Type, intensity and duration of daily physical activities performed by adults with spinal cord injury

Secondary analysis of cross-sectional data.

To describe and compare (1) self-reported intensities and durations of specific types of daily physical activities and (2) minutes per day spent on daily physical activities across key demographic groups.

Community (Ontario, Canada).

Participants were 695 adults with spinal cord injury (SCI; 76% male, M_age=46.81±13.41 years, M_{years post injury}=15.19±11.10 years). Daily activities were assessed over the telephone using the Physical Activity Recall Assessment for People with SCI. Multivariate analyses of variance (MANOVA) were computed to test for differences in intensities and durations of different daily activities (objective 1) and between-group differences in minutes per day of daily activities (objective 2).

Overall, participants reported 127.92±142.79 min per day of daily physical activities with significantly more time spent in mild intensity (78.93±104.62 min per day) than moderate- (40.23±68.71 min per day) or heavy-intensity activities (8.75±24.53 min per day). Four patterns emerged with respect to type, duration and intensity, with some activities being typically performed at lighter or heavier intensities than others. There were significant differences in minutes per day of activity intensity and duration between groups based on education, injury severity and mode of mobility (P<0.05).

Given that some groups were more likely to engage in moderate-heavy-intensity activities, and some activities were more likely to be performed at moderate-heavy intensities, interventions that target key groups to increase certain daily activities may be one strategy to enhance overall physical activity participation among people with SCI.