Adapted Sports Institute

We support individuals with disabilities in maintaining a healthy lifestyle by providing opportunities to develop independence, confidence and fitness.

Contact: 614-293-2001

Ohio State’s Adapted Sports Institute helps you reach your fitness goals – no matter your challenges

Whether you’ve lived with a disability your entire life or a more recent injury or illness led to one, it’s important to stay active to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

At The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, our rehabilitation experts recognize the positive impact that finding appropriate sports and physical activities can have on your treatment and recovery. Not only do these pursuits keep you active and increase your fitness, but they also allow you to be competitive and involved in the community.

We also know that it’s not always easy to find athletic and fitness opportunities that adapt to your disability. That’s why we created the Adapted Sports Institute, which strives to be an interdisciplinary resource in creating, developing and maintaining a culture that supports athletic performance and recreational activity to promote health and wellness for all individuals. Whether you want to play wheelchair football or amputee soccer or participate in adaptive dance, we can help find the right fit for you.

View the Community Adapted Sports Calendar

What is the Adapted Sports Institute?

Since its inception in 2015, the Adapted Sports Institute has helped hundreds of people high school age and older find athletic opportunities that fit their disabilities, physical needs and fitness goals. It’s one of the many tools that our rehabilitation specialists offer people recovering from an injury to help them rebuild their lives and achieve a greater level of independence.

We know that successfully participating in adapted sports allows you to focus on your abilities while also promoting recovery, overall wellness and injury prevention. At the Adapted Sports Institute, our mission is to:

  • Support individuals with disabilities in developing and maintaining a healthy lifestyle
  • Strive to unite and support organizations that provide opportunities for individuals to develop independence, confidence and fitness
  • Integrate evidence-based and innovative treatment strategies for injury prevention and performance in adapted sports

This program is truly multidisciplinary, coordinating care from various experts across multiple disciplines. Besides physical medicine and rehabilitation physicians (physiatrists), our team members also include:

How to participate in the Adapted Sports Institute

The Adapted Sports Institute serves a wide range of people with varying physical challenges, including people who use a wheelchair to get around or who have an amputation. To participate, follow these steps:

  • Get a referral from your physician.
  • Call us at 614-293-2001 to schedule an appointment.
  • Check with insurance to see what’s covered, although some adapted sports services are covered by traditional insurance plans.

What services are offered at the Adapted Sports Institute at Ohio State?

Working together, the team offers a variety of services that assist you in playing adapted sports. These services include:

  • Patient health screenings
  • Equipment assessments and measurements
  • Adaptive equipment selection
  • Help identifying funding sources, including grant writing assistance
  • Sports performance
  • Injury prevention
  • Physician supervision for sports-related injuries
  • Educational resources, including a yearly symposium for specialists who work with wheelchair athletes

These are just a few of the ways the Ohio State Wexner Medical Center supports people in adapted sports.

Adapted Sports Institute supports fitness, fun and healthy lifestyle for people with disabilities

An interdisciplinary program at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and the Ohio State College of Medicine Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation that makes it easier for people with disabilities to take part in sports and recreational activities is helping improve patients’ overall health and allowing physically challenged people of all athletic abilities to live life more fully.

The idea for the program grew out of a desire to promote health and wellness in athletes with disabilities, explains Theresa Berner, OTR/L, ATP, rehabilitation clinical manager at the Ohio State Wexner Medical Center.

Learn more

Community Resources

Equipment Coverage
Grant List

Fitness Activities for Older Adults in Central Ohio

Helpful Links

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