Sport and Recreation following a Brain Injury

Disclaimer: This information sheet is for education purposes only. Please consult with your doctor or other health professional to make sure this information is right for your child.

There are many benefits gained from participating in sport and recreation activities for all individuals. Following a brain injury, returning to sports and hobbies should be encouraged for a number of reasons, including:

• Improved self confidence and self esteem
• Social interactions
• Improved balance and coordination skills
• Improved fitness and health
• Improved sleep patterns
• It's FUN

Many children will have difficulty returning to sport and recreational activities following a brain injury. In the short term, and sometimes in the long term, modifications to these activities is sometimes necessary. Difficulty returning to physical activities may be due to many factors. These may include:

• Physical, eg. balance and coordination difficulties, muscle weakness, tightness or control issues, reduced fitness, visual problems, and fatigue.
• Cognitive eg. fatigue, difficulties planning movements, memory problems, poor self monitoring.
• Behavioural eg. anxiety of the child or parent, decreased self confidence, impaired safety awareness or impulsive behaviour
• Difficulty accessing appropriate sporting activities and venues

Appropriate Sports and Recreational Activities

There are many important factors to consider when choosing sporting activities for a child following a brain injury. What does the child want to do? What are their and your expectations? What were the child's pre-existing skills and experiences, and what are their skills and strengths now? Are there problem areas you can identify that will interfere with participation in sports and physical activities? All of these factors need to be considered along with the child's age, interests, availability of activities, and of course safety.

Many sports combine physical and cognitive demands that can be very challenging for the child/young person. The sport activity may require juggling several things in the mind at one time, may require forward planning and quick decisions making.

The best way to find an appropriate activity is to ask for advice. Staff from the Rehabilitation team, other parents, school PE teachers and local councils are a good place to start for information. There are also many organisations (some examples are listed below) that can assist you in choosing appropriate activities for a child with a disability, with a broad range of options to choose from.

There are many activities that may be suitable for a child following ABI, including swimming, sailing, martial arts, golf, athletics, rowing, cricket, and tennis.

Team sports tend to become more competitive with increasing age, and often require equal levels of abilities in all participants, and therefore may not be suitable.

Each activity needs to be chosen with the individual child's needs in mind.

Contact Sports

When a child sustains a significant brain injury, the brain becomes more vulnerable to further injury. It is therefore important to choose appropriate sporting and recreational activities to avoid further injury. Immediately following a brain injury, there will be specific restrictions placed on participation in contact sports.

Contact sports include games that involve tackling, tripping or barging as part of the game or as risk of the game (rugby, soccer, basketball, netball and hockey) or activities that have a high risk of injury (such as horse-riding).

Most children are advised not to play contact sports for at least 12 months. It may be possible to slowly reintroduce these activities when medical clearance is given, although modifications may be required (especially the wearing of helmets).

Where to get more information?

Your Physiotherapist, NSW Department of Sport and Recreation, NSW Sports Council for the Disabled, NSW Wheelchair Sports Association, Northcott Society, the Spastic Centre

Rehabilitation Department The Children's Hospital at Westmead Cnr Hawkesbury Rd & Hainsworth St, Westmead Locked Bag 4001, Westmead, 2145 Tel: (02) 9845 2132 - Fax: (02) 9845 0685 http://www.chw.edu.au/rehabilitation/