Match Point

The market for sports and recreational wheelchairs can make you as dizzy as watching a tennis match. Some providers see great opportunity; others don't want to get involved. There is even disagreement over which sports are most popular. Yet there is consensus regarding the benefits that adaptive sports provide: They improve the lives of those who participate both physically and emotionally.

Matt Traynor, a certified rehabilitation technology supplier with the University of Michigan's Wheelchair Seating Service in Ann Arbor, says the fun part about sports and recreation programs for people with disabilities is simply showing them they can participate in and enjoy these activities.

Alice Krauss, M.Ed., OT/L, is the manager of the Brooks Adaptive Sport and Recreation Program in Jacksonville, Fla., a community health initiative of Brooks Rehabilitation Hospital. Krauss says it is all about “meaning and purpose in life.

“Year after year, we would get people through the rehabilitation program and they would make great gains, but they would not have a life — there would not be a quality of life that they deserved,” she explains.

“The missing feature for people was leisure. We pay so much attention to making sure they are continent of bowel and bladder, they can feed and dress themselves and brush their teeth and hair, but there was not a focus on the fact that human beings need an outlet for leisure.”

For many, wheelchair sports can provide this meaning. From basketball to handcycling to tennis, almost every sport can be adapted for wheelchair users. Even quad rugby (remember the 2005 movie Murderball) boasts 40 teams across the country.

The question is, then, is it worth it for HME providers to sell and service this market? According to those working in the field, the answer varies.

Putting Your Name on the Roster

Unease in the mobility market has certainly increased providers' hesitancy to get involved in sports and recreation.

But Josh Anderson, vice president of marketing for TiLite, Kennewick, Wash., points out providers should consider that this specialized segment offers viable opportunities for cash sales and future business.

“The customers for these wheelchairs tend to be a more educated consumer, so they are looking for equipment that they already know they're going to have to pay for — and that is a person that you want in terms of being able to provide everyday equipment for,” he says.