This project demonstrates that participation in exercise and physical activities improves function, facilitates community reintegration, and enhances the quality of life of people with disabilities. It:

1. investigates the long-term effects of an exercise fitness program on the physiology, metabolic performance, and quality of life of people with spinal cord injury, stroke, and cerebral palsy;
2. examines the role of self-efficacy in maintaining participation in an exercise fitness program;
3. describes the types and frequency of recreation and fitness activities among people who have had a stroke, people with spinal cord injury, and people with cerebral palsy;
4. examines the relationships between participation in recreation and exercise programs and the health status, life satisfaction, and depression in the above populations; and
5. delineates barriers and deterrents to participation in recreation and exercise programs that exist for a variety of disability groups.

This study will examine the effects of a sixteen week fitness training program of aerobic training combined with and without resistance training on a variety of physiological and psychological parameters.

The sixteen week intervention will consist of cardiovascular, strength, and flexibility training. Pre- and post evaluations will be performed for this time period for both psychologic and physiologic parameters. A six month and a one year re-evaluation will also be performed. Participation will be randomly assigned to one of the two groups.

The intention of this exercise intervention is to evaluate the different modes of exercise on the physiologic parameters such as aerobic capacity, blood lipid profile, body composition, range of motion and muscular strength. Changes in functional capacity will also be assessed through measures of ambulatory ability and changes in energy expenditure. Specific exercise protocols will be designed for participants with various levels of impairment. The duration and intensity of each session will be incrementally increased throughout the 16 weeks.

RIC's Center for Health and Fitness is collaborating with the University of Illinois - Chicago for the development and operation of a national information and resource center on physical activity for individuals with disabilities.

Currently, a joint effort between the RIC's Center for Health and Fitness and the Northwestern Medical Oncology Department is conducting a study related to the effects of the strength training on the fatigue levels of terminal cancer patients in conjunction with taking an appetite stimulant drug, Megesterol Acetate (MA). The strength training program requires a 3 hour commitment per week for 12 weeks. This trial will include 15 subjects over a one year period. In addition to measuring fatigue levels of cancer patients, other evaluations included in the study are body composition, maximal oxygen consumption (VO2 max), one repetition maximum, and timed stair climbing.

RIC's Center for Health and Fitness and the Northwestern Medical Oncology Department is conducting a second study to test the effectiveness of the drug, Procrit. This study will investigate the effects of a 12 week strength and cardiovascular training program on fatigue levels of cancer patients taking Procrit. Procrit increases erythropoietin and hemoglobin levels in patients suffering from anemia exacerbated by chemotherapy and other cancer treatments. In addition to measuring fatigue levels of 30 cancer subjects, body composition, maximal oxygen consumption (VO2 max), one repetition maximum, and timed stair climbing will be considered.

The proposed study will examine the efficacy of a self-paced, home-based aerobic conditioning program, with limited supervision, for managing Fibromyalgia (FM). The study will further examine whether symptom improvements are the result of objective changes in aerobic conditioning as reflected in exercise testing. Patients will undergo quantitative pressure algometry (to assess muscle tender points), and will complete pain ratings and functional / psychological measures. Data analysis will determine whether decreases in pain and other symptoms of FM are associated with changes in conditioning as documented by MET. Psychological measures will be tested as predictors of treatment failure.