Academic Research Confirms the Power of Adaptive Sports
Adaptive Sports Research
Welcome to Move United's adaptive sports research page!
• Are you interested in the latest peer-reviewed academic research papers reporting on the power of adaptive sports?
• Are you an academic interested in recruiting adaptive sports enthusiasts for your research paper?
• Are you and adaptive sports enthusiast willing to participate in academic research about adaptive sports?
Then you are in the right place! Please click the boxes below for more information.
Summary of academic research on the power of adaptive sports
Did you know:
- 4 in 10 individuals with disabilities that do not play sports want to play sports.
- 7 in 10 individuals with disabilities are not aware of organizations that can support them. cite
- Three million children in the United States have a disability. cite
- Physical activity levels are 4.5 times lower for youth with a disability, and the obesity rate is 38% higher for these children.
- 76% of children and adolescents with disabilities do not meet the 60 minutes or more of physical activity daily recommendation. cite
- 1.5 million students in public primary and secondary schools with a physical impairment are excluded from having access to participate in athletic competitions. cite
Individuals with disabilities face far greater obstacles to healthy living than the general population. According to the CDC and BLS, individuals with disabilities are more likely to be unemployed, inactive, poor or obese.
Move United provides adaptive sports to individuals with disabilities as a means to (1) improve health, (2) increase access to employment and economic stability, (3) strengthen social support and (4) advance social norms and attitudes about people with disabilities. Each of the four items above are social determinants of health, according to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Healthy People 2020. Each are described below.
- Improve health
Participation in sports and recreation is known to benefit everyone, but especially people with disabilities. Adults with disabilities are 300% more likely to have heart disease, stroke or diabetes than adults without disabilities. A great deal of peer reviewed research validates the physical (strength, flexibility, cardiovascular) and psychological (confidence, quality of life, motivation) improvements that results in sports participation for youth and adults with disabilities (citations available).
- Increase access to employment and economic stability
Sports participation leads to improved health and confidence, which in turn leads to increased employment levels. In 2015, peer reviewed research showed that “playing an additional year of adaptive sport is associated with an approximately 4 percent increase in likelihood of employment every year for 10 years.”
- Strengthen social support
A key need for people with disabilities is having the social support networks that allows them to participate in society and interact with others with disabilities to learn ways to extend those networks. Parents and family members, most often the strongest source of social support for individuals with disabilities, are unfamiliar with the support available. In addition, Move United member organizations work with families, schools, hospitals and other organizations to extend support systems for youth and adults with disabilities.
- Advance social norms and attitudes
Although improving over time, society continues to stigmatize individuals with disabilities in social settings, including schools, media and the workplace. By having individuals with disabilities participating in sports with the public on the slopes, rivers and streets in communities across the U.S., personally held negative attitudes about disability change and society becomes increasingly inclusive of people with disabilities. Attitudes also change for people with disabilities as they see people with similar disabilities excel in life.
Move United-Specific Research
Move United has directly participated in independent research on the effectiveness of our adaptive sports programming through two research initiatives:
University of Illinois – 2020
Summary: Move United partnered with the University of Illinois to conduct a study with over 1,000 individuals with a disability across the country. The study was conducted in the midst of the Coronavirus pandemic and looked at the benefit of Move United programming, with the following summary: “Our findings demonstrate the mental health and wellness benefits of adaptive sport for people with disabilities, especially during times when our daily lives are disrupted.”
Harris Interactive – 2009
Summary: An independent 2009 Harris survey commissioned by Move United found among more than 1,000 working age adults with disabilities, those participating in Move United adaptive sports programs were more than twice as likely to be employed compared with the general population of adults with disabilities, with the majority attributing workplace success to involvement in sports. Physically active adults with disabilities report that exercise has helped them to not only obtain a job but also to advance in the workplace.
Adaptive Sports Research
Papers in table below
| Title | Year | Summary | Keywords |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reintegration Problems and Treatment Interests Among Iraq and Afghanistan Combat Veterans Receiving VA Medical Care | 2010 | An estimated 25% to 56% of combat veterans who use VA services reported "some" to "extreme" difficulty in social functioning, productivity, community involvement, and self-care domains. At least one-third reported divorce, dangerous driving, increased substance use, and increased anger control problems since deployment. Almost all (96%) expressed interest in services to help readjust to civilian life. | Veterans |
| For Many Injured Veterans, A Lifetime of Consequences | 2011 | Veterans who suffered major service-related injuries are more than twice as likely as their more fortunate comrades to say they had difficulties readjusting to civilian life. They are almost three. times as likely as other veterans to report they have suffered from post-traumatic stress (PTS). And they are less likely in later life to be in overall good health or to hold full-time jobs. | Veterans |
| Influence of adapted sports on quality of life and life satisfaction in sport participants and non-sport participants with physical disabilities. | 2012 | People with physical disabilities who participated in adapted sports had significantly higher quality of life and life satisfaction scores compared to people with physical disabilities not involved in any adapted sports. | SCI, Amputation |
| Outcomes of Adaptive Sports and Recreation Participation among Veterans Returning from Combat with Acquired Disability | 2011 | This study observed changes in quality of life, mood states, and sports related competence for OIF/OEF veterans who participated in a therapeutic adaptive sports and recreation program in Sun Valley, Idaho | Veterans |
| Effects of participation in a Paralympic military sports camp on injured service members. | 2011 | Veterans | |
| Understanding contextual influences of community reintegration among injured service members | 2015 | Thematic analysis indicated the importance of social support and personal factors (e.g., self-efficacy, personal motivation) as the primary means for being reintegrated into their homes and communities. Other themes indicated factors that had an indirect but important influence on CR, including adapted sports, recreation, and other social programs | Veterans |
| Influence of sport participation on community integration and quality of life: a comparison between sport participants and non-sport participants with spinal cord injury | 2009 | Community Integration and Quality of Life were higher among sport participants compared to non-sport participants. | SCI |
| How does playing adapted sports affect quality of life of people with mobility limitations? Results from a mixed-method sequential explanatory study | 2017 | Participation in adapted sports was identified as having positive effects on self-esteem, self-efficacy, sense of belonging, participation in meaningful activities, society’s attitude towards people with mobility limitations, and physical well-being. | SCI |
| In praise of sport: Promoting sport participation as a mechanism of health among persons with a disability | 2009 | Sport benefits included enhanced functional capacity, health promotion, relationship development, increased optimism, and inclusion in meaningful life activities and roles. | |
| Psychosocial impact of participation in the national veterans wheelchair games and winter sports clinic | 2009 | Participants felt that the National Veteran Wheelchair Games and Winter Sports Clinic increased their knowledge of sports equipment (92%), learning sports (89%), mobility skills (84%), and acceptance of disability (84%). The majority of participants stated that the NVWG/WSC improved their life. | SCI, Veterans |
| Leisure-time physical activity, anthropometrics, and body composition as predictors of quality of life domains after spinal cord injury: an exploratory cross-sectional study | 2022 | Encouraging individuals with SCI to engage in leisure time physical activity may robustly enhance multiple aspects of quality of life while reducing the risk for cardiovascular and metabolic morbidities associated with SCI. | SCI |
| Influence of physical exercise on quality of life in individuals with spinal cord injury | 2010 | In discovering the potential of individuals with SCI for getting involved in physical exercise, the improvement of physical and coordinative skills with interaction between individuals with SCI and external sport groups should be an inherent part of the rehabilitation process. Individuals not having access to physical exercise should be given the opportunity to participate in wheelchair mobility courses. | SCI |
| The Relationship between Physical Activity Level and Functional Status of Subjects with High Spinal Cord Injury | 2022 | People participating in regular physical activity-wheelchair rugby-after spinal cord injury have a better relationship with better fitness, greater independence and a better functional status. | SCI |
| Effects of resistance and endurance training in persons with paraplegia | 2009 | Persons with paraplegia can significantly improve their upper extremity work capacity, muscular strength, and power by participating in RT. | SCI |
| Physical performance and cardiovascular and metabolic adaptation of elite female wheelchair basketball players in wheelchair ergometry and in competition | 1998 | Wheelchair basketball is an effective and suitable sport to enhance physical performance and to induce positive physiological adaptations. | SCI |
| Shoulder muscle strength in paraplegics before and after kayak ergometer training | 2006 | There was a main effect of kayak ergometer training with increased shoulder muscle strength after training in persons with SCI. The improvements were independent of shoulder movement, and occurred in the beginning and middle positions. A tendency towards lower shoulder muscle strength was observed in the SCI group compared to a matched reference group of able-bodied persons. | SCI |
| Psychological impact of sports activity in spinal cord injury patients | 2006 | These findings demonstrate that sports activity is associated with better psychological status in SCI patients, irrespective of tetraplegia and paraplegia, and that psychological benefits are not emphasized by demographic factors. | SCI |
| Physical activity and subjective well-being among people with spinal cord injury: a meta-analysis | 2010 | There is a small- to medium-sized positive relationship between physical activity and subjective well-being among people with SCI that holds across a wide range of measures and operational definitions of these constructs. | SCI |
| The effect of frequency and mode of sports activity on the psychological status in tetraplegics and paraplegics | 2000 | These findings demonstrated that sports activity can improve the psychological status, irrespective of tetraplegics and paraplegics, and that the psychological benefits are emphasized by sports activity at high frequency. | SCI |
| The effect of sports on level of community integration as reported by persons with spinal cord injury | 2001 | These findings extend the literature outlining the physical and psychological benefits of sports. Occupational therapists have a unique opportunity to use the occupation of sports to integrate the roots of the profession with the cultural demands of society. | SCI |
| Participation in moderate-to-vigorous leisure time physical activity is related to decreased visceral adipose tissue in adults with spinal cord injury | 2018 | Participation in any moderate-to-vigorous leisure time physical activity was significantly associated with visceral adipose tissue after controlling for injury-related and body-composition correlates. Moderate-to-vigorous leisure time physical activity appears to be related to lower visceral adipose tissue area, suggesting potential for leisure time physical activity to reduce cardiometabolic disease risk among individuals with chronic SCI. | SCI |
| Physical activity and life satisfaction among individuals with spinal cord injury: Exploring loneliness as a possible mediator | 2022 | This was the first study to show evidence of a negative association between leisure time physical activity and loneliness among people with SCI/D, and to establish a conceptual model for understanding the potential mediating role of loneliness in the relationship between leisure time physical activity and life satisfaction among people with SCI/D. | SCI |
| Greater daily leisure time physical activity is associated with lower chronic disease risk in adults with spinal cord injury | 2009 | Greater daily leisure time physical activity is associated with lower levels of selected cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes risk factors in individuals living with SCI. Whether this relationship translates into a lower incidence of these chronic diseases has yet to be determined. | SCI |
| "It Shaped My Future in Ways I Wasn't Prepared for-in the Best Way Possible": Alumni Volunteers' Experiences in an Adapted Sports and Recreation Program | 2023 | esults showed that despite differences in initial motives for volunteering, involvement in an adapted sport program was transformative and, for some, life changing. Able-bodied volunteers experienced a wide range of benefits including deeper understanding and awareness of disability and inclusion in sport. | Volunteering |
Are you an adaptive sports enthusiast who would like to participate in research?
Give back by sharing your experiences.
If you would like to participate in an academic research project centered on adaptive sports, see opportunities below.
Academic Research Participant Form
Are you seeking participants for your academic research? (Must be graduate-level work leading to publication)
If you are conducting graduate-level academic research and would like individuals with disabilities to participate in your academic research project centered on adaptive sports that will lead to publication, please complete the form below.
Academic Research Projects Seeking Participants
Do you have any questions?
Please contact Julia Ray, Move United Programs Director, with your questions about academic research on adaptive sports: jray@moveunitedsport.org