Sports and Amputees
Prosthetics and Orthotics International December 2009; 33(4): 356–367
Participation in sports by lower limb amputees in the Province of Drenthe, The Netherlands
COJANNE KARS1, MARIANNE HOFMAN1, JAN H. B. GEERTZEN2,3, GERT-JAN PEPPING1,4, & RIENK DEKKER2,3
Department of Human Movement Sciences and 2SHARE, Graduate School for Health Research, University of Groningen, Groningen, and 3Center for Rehabilitation and 4Center for Sport, Exercise and Health, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
1
Abstract The numbers of lower limb amputees participating in recreational activity date back more than 25 years. Previous studies have shown that 60% of lower limb amputees participated in recreational activities, including sports. To date, research in The Netherlands into sports participation of this specific amputee population is insufficient. The purpose of the reported survey was to investigate the sports participation habits of lower limb amputees in the Province of Drenthe, The Netherlands, using a self-constructed questionnaire. A total of 105 lower limb amputees responded (36%), a large proportion of whom were traumatic amputees (31%). Of the respondents, 34 (32%) participated in some form of sport. Results indicated that participation in sport before the amputation was a predetermining factor for amputees to participate in sports whilst the level of amputation, age and etiology were not predetermining factors of participation in sports after a lower limb amputation. Keywords: Evaluation studies, amputation, lower extremity, sports
Introduction A total of 56% of adults with disabilities in the United States do not engage in any leisuretime physical activity compared to 36% among adults without disability.1 These results are consistent with the notion that, on average, people with a disability are more inactive than the general population.2,3 There are cultural differences between the United States and The Netherlands in sports
Participation in sports by lower limb amputees in the Province of Drenthe, The Netherlands
COJANNE KARS1, MARIANNE HOFMAN1, JAN H. B. GEERTZEN2,3, GERT-JAN PEPPING1,4, & RIENK DEKKER2,3
Department of Human Movement Sciences and 2SHARE, Graduate School for Health Research, University of Groningen, Groningen, and 3Center for Rehabilitation and 4Center for Sport, Exercise and Health, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
1
Abstract The numbers of lower limb amputees participating in recreational activity date back more than 25 years. Previous studies have shown that 60% of lower limb amputees participated in recreational activities, including sports. To date, research in The Netherlands into sports participation of this specific amputee population is insufficient. The purpose of the reported survey was to investigate the sports participation habits of lower limb amputees in the Province of Drenthe, The Netherlands, using a self-constructed questionnaire. A total of 105 lower limb amputees responded (36%), a large proportion of whom were traumatic amputees (31%). Of the respondents, 34 (32%) participated in some form of sport. Results indicated that participation in sport before the amputation was a predetermining factor for amputees to participate in sports whilst the level of amputation, age and etiology were not predetermining factors of participation in sports after a lower limb amputation. Keywords: Evaluation studies, amputation, lower extremity, sports
Introduction A total of 56% of adults with disabilities in the United States do not engage in any leisuretime physical activity compared to 36% among adults without disability.1 These results are consistent with the notion that, on average, people with a disability are more inactive than the general population.2,3 There are cultural differences between the United States and The Netherlands in sports