Rehabilitation
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sed due to an accident or illness every year. Many more people aquire a different disability that menas they need to use a wheelchair. All will benefit by participating in wheelchair sport and leading a healthier, more active life.
Through sport many people whose lives have been traumatically changed can enjoy the tremendous physical and psychological benefits of participation and competition.
If a recently disabled person focuses on something they can do, and potentially can excel in, they can gain increased confidence which results in a positive outlook that can influence other areas of their lives.
Sport can make an amazing difference to the life of a person with a spinal cord injury:
• It aids rehabilitation
• It decreases the need for long term healthcare and medical treatment because of the healthy lifestyle
• It restores independence enabling people to undertake everyday tasks more easily including dressing, transferring in and out of their wheelchairs to the car, bath and bed
• It motivates disabled people by giving them new goals and increases confidence and self belief
Inter Spinal Unit Games
The Inter Spinal Unit Games form an essential part 
of many hospital patient’s rehabilitation.
The Games are held annually at Stoke Mandeville Stadium and provide opportunities for participants to discover the tremendous benefits of leading a healthy lifestyle and to try a wide variety of sports which include archery, bowls, rugby, athletics, fencing, basketball and tennis.
The patients receive coaching and demonstrations from current leading wheelchair sports athletes and qualified coaches, and can see at first hand what can be achieved, both in terms of sport and an independent lifestyle.
120 patients and 60 support staff from the 12 Hospital Spinal Units across the United Kingdom, together with coaches and officials, attend the Games. Many of the coaches have competed and won medals in the Paralympic Games.
The Games are sometimes a participant’s first experience outside a hospital environment since their injury, and provide a pathway to a return to the life they had before.