Physical Activity for Women with Disabilities

by CDC

(Page 2 of 2)

The importance of physical activity for women with disabilities cannot be overstated.

Physical activity can prevent or delay many of the secondary conditions that often complicate disability, such as heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, osteoporosis, obesity, and depression. It can help control the pain of arthritis and help maintain healthy muscles and joints.

Healthy People 2010 and the 1996 Surgeon General's Report on Physical Activity and Health cite the benefits of physical activity to overall health and well-being. However, people with disabilities are less physically active than people without disabilities. Women with disabilities must contend with attitudes that assume people with disabilities cannot or do not need to exercise.

Finding an accessible gym can be a challenge. Health clubs should have accessible parking, automatic doors, wide aisles, and accessible showers, lockers, and pools, Adaptive exercise equipment includes roll-in strength training machines, hand cycles, and underwater exercise equipment. Staff should be trained to be sensitive to the needs of people with disabilities and to assist people with disabilities when necessary.

The Surgeon General's Report emphasized that inactive people can improve their health with even moderate increases in regular activity.

Resources

"Exercise for People with Disabilities: Getting Started on Your Fitness Plan" presents a convincing case for the importance of physical activity and provides the tools to make it happen: A goals chart, activity log, list of exercise videos for people with disabilities, and a detailed personal physical activity plan form. The booklet is funded by CDC and available from the Research and Training Center on Independent Living at the University of Kansas. Visit http://www.rtcil.org or call [phone].

"Removing Barriers to Health Clubs and Fitness Facilities: A Guide for Accommodating All Members, Including People with Disabilities and Older Adults" makes the case for health clubs to make their facilities welcoming to people with disabilities. The CDC-funded booklet reviews Americans with Disabilities Act standards for design and gives specific recommendations for improving accessibility of fitness faculties, choosing equipment, and assisting people with disabilities. The publication is available from the North Carolina Office on Disability and Health. Visit www.fpg.unc.edu/~ncodh/ or call [phone].

The National Center on Physical Activity and Disability, funded by CDC, is a good starting place for women with disabilities, health-care providers, public health practitioners, and disability and service organizations to learn more about physical activity and disability. This national clearinghouse provides a large number of resources, ranging from research to instructional videos to discussion groups. Visit www.ncpad.org or call [phone].

Abuse Deserves Special Vigilance

Violence is a serious problem for many women with disabilities.

Two small studies by the Center for Research on Women with Disabilities (CROWD) at Baylor College of Medicine found 10 to 13 percent of women with disabilities reporting being abused within the past year, a rate similar to that of women without disabilities. But women with disabilities were more likely to be abused for longer periods of time. They were also abused by a wider variety of people, such as health-care providers, strangers, or attendants, in addition to partners or family members.

Women with disabilities experience the types of physical and mental abuse women in general do. But they also are subject to unique forms of abuse: caretakers have been reported withholding medicines and assistive devices, such as wheelchairs or braces, or being refused essential care.

Women with disabilities need to know about resources that can help them if they are abused. Few women with physical, visual, or hearing disabilities use battered women's services, according to another CROWD study. The study suggested that many shelters may be accessible to women with physical disabilities but may not reach out to them or offer services such as sign language interpreters or personal care attendants.

Health-care providers can routinely screen for abuse by asking four simple questions:

Within the last year,

1. Have you been hit, slapped, kicked, pushed, shoved, or otherwise physically hurt by someone?

2. Has anyone forced you to have sexual activities?

3. Has anyone prevented you form using a wheelchair, cane, respirator, or other assistive device?

4. Has anyone you depend on refused to help you with an important personal need such as taking your medicine, getting to the bathroom, getting out of bed, bathing, getting dressed, or getting food or drink?

About the Author

www.cdc.gov
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is one of the 13 major operating components of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which is the principal agency in the United States government for protecting the health and safety of all Americans and for providing essential human services, especially for those people who are least able to help themselves.