Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 23, 2026
Activity-based Training on a Treadmill with Spinal Cord Injured Wistar Rats
Published on: January 16, 2019
Examining physical activity trajectories for people with spinal cord injury
Shane N Sweet1, Kathleen A Martin Ginis, Amy E Latimer-Cheung
1School of Kinesiology and Health Studies, Queen's University, Kingston, ON. shane.sweet@queensu.ca
Objective:
It is crucial to understand long-term leisure time physical activity (LTPA) patterns of persons with spinal cord injury (SCI) as the challenges of living with this disability heavily influence LTPA levels. The purpose of this study was to explore emerging LTPA patterns in a sample of persons with SCI over an 18-month period. In addition, the study aimed to investigate the influence of pressure ulcers, demographic variables, and theory of planned behavior (TPB) constructs on the emerging LTPA trajectories.
Method:
Participants (N = 541) were enrolled in the SHAPE-SCI study and responded to questionnaires assessing LTPA, TPB constructs and demographic variables. Latent Class Growth Modeling was used to detect emerging LTPA patterns and to test the influence of important demographic and theoretical variables.
Results:
Four LTPA patterns emerged: inactive, increaser, decreaser, and stable active, representing 22%, 14%, 32%, and 32% of the sample, respectively. The presence of pressure ulcers resulted in a decline in LTPA among participants with a stable active trajectory. Finally, LTPA intentions were higher in all patterns compared to the inactive group. Injury severity, age, and years postinjury also distinguished the trajectories.
Conclusion:
Interventions should focus on increasing individuals' intentions and should be directed toward people who are older, have more severe injuries and have been injured for longer.
