the numbers of people who never engage in exercise are
three to fi ve times higher among people with disabilities
compared with the remaining population (6 – 10).
There are many personal and contextual factors
that facilitate or hinder exercise. Among the general
population, the most infl uencing facilitators for exercise
are social support and available, accessible and
convenient exercise facilities in the neighborhood
(11,12). Factors predicting less physical activity are
inaccessible exercise facilities or facilities too far
away, lack of time, health problems, cost of the exercise
facilities/equipment, lack of energy and unsafe
environment (13 – 15).
The barriers and facilitators for exercise in the
population with physical disabilities have much in
common with the ones for the general population.
The majority of the studies in this area on people with
physical disabilities were performed in the USA.
These studies reveal that the most common reported
barriers for exercise among people with physical disabilities
are inaccessible facilities, cost for the exercise