should rest and take it slow. Secondly, there are the stares when someone with an impairment is in public.
4. De-conditioning - after an injury there is often a certain amount of time spent in hospital or physically unable to participate in usual activities. This leads to a decrease in cardiovascular capacity and a decrease in strength. This makes it harder to get back to doing the same thing you were doing previously.
5.Physical Impairment - its possible that the physical impairment itself is inhibiting participation and activity. For example, if a person has difficulties balancing, walking is going to be a lot harder for them and so they may not be able to walk as far as an able bodied person because walking even a shorter distance requires a lot of effort.
These are just a few examples.
As physios its our job to help the patient overcome these barriers. We can do this by minimizing the impairment, encouraging activity and participation.The optimal situation would be to help repair their impairment, however, this is not always possible, so we help them find ways to adapt activities so that they can fully participate and be active members of their communities.
"Research demonstrates that people with disabilities are less physically active than people without disabilities, although the reasons for this are unclear." - 2009
Really?!
Thinking of my patients I can think of several reasons for each of the patients I have seen in the past few weeks as to why they would be less physically active than the non-disabled population. Maybe this is demonstrating a gap between researchers and clinicians. I am sure there are other researchers that are well aware of the barriers to activity for disabled people.
From these past two weeks alone I can think of several reasons
1. Fatigue - usually a symptom of brain injury like stroke or traumatic head injury. People with these types of injuries require more sleep and have barely enough energy just to get through their activities of daily life, let alone go for a walk or participate in a community exercise program.
2. Mobility - people with disabilities often have a more difficult time getting around from place to place. If they feel like they can't exercise or be active in their home or neighborhood for safety concerns it is an extra effort or expense or burden on a family member to get them to a place where they can participate in an activity.
3. Stigma - Firstly, there is the idea in many cultures and the older generations that once you are injured or sick that you should rest and take it slow. Secondly, there are the stares when someone with an impairment is in public.
4. De-conditioning - after an injury there is often a certain amount of time spent in hospital or physically unable to participate in usual activities. This leads to a decrease in cardiovascular capacity and a decrease in strength. This makes it harder to get back to doing the same thing you were doing previously.
5.Physical Impairment - its possible that the physical impairment itself is inhibiting participation and activity. For example, if a person has difficulties balancing, walking is going to be a lot harder for them and so they may not be able to walk as far as an able bodied person because walking even a shorter distance requires a lot of effort.
These are just a few examples.
As physios its our job to help the patient overcome these barriers. We can do this by minimizing the impairment, encouraging activity and participation.The optimal situation would be to help repair their impairment, however, this is not always possible, so we help them find ways to adapt activities so that they can fully participate and be active members of their communities.
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