Encouraging People with Spinal Cord Injury to Take Part in Physical Activity in the COVID-19 Epidemic through the mHealth ParaSportAPP.

BACKGROUND

Although mHealth tools have great potential for health interventions, few experimental studies report on their use by people with spinal cord injuries in physical activity.

OBJECTIVE

The main objective of this study was to analyze the effect of the ParaSportAPP on different physical and psychological variables in people with paraplegia.

METHODS

Fourteen of these subjects made up the final sample. All the participants performed two pre-tests (control period) and a post-test with 8 months between the evaluations (COVID-19 broke out between pre-test 2 and the post-test). The ParaSportAPP was installed on their smartphones when they performed pre-test 2. The same tests were performed in the same order in all the evaluations: (i) the questionnaires PASIPD, HADS, RS-25; SCIM III and AQoL-8D, (ii) respiratory muscle strength, (iii) spirometry and (iv) cardiopulmonary exercise test.

RESULTS

The results showed no differences in any of the variables studied between the measurement times.

CONCLUSIONS

Although none of the variables experienced improvements, the ParaSportAPP mobile application was able to lessen the impact of the pandemic on the variables studied.