Physical activity promotion for people with spinal cord injury: physiotherapists’ beliefs and actions

Abstract

Purpose: It is vital that people with spinal cord injury (SCI) lead a physically active lifestyle to promote long term health and well-being. Yet within rehabilitation and upon discharge into the community, people with SCI are largely inactive. Physiotherapists are well placed to promote a physically active lifestyle and are valued and trusted messengers of physical activity (PA) by people with SCI. Therefore this study aimed to explore the perceptions of physiotherapists in SCI rehabilitation on PA for people with SCI, and what is done to promote PA.

Method: Semi-structured interviews were completed with 18 neurological physiotherapists (2–22 years experience) from SCI centres in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Framed by interpretivism, an inductive thematic analysis was conducted.

Results: Three themes were identified: (1) perceived importance of PA; (2) inconsistent PA promotion efforts; and (3) concern regarding community PA.

Conclusions: This article makes a significant contribution to the literature by identifying that although physiotherapists value PA, active promotion of PA remains largely absent from their practice. To enable physiotherapists to promote and prescribe PA as a structured and integral component of their practice, effective knowledge strategies need designing and implementing at the macro, meso, and micro levels of healthcare.

Implications for Rehabilitation

• Physiotherapists are well placed to promote a physically active lifestyle and are perceived as valued and trusted messengers of physical activity (PA).

• The importance of PA for patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) is valued by physiotherapists yet PA promotion is largely absent from their practice.

• Physiotherapists lack specific education and training on PA and SCI and hold certain beliefs which restrict their promotion of PA.

• Knowledge translation across the macro, meso, and micro levels of healthcare are essential to facilitate effective PA promotion.

Keywords:

• Physical therapy
• healthcare
• neurological conditions
• active lifestyle
• knowledge translation
• qualitative

Disclosure statement

The authors report no declarations of interest.