Perceived Barriers to Exercise in Individuals Living With Spinal Cord Injury.

Purpose: This project is designed to identify what the key barriers to participating in exercise are for the general population of people living with spinal cord injury (SCI) in the United States (US).

Background: A previous study of 681 people living with SCI demonstrated that the majority of participants thought that exercise was important (97%), but that only 57% actually had access to exercise (K.D. Anderson. 2004. Targeting recovery: Priorities of the spinal cord injured population. J. Neurotrauma. 21:1371-1383). The next step in continuing that research is to determine in more detail what the perceived barriers to exercise are so that they can be addressed in multiple settings (research design of exercise protocols, community access and awareness, clinical effectiveness, etc.).

Methods: Internet-based survey of people with spinal cord injuries (SCI). Expected Results: It is expected that the perceived barriers will fall under 3 main categories (internal, resources, and structural). However, there may be other barriers we are unaware of, for example, societal or cultural factors or other factors completely unforeseen.

Relevance to Rehabilitation: The findings of this project will provide valuable information needed to design strategies aimed at improving participation in exercise by people living with SCI. SCI results in several secondary health conditions over time, which can likely be positively impacted by exercise.