Factors associated with sports participation amongst people with spinal cord injury in a Malaysian tertiary hospital

Objective:To identify factors that are associated with sports participation following spinal cord injury (SCI).Study Design:Case–control study.Setting:Spinal Rehabilitation outpatient clinic in a tertiary hospital in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.Participants:Thirty-one sports participants (SP) and thirty-four non-sports participants (NSP) (N = 65) met the following inclusion criteria; chronic SCI more than one year, age between 18 and 50 years, both traumatic and non-traumatic SCI at C5 level and below, complete or incomplete SCI (AIS A-D) and mobilizing with either manual or motorized wheelchair independently.Methods:Face-to-face interviews were performed with a 22-item self-constructed questionnaire which contained four domains of variables; socio-demographic, SCI-related, environmental and sports-related factors. Data collection was done between June 2017 and May 2018.Results:Traumatic SCI, pre-injury interest in sports, pre-injury sports participation, ability to drive own vehicles, and being employed were significantly associated with sports participation post-SCI (p < 0.05). Multiple logistic regression revealed traumatic SCI (p = 0.012, OR 34.70, CI 2.21–545.90) and pre-injury interest in sports (p = 0.046, OR 29.10, CI 1.06–798.95) to be independent predictors of sports participation post-SCI.Conclusion:Traumatic SCI and pre-injury interest in sports were predictors of sports participation post-SCI. Pre-injury sports participation, being employed, and the ability to drive own vehicles were positively associated with sports participation. Findings from this study suggest a few crucial differences in facilitators and barriers to sports participation in Malaysia compared to other countries.