Making sense of invisible bodily changes and new ways of doing physical activity experiences of individuals following traumatic incomplete spinal cord injury

Abstract Background There is limited knowledge of how individuals with incomplete spinal cord injuries (iSCI) experience being physically active, and how they experience their bodies within movement contexts of their everyday lives. Methods Seven ambulatory individuals with a traumatic, cervical to lumbar iSCI took part in an in-depth, semi-structured interview. The interviews were audio recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analysed using an inductive approach of Braun and Clarks’ thematic analysis. Merleau-Ponty’s phenomenology of the lived body and Leder’s phenomenology of the surface and inner body were used as theoretical framework in the study. Results Two themes identified: ‘Struggles of life in-between’ and ‘Unpredictability of the inner body’ encompass an ongoing discrepancy between the visible body and invisible ailments. Participants experienced pain when working out, but physical activity was also a way to regain control and was related to hope of improvement. Clinical implications Our results indicate that focusing on helping patients exploring meaningful activities and paying less attention on the intensity of exercises can be of great value. A phenomenological perspective of the body may be helpful as a clinical framework helping patients living more meaningful lives with less emphasis on pain and the problematic aspects of their bodies.