The Adaptive Sports Academy at Lerner Children’s Pavilion at The Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) in New York City recently treated 12 young patients and some of their siblings on a special surfing trip to Long Island, New York.
HSS Makes Big Splash With Adaptive Surfing for Patients
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Through trips like this, young people with cerebral palsy or another physical challenge are able to experience the benefits of exercise and to build their self-confidence and encourage independence.
The Academy’s trips and recreational experiences are offered without cost, thanks to the generosity of donors.
In adaptive surfing and other adaptive sports or recreational activities, sometimes the rules or equipment is modified to meet the needs of the participants.
The HSS patients who participated in the surfing trip ranged in age from 6 to 22. All of the patients either have cerebral palsy or another condition that affects body movement, muscle control, posture and balance.
Each surfer worked closely with an instructor and some of the used a beach wheelchair to get to the water.
Six-year-old Brooklyn McDonald has been on a few HSS trips and always loves every second. She said, “It went great, I loved it. I caught a lot of waves.”
Her mom Andrea McDonald said, “It was awesome. We try to bring her to these events because it’s almost the only opportunity she has to participate in something that’s inclusive.”
“These children are fearless, they did so well surfing,” said Bridget Assip, PT, DPT, PC, a pediatric physical therapist on the trip. “It benefits them because they feel free in the water. They can do things that they may have a harder time doing on land. The families and kids had a great day at the beach and so much fun in the water.”
The Adaptive Sports Academy also offers patients other fun activities like horseback riding, rock climbing, tennis and basketball. Later this year there will also be dancing with the Rockettes.
The Hospital for Special Surgery located in New York City specializes in orthopedics and rheumatology.
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This is a fascinating development. In my practice we've seen similar outcomes with the revised protocol. The key differentiator seems to be patient selection criteria. Has anyone else noticed the correlation with BMI thresholds?
Great point. I'd push back slightly on the conclusion, the sample size in the cited study is too small to draw population-level inferences. That said, the directional signal is compelling and worth a larger RCT.
We implemented a similar approach last year. Early results are promising but we're still gathering 12-month follow-up data. Happy to share our protocol if anyone is interested.
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