Why Adaptive Movement is Necessary



Photo ©2011 B.Gini

Its not something I talk about much, but about 24 years ago on a rainy morning while driving to work, I was injured, along with 4 other drivers, in a motor vehicle accident.

My car (an ’85 Buick LeSabre) took the most of the impact but was destroyed. My body ached for months. Up until then I had worked out by kickboxing, aerobics & martial arts. At age 23, I was in excellent physical shape but was told by my doctor to stop exercising so the movement wouldn’t 'jar' my spine. I was not given any alternative exercises.

I was cautioned that I would probably always have headaches, hip and back pain & by my 40's would likely lose most of the feeling in my (dominant) arm & hand. My orthopedic surgeon suggested I have surgery to remove several of my ribs to "release" the compression in my spine. I laughed thinking he was joking. He was not.

A week later, I found an article in a magazine in that same doctor's waiting room. It outlined a study at Bryn Mawr Hospital that was using yoga as a complimentary medicine to speed healing. The results looked very promising. I left his office that day, took the magazine with me, and instead of filling the prescription for pain medication, I searched for & found a 20 page booklet and cassette tape on yoga in a local book store.

I practiced with that little book daily on my own. I worked in short intervals and learned to modify the movements to adapt to my limited mobility. I took it slowly & did was felt sensible to my body never pushing beyond what felt 'safe'. Progress was slow, but it did eventually help my body feel and move better. (And I am happy to report that I still have ALL of my ribs!)

I believe there are 3 main reasons that I can move at all today, at age 47:

• my big clunky car that surrounded & protected me like armor
• my good physical shape prior to the accident
• the yoga that I learned from that booklet & tape

I’ve practiced to varying degrees over the years, always in harmony with my changing health, weight, fitness level, & body chemistry. Yoga has always helped & has never failed me. It now helps the children that I work with in ways I never thought possible.

This is why I continue to adapt, modify & customize yoga to my students and why we need more people willing to do the same. After playing sports my whole life and having excellent coordination & mobility, I remember after the accident trying to move a certain way and not being able to. I remember the decreased sensitivity in my leg, arm and hand and that clumsy, disconnected feeling. I felt frustrated & trapped in my own body. To me, adaptive movement in the form of sports, horseback riding, swimming, karate, dance & yoga and others, not only makes perfect sense, but is an absolute necessity.

Statistics show that physical activity for children with disabilities as compared to children without disabilities is much lower. In recent years, there has been a call for more physical activity for everyone, especially kids. At the same time, there is awareness of the need for more adaptive recreational programming to address the growing needs of children with a variety of  physical, sensory and other adaptive needs.

In adapted classes, there is better ratios of 1:1 instruction, smaller groups and a slower pace to allow the children to build on their strengths, overcome weaknesses & and master new skills gradually. Adapting recreation, dance, karate, yoga & PE is a way to ensure that everyone is challenged and participates to their full potential while maintaining the integrity of the activity.

I found this article below with great information, discussing the importance of adapted PE in Schools & why we need to keep kids active not only in gym class but throughout the rest of their lives. It outlines reasons why we need more adaptive movement programs not just as PE but as recreation as well.

As always, I encourage you to find activities that you & your child can participate in & to move and play with your children every day!


The Importance of Adapted Physical Education in Schools

 
 
  *In my next post, I will talk about one approach to HOW to adapt PE, sports & recreational programs.










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