Influence of Sport Participation on Community Integration and Quality of Life: A Comparison Between Sport Participants and Non-Sport Participants With Spinal Cord Injury

AbstractBackground/Objective: To determine whether community integration and/or quality of life (QoL) among people living with chronic spinal cord injury (SCI) are superior among sport participants vs non-sport participants.Study Design: Cross-sectional study.Participants/Methods: Persons (n = 90) living in the community with SCI (ASIA Impairment Scale A-D), level C5 or below, > 15 years of age, ≥ 12 months postinjury, and requiring a wheelchair for > 1 hours/day were divided into 2 groups based on their self-reported sport participation at interview: sport participants (n = 45) and non-sport participants (n = 45).Results: Independent-sample t tests revealed that both Community Integration Questionnaire (CIQ) and Reintegration to Normal Living Index (RNL) total mean scores were higher among sport participants vs nonsport participants (P < 0.05). Significant correlation between CIQ and RNL total scores was found for all participants (Pearson correlation coefficients, P < 0.01). Logistic regression analysis...