Objective: To describe the types, intensities, and average duration of leisure time physical activities (LTPAs) performed by people with chronic spinal cord injury (SCI).
Design: Cross-sectional telephone survey.
Setting: General community.
Participants: Men and women with SCI (N=347) who reported engaging in LTPA over the previous 3 days.
Interventions: Not applicable.
Main outcome measures: Mean minutes a day of LTPA performed at mild, moderate, and heavy intensities; proportion of respondents performing specific types of LTPA.
Results: Participants reported a mean +/- SD of 55.15+/-59.05min/d of LTPA at a mild intensity or greater. Median LTPA was 33.33min/d. More activity was done at a moderate intensity (mean +/- SD, 25.49+/-42.11min/d) than mild (mean +/- SD, 19.14+/-37.77min/d) or heavy intensities (mean +/- SD, 10.52+/-22.17min/d). Most participants reported mild (54%) or moderate intensity LTPA (68%), while a minority reported heavy intensity LTPA (43%). The 3 most frequently reported types of LTPA were resistance training (33%), aerobic exercise (25%), and wheeling (24%). Craftsmanship (mean +/- SD, 83.79+/-96.00min/d) and sports activities (mean +/- SD, 60.86+/-59.76 min/d) were performed for the longest durations.
Conclusions: There is considerable variability in daily LTPA among active people with SCI and variability across different types of LTPA in terms of typical durations and intensities. This information can be used to help people with chronic SCI become more active by highlighting activities that meet individual abilities, needs, and desires.