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Physical Activity for Women with Disabilities

Home > Staying Active and Eating Healthy Home > How to Be Active for Health > Physical Activity for Women with Disabilities

• Additional Resources

A disability may make it harder to stay active, but it shouldn't stop you. In most cases, people with disabilities can improve their flexibility, mobility, and coordination by becoming physically active. Even though you have a disability, you should still aim to meet the physical activity goals listed in Types of Physical Activity.

Talk to your health care provider about your personal needs. For more information, visit our Illnesses and Disabilities section.

Additional Resources

Publications

1.   Physical Activity for Women with Disabilities - It is important for women with disabilities to be physically active, and this publication provides information from the CDC about why it’s important. It also provides some statistics.

   http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/women/physical.htm

2.   Exercise for People with Disabilities: Getting Started on Your Fitness Planned (Copyright © RTCIL) - This publication describes the importance of being physically active for people with disabilities and strategies to be more physically active.

   http://www.rtcil.org/products/RTCIL%20publications/Health%20Issues/Exercise%20for%20People%20with%20Disabil...

3. Exercise/Fitness: Exercise Guidelines for People with Disabilities (Copyright © NCPAD) - This publication provides some general exercise guidelines for people with disabilities.

   http://www.ncpad.org/exercise/fact_sheet.php?sheet=15

4. A Health Handbook for Women with Disabilities (Copyright © Hesperian Foundation) - This book is written for women with disabilities around the world. It contains chapters about understanding and taking care of your body, growing older with a disability, abuse, violence, self-defense, and much more.

   http://www.hesperian.org/publications_download_wwd.php

5.   Recreation: A Great Way to be Active (Copyright © NCODH) - This publications provides ideas about other ways to be active than just going to the gym and lifting weights. It talks about gardening, walking the dog, flying a kite, and other ways to have fun and stay active.

   http://www.fpg.unc.edu/~ncodh/pdfs/recbeactive.pdf

6. The Wise Choices Food Pyramid: What if We Did Compare Apples and Oranges? -

   http://mtdh.ruralinstitute.umt.edu/Publications/WiseChoices.htm

Organizations

1. Disabled Sports USA
2. Dwarf Athletic Association of America
3. National Center on Physical Activity and Disability
4. North Carolina Office on Disability and Health
5. Special Olympics

= Indicates Federal Resources

Content last updated June 17, 2008.