Paralympics and veterans.

Rory A. Cooper, PhD; Christopher J. Nowak Sports and recreation are essential components of medical rehabilitation. Through these, people with disability learn to adjust to a new self-image; build strength, stamina, and coordination; and learn adaptive skills that help them throughout their life. Sports are also an important means for helping society at large learn about disability and removing some of the stigma associated with having a disability. The pinnacle of many adaptive sports is the Paralympic Games. The Paralympic Games have their origin both in medical rehabilitation and in association with veterans. Although the first Paralympic Games are credited with being held in Rome in 1960, their early beginnings start in 1948 [1]. Shortly after the end of World War II, Sir Ludwig Guttmann recognized the need to provide sport and recreation outlets for the cadre of wounded, injured, or ill British soldiers under his care at the Stoke Mandeville Hospital in Aylesbury, England [2]. In 1948, he organized the first Stoke Mandeville Games (SMG), and the participants were patients at the hospital. Most of them had incurred spinal cord injuries during the war. The SMG were very popular among the staff and participants, and news spread quickly to continental Europe. In 1952, the first International SMG was held with several more participating countries [2]. Simultaneously, restless American veterans receiving care in Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) hospitals were developing wheelchair basketball. Around the time that the Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA) was formed in 1946, wheelchair basketball also began to grow as a sport [3]. Since its origin, the PVA has supported sports and recreation as important modalities for the health and well-being of its members and all veterans with disabilities. In 1960, 400 athletes from 23 countries around the world started a truly international Olympic-style competition [1]. The Paralympic Games continue to grow and evolve. The numbers of athletes and the types of disabilities have expanded to become more inclusive. In 1976, the Paralympic Games family included individuals with major limb amputations and those with visual impairments [2]. Expanding populations also increased the number of sports. In 1980, athletes with cerebral palsy were invited to participate in the Paralympic Games [2]. The 1984 Paralympic Games were held in both New York City, New York, and at Stoke Mandeville Hospital. This was because of fund raising and organizational challenges that caused an organizational and financial rift between the organizing committees. This set back the Paralympic Games movement and sounded an alarm for change. That change took place when the International Coordinating Committee for World Sports Organizations for the Disabled (ICCWSOD) officially formed the Paralympic Games and retroactively included events back to 1960 [2]. The Paralympic Games were established