More Than Just a Game: The Public Health Impact of Sport and Physical Activity for People with Disabilities

Episode Description

In this episode we discuss the benefits and barriers to fitness in people with disabilities, inspired by the article More Than Just a Game: The Public Health Impact of Sport and Physical Activity for People With Disabilities.

Episode Guests

Cheri Blauwet, MD

Cheri Blauwet is an Associate Professor in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Harvard Medical School, the Distinguished Chair in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and the Chief Medical Officer of Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital. She is an attending sports medicine physician at Mass General Brigham, where she also serves as Founding Director of the Kelley Adaptive Sports Research Institute. Dr. Blauwet is also a former Paralympic athlete in the sport of wheelchair racing, competing for the United States Team in three Paralympic Games (Sydney '00, Athens '04, Beijing '08) and bringing home a total of seven Paralympic medals. She is also a two-time winner of both the Boston and New York City Marathons.

Saul Fisher

On June 10th, 2018, Saul Fisher was about a mile from his home halfway through his 25-mile bike workout when he was hit by a car and his life changed in an instant. He states:

Kathleen Salas, PT, MHA

Kathleen Comfort Salas is a physical therapist with extensive experience working with clients with neurologic impairments. She began blending adaptive sports with her rehabilitation approach 30 years ago. In 2009 she led the expansion of Spaulding Adaptive Sports programs from Boston to the North Shore, where she ran programs until becoming the full time Boston Coordinator of Spaulding Adaptive Sports Centers in 2021. Kathleen promotes the power of sport to enhance rehabilitation and achieve recreation goals, and empowerment for people with disabilities in all areas of their lives.

Episode Resources

Episode Articles & Related Research

• More Than Just a Game: The Public Health Impact of Sport and Physical Activity for People With Disabilities (The 2017 DeLisa Lecture) | American Journal of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation
• Functional and environmental factors are associated with sustained participation in adaptive sports | PM&R
• Participant-reported benefits of involvement in an adaptive sports program: a qualitative study | PM&R
• Developing a Virtual Adaptive Sports Program in Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic | PM&R

Advocacy, Education, & Community Organizations

• Move United: A nonprofit with a mission to ensure everyone, regardless of ability, experiences the life-changing power of sport and is included in their community
• Global Sports Mentoring Program: Sport for Community (S4C), uses an immersive mentorship and cultural exchange model to focus on empowering people with disabilities through community-based sports initiatives
• Commit to Inclusion: A global campaign to end the exclusion of people with disability from physical activity and all associated areas