Staying fit is an endeavour that requires a lot of discipline and hard work. When one lives with disability, such as prosthetic limbs, staying fit comes with additional challenges.
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Button TextStaying fit is an endeavour that requires a lot of discipline and hard work. Keeping active is the best way to strengthen the heart, muscles, and bones, as well as improve coordination and self-confidence.
When one lives with disability, staying fit comes with additional challenges. First, there’s the hurdle of knowing whether or not one is fit enough to engage in fitness-geared activities. Once a physician’s assurance is attained, there’s the roadblock of identifying whether or not a particular sport is adaptable for one’s disability.
This article aims to help with the latter problem. Listed in this article are sports that have in recent years adapted to be inclusive of people with disabilities.
Cycling is at the foremost of the list, with the array of customisable and modified bicycles available on the market. Tricycles are the most stable and easily adaptable out of the types available; there are also options to bike with one’s arms if biking upright is difficult (this is called hand cycling). Cycles can also be modified to allow another person to bike in tandem with a person with a disability. Adaptive cycling is also easily searchable, with cycling programmes and adaptive bikes readily available on the internet.
Swimming is another adaptive sport. The sport doesn’t require any special equipment, which makes it the least costly out of the adaptive sports on this list. Of course, there may be other hurdles present in swimming - prosthetic limbs may present some impediment for one’s progress in the sport - but with a few modifications, swimming programmes can be participated in with little to no hassle. Swimming is also great for those undergoing both physical and cognitive rehabilitation.
Basketball is a full-contact sport, but it can still be an adaptive sport. Wheelchair basketball has a growing popularity within the adaptive sports community, and is played with some modifications for wheelchair contact and ball dribbling.
Other adaptive sports include tennis, paddling, sitting volleyball, and snow skiing. These sports are making headway towards adapting their sports for persons living with disability, and more sports are following suit by the day.
Don’t be discouraged about attempting sports while living with disability; the range of adaptive sports available is growing every day. Join an adaptive sports program today.