Photo: Racing cyclist during the road time trial in Rio2016; Copyright: Andi Weiland | Gesellschaftsbilder.de

Topic of the Month July 2018

Auxiliary means for professional sports

When the athlete is no longer able to optimize anything during training, the focus shifts to the sports equipment. For para-athletes these are their auxiliary means. While athletics is often about prostheses and their possible advantages over athletes without prostheses, team sports focus on wheelchairs. In winter sports, on the other hand, it's usually about the right cutting.

Adaptive sports equipment runs the gamut from custom adaptation to unauthorized modification

Photo: Handbike on a street. One leg of an athlete can be seen beside the bike; Copyright: Andi Weiland | Gesellschaftsbilder.de

People with disabilities always have to be creative if they want to take part in aspects of life that many take for granted. And that’s no different when it comes to sports. Yet over the past few years, the assistive technology industry has come to realize that people with disabilities also love to move and exercise. Since then, lots of adaptive equipment to accommodate special disabilities and sports has been developed, while the choices and leisure sector options have likewise become more multifaceted.

Click here for the article about adaptive sports equipment

Sports wheelchairs: Playing field, street and skatepark demand variety

Photo: Wheelchair rugby between Brazil and Great Britain at the 2016 Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro; Copyright: Andi Weiland | Gesellschaftsbilder.de

For many people with disabilities, the wheelchair is not just their everyday companion but increasingly also turns into sports equipment. What are some of the differences when this assistive device is used for recreational purposes versus in professional sports? And what makes them so unique? REHACARE.com has asked several athletes to find out.

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Adaptive equipment in winter sports: Customized and expensive, but extremely important for performance

Photo: Anna Schaffelhuber with her monoski in front of a mountain panorama; Copyright: www.panzenberger.com

For winter sports enthusiasts, the wrong type of wax or the wrong grinding for the runners spells disaster - after all, one-hundredths of a second can make all the difference. Anna Schaffelhuber and Andrea Eskau, who make up two-quarters of Germany’s successful "A-Team" during the 2018 Paralympics, explain the importance of adaptive equipment and assistive technology for an athlete’s performance in winter sports.

Click here for the article about adaptive equipment in winter sports

Video: On a basket hunt - The fascination of wheelchair basketball

Why wheelchair basketball is one of the most popular Paralympic sports? It is fast, dynamic and inclusive. Why the wheelchair plays a special role in this and why it is not just an aid, we have been explained by Lisa Bergenthal at the NATIONS CUP COLOGNE.

Gif animation: REHACARE 2025 from 17 to 20 September 2025 in Düsseldorf/Germany, linked to "More information about the Trade Fair"