About 4.4 million Australians, or 18 per cent of our population, live with disability. This number is likely to rise as our population ages.
Adults living with disability can experience a range of benefits from participating in community-based physical activities such as dance, Tai Chi and yoga, our recently published review found.
Yet adults with disability are less physically active than those without disability, with inclusive community-based physical activities few and far between. This puts people with disability at increased risk of further disability.
People with disability should be able to join a local club or group to participate in physical activity they enjoy, just like the rest of us. So how can we provide more physical activity options?
BENEFITS OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
A systematic review included 74 trials with 2954 men and women living with mild-to-moderate physical and intellectual disability.
It looked at studies of Tai Chi, Qigong, yoga, dance, water exercise, gym training, boxing, horse riding, Nordic walking and running. All but one of these physical activities were delivered in condition-specific groups (for example, a group for people with Parkinson’s disease).
People found benefits from participating in these recreation activities. Benefits included improvements in walking, balance and quality of life, and reductions in fatigue, depression and anxiety.
