Sports participation and physical disabilities: Taking the hurdle?!

Only one-third of people with physical disabilities regularly participate in sports, compared to two-thirds of people without physical disabilities. Benefits of sports participation for people with physical disabilities include reducing chances of heart disease and obesity. In order to try to increase sports participation for people with physical disabilities, it is important to understand what withholds them from sports and how they can be stimulated to become active in sports. Results from this research amongst active and inactive people with a physical disability show that facilitators are fun and health, as well as support from family and friends and social contacts. Barriers are mostly related to the underlying disability or related to environment such as adaptation of facilities or lack of transport. In order to increase sports participation of people with physical disabilities, they have to see and experience how much fun sports are and how they physically benefit from sports. Sports is part of the rehabilitation process and rehabilitation professionals help to get people motivated by providing information about possibilities of disability sports or other suitable sports. Politics should also take responsibility for improving disability sports by enhancing infrastructure and providing funding for assistive (sport) devices. Municipalities have to integrate sports clubs for people with and without physical disabilities, to increase sports possibilities for people with physical disabilities. Because sports participation is for everybody.