Swedish Parasport Academy
The Swedish Parasport Academy is a collaborative environment between academia, companies, the sports movement, the rehabilitation sector and society with the aim of contributing to more people with disabilities being more physically active and participating in sports.
What we do
The long-term goal is to contribute new knowledge about physical activity and sport that can be translated into benefits for the individual, society at large, in the field of education, and generate new innovative solutions, products and ideas.
The aim of the research is to investigate how disability affects activities in everyday life, physical activity in leisure time and para sports. The target group is wheelchair users who are everyday or active in sports.
The project will:
- measure disability without compensatory aids,
- evaluate the relationship between the individual and equipment/assistive devices, and
- measure performance during everyday activities and sport-specific tasks performed in a wheelchair.
The results from the project will provide answers to how function can be optimized with equipment/aids based on the individual's needs and conditions and how the strain in the shoulder/arm and seat can be minimized. The goal is to find the optimal level between function and performance for wheelchair users, in everyday situations and in a sports perspective. The project includes more than a hundred people with neuromusculoskeletal disabilities who use wheelchairs
Project time
The project runs between 2022 and 2026
Our research projects
The following research project is part of the Swedish Parasport Academy. You can read more about them at the respective link.
- Towards an evidence-based and fair classification system for athletes with Cerebral Palsy
- Development of a multifunctional core test for seated Paralympic sports
- Biomechanical Risk Factors for Pressure Ulcers During Wheelchair Driving in Wheelchair Athletes External link.
- Expertise in physical activity in neurological disease External link.
- IMU sensor for analysis of performance in wheelchair sports from a coach and classifier perspective External link.
- Classification in 3X3 basketball for athletes with intellectual disabilities External link.
- Shoulder health in wheelchair users with a focus on human, equipment and performance interaction - for a lifelong sustainable physically active life External link.
Collaboration partners
The Swedish Parasport Academy works closely with its partners. The steering group includes Camp Pro Orthopedics, Permobil AB, Aleris Rehabstation Stockholm and Parasport Sweden. Researchers from these different organizations actively participate in the design, analysis, and dissemination of the project's results.
- The Knowledge Foundation External link, opens in new window.
- Camp Pro Orthopedics AB External link, opens in new window.
- Permobil AB External link, opens in new window.
- Qualisys AB External link, opens in new window.
- Aleris Rehab Station Stockholm AB External link, opens in new window.
- The Spinalis Foundation External link, opens in new window.
- RG Active Rehabilitation External link, opens in new window.
- The Swedish Sports Confederation External link, opens in new window.
- Parasport Sweden External link, opens in new window.
- Swedish Network for Adapted Physical Activity (SNAFA) External link, opens in new window.
- Centre for Sports Research External link, opens in new window.
- International Canoe Federation External link, opens in new window.
A number of national, international research partners from Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain and Poland are also part of the network.
Our researchers
- Anna Bjerkefors, Senior Lecturer, Project Manager
- Yves Vanlandewijck, Visiting Professor of Rehabilitation Science
- Toni Arndt, Professor, Head of Subject Area Biomechanics
- Marie Ohlsson, Project Researcher
- Johanna Rosén, Project Researcher
- Frida Lidén, PhD student
The following external doctoral students are conducting studies within the Swedish Parasport Academy:
- Kajetan Ciunelis, Poland
- Karina Sá, Brazil
- Hugo Vinícius, Brazil
- Seyedeh Hiva Houshyar Yazdian, Belgium
Swedish Parasport Academy
We want more people with disabilities to be able to move and participate in sports. We collaborate between universities, companies and the sports movement to achieve this goal.
Our research project between 2022 and 2026 examines how wheelchair use affects the ability to move and play sports.
The project also investigates risks of injuries in shoulders, pressure ulcers under the buttocks and on the back.
Are you interested in being part of the research study?
Contact principal investigator Anna Bjerkefors, anna.bjerkefors@gih.se
Short address to this page: www.gih.se/parasportakademin
