Fun and games? The role of sport after spinal injury

Posted: 03/10/2024

Disabled people are almost twice as likely to be physically inactive as people without a disability, according to Sport England. This is often due to physical barriers. For example, the sports or activities may need to be adapted so that people with disabilities can take part, or they may need specialist equipment. Many disabled people suffer from fatigue and feel they do not have the energy to exercise, while others struggle with accessibility at their local gyms or with transport.

Even when these physical problems are overcome, there are also mental and emotional barriers to taking up sports, especially for people with disabilities. For example, following injury, they may have a lack of confidence and self-esteem, negative body image or concern about the perceptions of others.

The Spinal Injuries Association (SIA), a charity which supports people with spinal cord injuries to lead fulfilled lives, provides guidance about physical activity after spinal cord injury. The charity also emphasises the benefits of sports and exercise for spinal patients, which include helping blood circulation, improving sleep, reducing spasms and helping pain relief. From a mental health perspective, the SIA says regular exercise can also relieve anxiety and stress, help make daily tasks more manageable, and improve confidence and self-esteem.

Historically, there has been a lack of media coverage and role models for disabled sports, but this is improving with increased press coverage of events such as the Paralympic Games, which have just ended. The games, which take place every four years in the same year as the Olympic Games, are the largest international sporting event for athletes with disabilities.

The Paralympics originated in 1948 at Stoke Mandeville Hospital, where the UK’s first spinal injuries unit was opened. The first competitors were all injured war veterans. In 1952, the games became international and non-military competitors were able to join. Since then, the popularity and scope of the games has increased, and in 2024 over 4,400 athletes from over 150 different countries took part in 22 different sports.

Stoke Mandeville Hospital continues to host sports events for spinal injury patients, and last week hosted the WheelPower Inter Spinal Unit Games from 23-26 September 2024. WheelPower, a UK charity for wheelchair sport, aims to provide opportunities for people with physical impairments to participate in sporting events. The Spinal Unit Games are held annually, with patients and staff from spinal injury centres and specialist units from across the UK coming to take part. The aim of the event is for leading wheelchair sports athletes to encourage and demonstrate what can be achieved post-spinal injury, and to promote the benefits of sport and physical activity.

The link between sport and spinal injury was also in the news recently when former rugby player and Paralympic host Ed Jackson spoke about his passion for mountaineering following spinal injury. Jackson suffered a permanent disability caused by spinal cord injury after diving into the shallow end of a swimming pool in 2017. He spoke about the sense of purpose that mountaineering gives him, and his next challenge, to climb a 5,000m peak in Kyrgyzstan with a team of disabled adventurers.

Victoria Johnson, associate in the Penningtons Manches Cooper clinical negligence team, comments: “We often work with people who have suffered serious injury to their spine, or their spinal cord, and now live with disabilities. If their injury was caused, or worsened, by failings in their medical care, there are several ways in which compensation can help with regaining confidence and fulfilling their potential.

“For example, physiotherapy, specialist aids and equipment, prosthetics or orthotics, and other treatments like hydrotherapy, could all potentially be funded from a claim for damages. It is common for our clients to have psychological injuries, and we often claim for the costs of therapy to help with the mental and emotional consequences of the injury.

“The athletes in the Paralympics and other disabled sports are an amazing example to us all, whether we have a disability or not. While most of us won’t reach that level of excellence, it is clear that there are physical and mental benefits to taking part in physical activity or sport if you can. However, there are also many physical and mental barriers to people being able to participate. I hope that the increasing popularity of disabled sports helps create a more inclusive attitude.”

The clinical negligence team at Penningtons Manches Cooper has a specialist practice dedicated to investigating spinal and spinal cord claims. If you believe you may have a claim, please contact us for a free, no obligation discussion.

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