Physical activity and sedentary behavior in people with spinal cord injury: Mitigation strategies during COVID-19 on behalf of ACSM-EIM and HL-PIVOT

Lauren C Bates; Ryan Conners; Gabriel Zieff; Nathan T Adams; Kyle M Edgar; Sandra Stevens; Mark A Faghy; Ross Arena; Amber Vermeesch; Rodney P Joseph; NiCole Keith; Lee Stoner

doi:10.1016/j.dhjo.2021.101177

Physical activity and sedentary behavior in people with spinal cord injury: Mitigation strategies during COVID-19 on behalf of ACSM-EIM and HL-PIVOT

Disabil Health J. 2022 Jan;15(1):101177. doi: 10.1016/j.dhjo.2021.101177. Epub 2021 Jul 24.

Authors

Lauren C Bates¹, Ryan Conners², Gabriel Zieff³, Nathan T Adams⁴, Kyle M Edgar⁴, Sandra Stevens⁵, Mark A Faghy⁶, Ross Arena⁷, Amber Vermeesch⁸, Rodney P Joseph⁹, NiCole Keith¹⁰, Lee Stoner³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Exercise and Sport Science, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA; Healthy Living for Pandemic Event Protection (HL - PIVOT) Network, Chicago, IL, USA. Electronic address: lbates15@live.unc.edu.
² Department of Kinesiology, The University of Alabama in Huntsville, Huntsville, AL, USA.
³ Department of Exercise and Sport Science, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA; Healthy Living for Pandemic Event Protection (HL - PIVOT) Network, Chicago, IL, USA.
⁴ Department of Exercise and Sport Science, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
⁵ Department of Health and Human Performance, Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN, USA.
⁶ Healthy Living for Pandemic Event Protection (HL - PIVOT) Network, Chicago, IL, USA; Human Science Research Centre, University of Derby, Derby, UK.
⁷ Healthy Living for Pandemic Event Protection (HL - PIVOT) Network, Chicago, IL, USA; Department of Physical Therapy, College of Applied Health Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
⁸ Healthy Living for Pandemic Event Protection (HL - PIVOT) Network, Chicago, IL, USA; University of Portland, School of Nursing, Portland, OR, USA.
⁹ Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation, Arizona State University, Phoenix AZ, USA.
¹⁰ Department of Kinesiology, School of Health and Human Sciences, Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis, USA.

Abstract

People with spinal cord injury (SCI) face unique challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic, including greater risk of poor COVID-19-related outcomes, increased social isolation, and restricted access to important services. Furthermore, COVID-19 related restrictions have decreased already low levels of physical activity (PA) in this population. Therefore, the purpose of this commentary is to: 1) address the impact of COVID-19 on PA and sedentary behavior (SB) in people with SCI; 2) provide potential SB reduction strategies to guide future research; and 3) provide recommendations to increase PA and reduce SB on behalf of the American College of Sports Medicine Exercise is Medicine (ACSM-EIM) and Healthy Living for Pandemic Event Protection (HL-PIVOT) using a social-ecological model targeting the individual-, social environment-, physical environment-, and policy-level determinants of behavior in people with SCI.

Keywords: COVID-19; Physical activity; Sedentary behavior reduction; Socio-ecological model; Spinal cord injury.

MeSH terms

COVID-19*
Disabled Persons*
Exercise
Humans
Pandemics
SARS-CoV-2
Sedentary Behavior
Spinal Cord Injuries* / complications