adapted physical exercise
A number of physical activities have been adapted to enable people with disabilities to participate in competitive sports. The activities may require specially adapted equipment and some specialist medical support, but exercise for the disabled has the same aims and attractions as exercise for the able-bodied.
Athletes with a permanent disability of the lower body (e.g. because of amputations, spinal cord injuries, or poliomyelitis) can participate in wheelchair sports such as road racing, tennis, basketball, archery, softball, and track and field athletics. One of the fastest growing wheelchair sports is quad rugby. This is a highly competitive sport for quadriplegics. It is played on a basketball court. Four players from one team are allowed on the court at a time and their aim is to carry the ball across their opponent's goal line.
Wheelchair sports have similar rules and provide a similar experience to other varieties. They are just as competitive. The winner of the wheelchair New York marathon, for example, has to be totally dedicated to training, and just as aerobically fit as the winner of the able-bodied event. In addition, wheelchair athletes have to master the skills required to manoeuvre and drive the specially designed wheelchair.
The aim of many competitive wheelchair athletes is to take part in the Paralympics. These are competitions, equivalent to the Olympic Games, for athletes with permanent disabilities. The governing body is the International Paralympic Committee, supported and partly funded by the International Olympic Committee. The first Paralympics were held in Rome in 1960, and they have been held every Olympic year since. Activities include archery, athletics, basketball, boccie, cycling, fencing, goal ball, judo, shooting, soccer, swimming, table tennis, and volleyball. Of course, not all disabled people use a wheelchair. Amputees, blind people, those with cerebral palsy, and other physically disabled individuals participate as stand-up participants in many of the activities.
Many disabled athletes train on a daily basis. They train, often with weights, for flexibility, strength, speed, power, endurance, and to develop specific skills. The training principles for the disabled are the same as those for the able-bodied, but disabled athletes have an additional challenge. They must develop an individual style that takes their specific disability into account, but allows them to use their abilities to the maximum.
Sports participation offers disabled people a powerful incentive to become fitter, and plays an important part in both the psychological and physical rehabilitation of the disabled. The vast majority of disabled people do not take part in formal, highly-organized competitive sport. Nevertheless, many acquire the benefits of exercise by taking part in a wide range of physical leisure activities, from low-risk activities such as wheelchair aerobics, to high-risk activities, such as skydiving and mountain climbing. As Dr Frank M Brasile, a physical educator with a special interest in adapted exercise, stated ‘…even the sky is no limit to what the individual can do if he or she wants to participate in a desired activity’ (quoted from Mellion, M.B. (1993) Sports medicine secrets. p55. Hanley and Belfus Philadelphia.)
