TECHNICAL ARTICLE

improved by sensible goal-setting which ensures that disabled clients are not pushed too far too soon.

Personal finances can also restrict access to physical activity. Around half of the disabled population in the UK are unemployed; and the government has recently announced that the existing Disability Living Allowance will no longer exist from April 2013. With money scarce, the fitness industry may need to do more in terms of concessionary support in order to engage the disabled population.

Summary Maintaining a physically active lifestyle can be a challenge for those with a physical disability. Fitness industry professionals have the power to help disabled people become, and stay, physically active. Adopting a positive attitude to disability fitness is a simple but appropriate starting point. Often the smallest steps can have the biggest impact.

Sources

1. Smith, B. (in-press). Disability, sport, and men’s narratives of health: A qualitative study. Health Psychology. 2. Rimmer, J. H., Riley, B., Wang, E., Rauworth, A., & Jurkowski, J. (2004). Physical activity participation among persons with disabilities: Barriers and facilitators. American Journal of Preventative Medicine, 25, 419-425. 3. Biddle, S. J. H., & Fuchs, R. (2009). Exercise psychology: A view from Europe. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 10, 410-419. 4. Smith, B. & Sparkes, A. (2012). Disability, sport and physical activity. A critical review. In N. Watson, A. Roulstone, & C. Thomas (Eds). Routledge Handbook of Disability Studies (pp. 336-347). London: Routledge. 5. Smith, B. & Papathomas, A. (in-press). Disability sport. In. J. Swain, C. Barnes, & C. Thomas (Eds). Disabling Barriers, Enabling Environments.

ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS ONLINE TO EARN CPD POINTS Please log into the members’ area of the REPs website to give your answers

Q1

Q2 Q3

What is Britain’s disabled population estimated to be? Is it: a) More than 10 million b) Less than 9 million c) About 8 million

According to Rimmer et al. (2004), how many different types of barrier to disability exercise exist? Is it: a) 312 b) 264 c) 178

What does IFI stand for? a) International Fitness Interest b) Inclusive Fitness Implementation c) Inclusive Fitness Initiative

WANT TO KNOW MORE? – check out Working with Disability and The Complete Guide to Teaching Exercise to Special Populations http://spxj.nl/X2Xiv0. REPs Journal readers can get 10% off these titles. Use coupon code JanSpecial13 at the checkout to get 10% discount off these titles.

London: Sage. 6. Vissers, M., van den Berg-Emons, R., Sluis, T., Bergen, M., Stam, H., & Bussmann, H. (2008). Barriers to and facilitators of everyday physical activity in persons with a spinal cord injury after discharge from the rehabilitation centre. Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine, 40, 461–7. 7. Rimmer, J. H., & Marques, A. C. Physical activity for people with disabilities. The Lancet, 380, 193-195. 8. Stephens, C., Neil, R., & Smith, P. (2012). The perceived benefits and barriers of sport in spinal cord injured individuals: A qualitative study. Disability and Rehabilitation, 34, 2061-2070.

THE AUTHORS Dr Anthony Papathomas and Dr Brett Smith are part of Loughborough University’s Peter Harrison Centre for Disability Sport. Dr Papathomas is part of a team, currently researching the physical activity experiences of people with a spinal cord injury. Dr Smith has been conducting research on the motives, barriers, benefits of being physically active amongst disabled people for over 15 years.

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The REPs Journal 2013;26(January):12-14

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