Exercise behaviors and barriers to exercise in adult burn survivors: A questionnaire survey

Exercise is a key component of burn rehabilitation across all phases of care. Supervised outpatient exercise programs have been shown to improve outcomes following burn injury. However, little is known about the exercise behaviors of burn survivors who do not undertake such programs. This study aimed to investigate self-reported exercise behaviors and barriers to exercise in adult burn survivors. A short questionnaire survey was conducted on adult burn survivors attending the ambulatory burns clinic of a tertiary hospital over a 6-week period. The collected data were subjected to paired t-tests and Pearson's correlation test. A total of 63 adult burn survivors (mean age 36.5 years) completed the questionnaire. Participants reported exercising less frequently and engaged in fewer different types of exercise compared with pre-burn (P < 0.05). Poor physical conditions and low motivation and enthusiasm were the major barriers to exercise. Participation in supervised exercise programs can be limited by a range of factors including the availability of resources and access to facilities. This preliminary study suggests that there is a need to improve compliance with outpatient exercise programs. Burn survivors appear to exercise less frequently after burn injury. Barriers to exercise following burn injury include poor physical condition and reduced motivation. Further investigation into overall physical activity following burn injury and potential physical and psychological limitations is warranted. Burn clinicians should highly encourage injury survivors to participate in supervised exercise programs when available or to do exercises at home to maximize post-burn injury recovery.