A Model of Collaboration Can Expand the Opportunities in Adaptive Sports Equipment.

Abstract

Physical medicine and rehabilitation requires teamwork and innovation to help patients reach their goals and to optimize their quality of life, and one way is through participation in sports ( Sports Med Arthrosc Rev . 2019;27:73-82; PM R . 2015;7(10):1081-8; PM R . 2012;4(11):851-6; Phys Med Rehabil Clin N Am . 2019;30(1):289-99). Unfortunately, people with disabilities participate in sports ~20% less than their peers, and reasons for this disparity include equipment cost and availability ( Sports Med Arthrosc Rev . 2019;27:73-82; PM R . 2015;7(10):1081-8; Pediatrics . 2008;121(5):1057-61; Res Dev Disabil . 2017;67:9-18). A unique way for physical medicine and rehabilitation clinicians to aid in overcoming these barriers is to collaborate with other fields to make adaptive equipment that meets patients' needs.A multidisciplinary team including a physical medicine and rehabilitation resident physician and biomedical engineer, physical therapist, and machinist collaborated through a local nonprofit organization to design and build adaptive equipment solutions. This team designed two types of adaptive putters that are useable by golfers of various ages and functional ranges and a removable golf club grip for a player with limited grip strength.Implementation of a design team for creating adaptive equipment solutions is possible and can be done in the community setting or as part of a hospital system. In the authors' experience, taking a multidisciplinary team approach allowed developing more innovative and diverse solutions, and the athletes benefited by being able to participate in their desired sports activities.