Quality of life, concern of falling and satisfaction of the sit-ski aid in sit-skiers with spinal cord injury: observational study

Abstract

Study design Observational study. Objective To describe (1) user satisfaction, (2) the Quality of Life (QoL) and (3) fear of falling in individuals with tetraplegia or paraplegia who used a mono-ski for sit-skiing. Setting Spinal units and Sport associations. Methods An observational study of people with spinal cord injury (SCI) who used a sit-ski. Participants were recruited in various SCI rehabilitation centers and sport associations. Participants completed three assessment tools: the Quebec User Evaluation of Satisfaction with assistive Technology (QUEST 2.0); the World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQoL-BREF); the Spinal Cord Injury Fall Concern Scale (SCI-FCS). Results were evaluated with chi-squared test and Kolmogorov-Smirnov's test and the significance was set for p values < 0.05. Results Fifteen participants were included. Results showed positive and statistically significant values for all the items of the SCI-FCS related to fear of falling, and for most of the items of the WHOQoL-BREF related to QoL and the QUEST 2.0 related to satisfaction with the device. Conclusions This study highlights that sit skiing is correlated with high levels of satisfaction with the mono-ski, increases in QoL, and low levels of fear of falling. In adding these findings to the existent literature, it can be stated with more certainty that sit-skiing is a sport that can be recommended in rehabilitation and sports therapy programs.

Analysis of the Experience of Individuals With Disability With Selected Aspects Related to Mono-Skiing

“…Particularly for wheelchair users, who have severely limited opportunities for meaningful outdoor leisure activities, it may be one of the suitable options for active spending of their leisure time in winter. These findings are consistent with the results of the Ponti study [34], where it is documented that mono-skiing correlates with high levels of satisfaction, low levels of fear of falling and increased quality of life. Taking into account other thematically related publications, it can be concluded that mono-skiing is clearly recommended for sports therapy programs for these reasons.…”

“…Kvasnička [23] states that downhill skiing on mono-ski is a young sport that has seen great development in recent years. Thanks to the technological maturity of compensatory aids, it can be practiced by individuals with severe physical or combined disability [34,25,15]. Petrofsky [33] demonstrated that mono-skiing correlates with high levels of satisfaction among mono-skiers, low levels of fear of falling and an increase in their quality of life.…”

New slopes - Designing a motorized cross-country sit-ski to increase accessibility, safety, activity level, and fun for paraplegic cross-country skiers

“…The perceived ability of a person to perform tasks successfully and confidence in skills has been shown as an important factor of health results (Craig et al, 2013). Self-efficacy has a mediating role between stress and depression and has effects against the negative impacts of pain and fatigue (Ponti et al, 2020). User 5 had low upper body strength when she started to use a wheelchair and believed that the prototype is an excellent place to start to learn the technique of sit-skiing without wearing herself out.…”

Understanding experiences of and influences on well-being in elite para-sport: A qualitative exploration of U.K. para-athletes.

“…Some research to date has suggested that engagement with sport can both positively and negatively affect dimensions of para-athlete well-being (Puce et al, 2023). For example, regular exercise improves bone metabolism and immunology, as well as increases mobility and functional independence—contributing to positive physical well-being (Ponti et al, 2020). However, the benefits of sport participation can be overridden by commonplace issues like illness or injury, overtraining, or unhealthy nutritional practices (Brook et al, 2019).…”