Grant to expand community-based research project focused on people with mobility disabilities
Editor’s Note: Kaw Valley CrossFit, a gym location that is partnering with University of Kansas researchers, will host a ribbon-cutting ceremony for its new adaptive athlete facility from 4 to 6 p.m. Dec. 19 at 1204 E. 24th St. in Lawrence. The public is invited to meet the staff and athletes and to learn more about the facility and options for people with disabilities. Guests may participate in an optional inclusive workout session at 6:30 p.m.
LAWRENCE — A community-based project that builds on years of research showing benefits of exercise for people with disabilities will expand through a federal grant that will help University of Kansas researchers partner with fitness facilities adapted for people with mobility disabilities.
Funded by a three-year, $750,000 grant from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research, the project will be led by Lyndsie Koon, assistant research professor at the KU Life Span Institute.
Koon's research will recruit individuals ages 18 to 74 years old who have mobility disabilities to participate in a functional fitness program. Like the prior, smaller pilot studies that preceded this project, the group exercise and training take place at area functional fitness facilities and are led by a coach with training in adaptive exercise.
“It's based in the community,” Koon said. “Our primary goal for participants is to help maintain or improve physical function, which has been cited as a primary motive for exercise among people with physical disabilities.”
The project will recruit individuals to participate at CrossFit locations in North Kansas City, Missouri; Mission, Basehor and Lawrence in Kansas; and in Houston, Texas. In Lawrence, it will be based at Kaw Valley CrossFit, 1204 E. 24th St.
Kaw Valley CrossFit is owned by Alec Barowka, who is certified as an adaptive and inclusive trainer through the Adaptive Training Academy and partnered with Koon in previous studies. His gym recently expanded to support more members from the community who identify as having a disability. The new 2,500-square-foot space, adjacent to Kaw Valley’s main facility, will host functional fitness classes adapted to individual needs, such as lower handles for someone to reach while seated in a wheelchair.
Additionally, it’s anticipated that the newly expanded facility will host space for Assistive Technology for Kansans, another project at the Life Span Institute. ATK helps people with mobility issues, limited vision or hearing, speech or cognitive disorders, and other disabilities find solutions to improve their daily living and independence. The satellite location will provide an off-campus community setting for ATK researchers and staff to meet with individuals about resources such as specialized equipment for people with disabilities. ATK offers services to Kansans statewide in six access sites, including one based in northeast Kansas.
“We're hoping people will be able to come by and do device demonstrations to see what equipment we have available,” said Abby Azeltine, ATK director.
For her research into functional fitness, Koon partners with the community-based gyms for a 16-week program led by certified functional fitness trainers, which allows participants to continue engage in in the program even after studies conclude. Koon previously found that 12 weeks after the pilot programs ended, 74% in one group and 50% of participants in a second group had continued their engagement in the functional fitness program. A year after the intervention, 42% and 20%, respectively, were still active.
“It's an ongoing program, so they can stay with the program if they like it after the research, which is a huge perk,” she said. “It's a fun, new exercise to try, and you're always led by a coach and are in a class with your peers.”
People with mobility disabilities are 66% more likely to be overweight or obese than their nondisabled peers, and they are at higher risk of cardiovascular diseases, depression and anxiety. Fewer than half of adults with a mobility disability are physically active, despite evidence that exercise improves health and well-being.
Koon said that part of the problem is the lack of accessibility at gyms, combined with lack of awareness from trainers and medical providers. She hopes that changes as word spreads through word-of-mouth and published media, such as a 2024 article in Kansas Alumni.
“It’s still new to people,” Koon said. “Baby steps.”