New study to help wheelchair users become more active
After a car accident in 1995, Jarvis Stirn thought he would never be able to play sports the way he used to. “I liked regular basketball, but I didn’t think wheelchair basketball was going to be the same thing,” Stirn said.
Then one night, it all changed. Stirn, 32, Lawrence resident, got a call from the Kansas Wheelhawks wheelchair basketball team to come check out a practice in Topeka. The Kansas Wheelhawks are comprised of players from eastern Kansas, including the Topeka and Lawrence area.
“I came down here to play and practice and I knew I would keep on coming back. There’s such a heart racing feeling to get out there and be active and compete against other people on wheelchairs.”
The U.S. Surgeon General issued a health warning in 1996 recommending that every person should include at least 30 minutes of physical activity all or most days of the week to maintain or lose weight. However, people with disabilities are more sedentary than the average person, causing them to get less physical activity than the recommended amount.
A new study, Project Workout on Wheels, will assist people who have mobility impairments by helping to increase their weekly physical activity. The researchers are looking to recruit up to 180 participants, ages 18 to 65, from the Kansas City, Mo., area over the next three to five years, starting in 2007. During the study, participants will first receive a manual including the importance of physical activity, and then learn how to integrate an exercise plan into their daily schedule.
“We’d like to have an aerobics class three times a week, but people have different schedules. Our goal is to help people find activities that they like to do, in their own homes and neighborhoods. They can wheel around their neighborhood or go to a local recreation center, because that way they can sustain the activity after the study is done,” said Dot Nary, University of Kansas doctoral student in applied behavioral science and research assistant for the study.
Participants will be a part of the study for 12 months. They will first set goals for daily exercise, for as little as 15 minutes a day, a few days a week. As the participants stabilize their activity after a couple weeks, they can increase their goals, Nary said. In addition to exercise on their own time, participants are also required to take an exercise and fitness test at the KU Med Center.
A pilot test group of seven participants started the study in August, but no tangible data is available yet. However, Nary said that the pilot study showed that participants got more physically active. Project Workout on Wheels will launch its official first group of about 30 participants in January 2007.
Nary named health benefits of daily physical activity, such as keeping your heart healthy, relieving depression and preventing diabetes. “It’s important to adopt these health habits, and it’s important that we have programs out there for people to learn that health can exist in the context of disability,” Nary said.
Another purpose of the study is to educate people of their options, although these options are still limited. When asked what sort of exercise a person who uses a wheelchair is able to do, the average person and many physicians don’t know how to respond, Nary said.
“When we think of physical fitness, activity, and exercise, we don’t think of people in wheelchairs and what they can do. But it’s even more important, because people in wheelchairs are not getting the exercise from walking, so we need to make sure we get it some other way to get our heart rate up,” Nary said.
The study will suggest different ways to involve physical activity in a routine, including: wheeling in the neighborhood or indoor mall, seated aerobic videos, using equipment at a local fitness center, lifting light hand weights, swimming or treading water, and stretching. Others might want to participate in more rigorous wheelchair sports, such as basketball, softball or tennis.
Stirn and the Kansas Wheelhawks have found a way to keep their heart rate up and have fun. The Kansas Wheelhawks works with Kansas Accessible Sports, Inc., a non-profit organization to try to get other wheelchairs sports in the Eastern Kansas area. Ray Petty, president of Kansas Accessible Sports, Inc., has been working to raise enough money so that people who don’t have enough disposable income can participate in wheelchair athletics.
“Usually with disability, comes poverty and comes under-employment,” Petty said. But Petty said he believes that participating in sports is imperative for anybody, especially children with disabilities. Petty said that children growing up with disabilities could have a lack of social skills and confidence.
“This is an opportunity to get kids together for competition. The camaraderie and the confidence they develop carries over to their mental state,” Petty said.
No matter what is going on or what work you have, Petty said, if you have a scheduled regiment of exercise with a team, you become dedicated to that. “It’s not just fitness. It’s an opportunity to be regular.”
Petty and Stirn both play wheelchair basketball for exercise and competition. Stirn said that exercise for people in wheelchairs helps keep the weight off as well as increase circulation to legs, feet, and toes.
“Seventy percent of your energy is burned up through your legs. So, when you’re in a wheelchair, you’re not using that energy. You’re eating the same amount that you’re used to, but then you’re not burning those calories up,” Stirn said.
Wheelchair basketball is not the only option for people who use wheelchairs. Bob Mikesic, 55, Lawrence resident, enjoys swimming and wheeling on nature trails.
“I do it for personal enjoyment because it seems to improve my concentration and the ability to get me through the day with enough energy to get myself motivated,” Mikesic said.
Mikesic, Petty, and Nary have been working with Tim Laurent, of Lawrence parks and recreation, to get the City of Lawrence more accessible to wheelchair users, including public buildings, swimming pools and recreation centers. Mikesic said that after examining the city recreation centers, many of the centers have accessible parking and entrance to the building, but not the adequate equipment for people who use wheelchairs.
“It’s not quite the same set-up as what fitness centers purchase for common practice for others in the community. There’s a different approach. Equipment needs to be purchased with a seated user in mind,” Mikesic said.
Laurent said that the city of Lawrence has been working to improve the amount of accessible equipment available. The city purchased two Vita-Glide Promachines, which is a machine that is made especially for seated users. The first machine was delivered to the East Lawrence Recreation Center, 1245 E. 12th St., on Dec. 6, and the second machine will be installed at the Community Building, 115 W. 11th St., in January 2007.
After the purchase of the Vita-Glide Pro machines, Laurent said there are no more plans to purchase new equipment specifically for wheelchair users. However, the city is still examining the removal of benches at certain weight machines so that seated users may have easier access to other equipment.
As local recreation centers become more accessible, Nary said participants in the Workout on Wheels study may use this option for their weekly exercise. The study will use self-monitoring and goal setting for participants to integrate physical activity into their lives, whether it’s in the comfort of their own home or shooting hoops with a wheelchair basketball team.