From Arms to Sport: The Role of Adapted Sports in the Evaluation of Physical Activity and Disability Levels of Military Victims of the Colombian Armed Conflict

Abstract

For decades, Colombia experienced an internal armed conflict with the FARC-EP guerrilla. In 2016 a final peace agreement was signed between both parties. During this conflict there were victims of the armed forces, who suffered serious injuries in combat, generating a disability. The aim of the study was to describe the impact of adapted sport on the levels of physical activity, disability and quality of life of military personnel. It is a prospective descriptive study with a quantitative approach. Participants: 31 male, military members of the Colombian Ministry of Defense, with a physical disability, distributed in the adapted sports disciplines: seated volleyball, wheelchair fencing, for powerlifting, adapted taekwondo, for triathlon, adapted table tennis, for cycling, for swimming and athletics. Methods: Two questionnaires were applied to determine the physical and sporting status of the participants: the PASIPD Physical Activity Scale and the WHODAS 2.0 Questionnaire. The results showed that physical activity and adapted sport are beneficial tools for military personnel with a physical disability, improving the dimensions of physical, mental and social health and providing the opportunity to bond with others in similar circumstances, in addition to competing in sports.
It is concluded that it is urgent to design public policies, programs and institutional mechanisms to face the challenges of a post-conflict nation, which seek sustainable human development, using physical activity and sport as a tool.