International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR) ISSN (Online): 2319-7064 Impact Factor (2012): 3.358 Volume 3 Issue 8, August 2014 www.ijsr.net Licensed Under Creative Commons Attribution CC BY Reviewing Benefits and Barriers Associated with the Participation of Persons with Disabilities in Sport, Exercise, Physical and Leisure Activities Edmore Nhamo 1 , Patrick Sibanda 2 1 Department of Health Sciences, Faculty of Science and Technology, Zimbabwe Open University, Zimbabwe 2 Department of Disability Studies and Special Needs Education, Faculty of Social Science, Zimbabwe Open University, Zimbabwe Abstract: In life barriers to participation in sport and physical activity tend to exist and affect all people i.e. able bodied as well as those living with disabilities. However people with disabilities often experience additional barriers to those experienced by their non disabled counterparts. It is also commonly believed that disabled people can benefit from participating in sport, exercise physical and leisure activities just like their non disabled counterparts. This article reviews, analyses and discusses the critical benefits which persons with disabilities can accrue from participating in sport, exercise, physical and leisure activities. The paper proceeds to review the critical barriers that tend to impede persons with disabilities from participating in these activities and hence prevent them from accruing the envisaged benefits. The paper projects forward by suggesting solutions to the barriers in order to enhance, promote and motivate the involvement and participation of persons with a disability in sport, exercise and leisure activities. Keywords: Benefits and barriers, persons with disabilities, sport and exercise, physical and leisure activities 1. Introduction It is important for all people including people with disabilities (PWD) to be aware of and be more knowledgeable about the specific effects of both physical activity and inactivity. For all human beings the benefits of participating in sport, exercise, physical and leisure activities are immense and can never be overemphasised. Simply stated engaging in sport, exercise, leisure and physical activity is associated with significant health benefits [1,2,3]. However it is important to recognize that engaging in physical activity is not as simple as it sounds. This is possibly the reason why in spite of some understanding of the benefits of participating in sport and physical activities some people still refrain from exercising. One of the simple reasons is that there are numerous significant barriers that prevent people from engaging in physical activity and exercise [ 4, 5, 7] most of which are beyond the scope of this article. Suffice to say that all people experience barriers to participating in physical activity but disabled persons often experience and endure unique and additional barriers in their quest to participate in sport, exercise, physical and leisure activities. 2. The impact of sport, exercise, physical and leisure activities on the physical health and wellbeing of people with disabilities Sport exercise, physical and leisure activities have the potential to reduce the risk of lifestyle or non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes and conditions such as stress, anxiety and depression. Sport and Physical activity are also believed to help prevent and reduce hypertension, control body weight, prevent and control osteoporosis and help manage chronic pain [1,2,3] . Physical inactivity or disuse of the human body is associated with undesirable healthy risks; it is believed to lead to premature ageing chronic disease and other numerous impairments such as cardio-vascular vulnerability and musculoskeletal fragility [8] . As [9] argues, “If some of the benefits accruing from physical exercise could be procured by any one medicine, then nothing in the world would be held in more esteem than that medicine.” Regular participating in sport enables people to work harder, longer and with less effort and there is a reduced sense of effort for any given task. This is true for everyone and for all age groups [8] . Physical fitness which is a direct derivative of sport, exercise and physical activity is particularly important in the face of periods of immobilisation, hospitalisation or serious health problems. It contributes to the maintenance of functioning and prevents the development of new functional limitations [8] . Being overweight particularly in people with mobility impairments can affect their functional ability and independence and increase the likelihood of them developing associated complications. Thus sport and physical activity can be important in maintaining health and simultaneously and indirectly promoting financial savings in terms of healthy costs. Each component of physical fitness including balance, coordination, muscle strength, reaction time, visual acuity, power, body composition, cardiovascular and muscular endurance can be defined on a continuum ranging from low to high fitness levels. According to [10] the question of what constitute an adequate level of intensity and duration of exercise to achieve therapeutic benefits from exercise remains a subject of constant debate.” However it is generally accepted that moderate physical activity such as Paper ID: 02015303 304