NCT06040749

Virtual Sport for Adults ≥ 50 Years With Spinal Cord Injury

Peer-facilitated Virtual Sport for Adults ≥ 50 Years With Spinal Cord Injury

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 5 (actual)
• Sponsor: University Health Network, Toronto · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 50 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

Sport is a physical activity that has many physical, psychological and social benefits for those with spinal cord injury (SCI). However, most sport research involves people with SCI who are \<50 years old. This is a problem because many people are \>50 years old when first injured. Moreover, people with a SCI are now living longer lives, meaning they also experience more health challenges. Unfortunately, there is limited research studying the impact of sport for adults with SCI aged ≥50 years old.

Detailed description

Aim: To investigate the impact of sport for people with SCI who are ≥50 years old. Sport Program: This program will be a trial of virtual handcycling. Fifteen male and five female volunteers who are ≥50 years old, ≥12 months post-SCI, wheelchair users, and medically cleared to exercise will be recruited. Five participants will complete the program at a time, as a group, on Microsoft Teams. The sport program will begin with a physiotherapist virtually leading 15 minutes of warm-up exercises. Next, a person living with SCI who is aged ≥50 years old will facilitate 45 minutes of virtual handcycling while screen sharing an indoor cycling application called Zwift, which will provide participants with visual cues and context for changes in exercise intensity. Participants will be provided a cycle ergometer so they can participate in their own homes, and with a smart watch so heart rate can be monitored. This program will run twice a week for three months. Outcomes: Data will be collected on physical, psychological, and social health at (1) the start of the sport program, (2) immediately after, and (3) three months after the program ends. Any adverse events experienced will be recorded on a survey. Participants' feedback on the sport program and confidence in staying active will also be assessed using an interview at the end. Conclusion: The knowledge gained will assist in creating future sport programs that may help address the challenges associated with aging and SCI.

Conditions

• Spinal Cord Injury

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
OTHER	Virtual group-based handcycling	Virtual group-based handcycling

Timeline

• Start date: 2023-05-05
• Primary completion: 2024-09-30
• Completion: 2024-09-30
• First posted: 2023-09-18
• Last updated: 2025-04-06

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Canada