In these unusual times it is more important than ever to dedicate a little time each day to your own well-being.
With this in mind the physiotherapy team at Pace Rehabilitation have searched through the available resources to find the best tools to help you focus your sessions.
We have sourced a range of options to suit all abilities, so if this one isn’t right for you our next post might be better suited.
Wellbeing Tip #8 – Power up with LimbPower
LimbPower was launched in 2009 to engage amputees and people with limb impairment in physical activity, sport and arts, to improve quality of life and support lifelong rehabilitation.
They are working hard to increase their online platforms to support you during this period of social isolation. #LimbPowerShare #StayInWorkOut
For exercise ideas check out their toolkit.
They have partnered with Sport England to produce a series of exercise videos:
- Introduction to Exercise & Warm Up
- Dynamic Exercises
- Circuit Training & Stretching
- Agility, Balance & Coordination
- Strength & Conditioning
Each video demonstrates the inclusive targeted exercises, with a voice-over and on-screen graphics to really help you to get the best from the toolkit, building your confidence and fitness levels.
There are lots of ways to get connected to Limb Power:
Facebook Groups:
Or via their website: https://limbpower.com/
Wellbeing Tip #7 – Keep skilled, keep in control
Have you become lazy with your key exercises? Are there any prosthetic skills you could be practicing? As with everything, competent prosthetic use depends on regular practice. If you play the piano you need to practice scales. If you play golf, you need to go to the driving range. Although you may be functioning well, you will inevitably be slipping into bad habits if you don’t have a routine of regular skills practice.
Here are a few key suggestions for you. If any of them are a little rusty try to spend a few minutes each day until they are mastered again.
If you have any of the following prosthetic devices (and an apple phone/device) you may also be able to download the Ossur app to test and train your skills:
- Rheo Knee – search for the ‘Ossur Logic’ App
- i-Limb and i-Digits upper limb range – search for ‘my i-limb’ app
Wellbeing Tip #6 – What shall I eat?
Today’s focus will be around nutrition, which is essential in providing the energy you need to support your lifestyle, the building blocks for tissue healing and repair, and for maintaining a healthy body weight. This is vital for prosthetic limb wearers.
A great resource is Specialist Nutrition Rehab (@SpecialistRD). Sheri is a registered dietitian who provides regular blog articles targeting different topics related to brain, spinal cord and orthopaedic injuries and general tips that we would all benefit from.
She has recently created two blogs specifically related to coronavirus. These are great resources for the current climate that are useful to both referrers and clients.
Have a look here: https://specialistnutritionrehab.co.uk/blog/
Wellbeing Tip #5 – One-to-one personal exercise programmes
The Wellbeing tips so far have focused on general education and exercise ideas that will suit most amputees.
However, personalised one-to-one input generally achieves better results and longer-term lifestyle changes. Our therapy team regularly collaborates with other exercise instructors to provide tailored programmes that suit our patient’s individual personality and preference, to reach our combined rehabilitation goals.
One of the great reactions to this pandemic is that many businesses have adapted to be able to provide online support to keep you motivated and engaged during social isolation. Personal trainers, Pilates, yoga instructors and health professionals are all continuing to offer one to one services.
Why not give us a call on 0161 428 5500 (Bredbury) or 01494 790 490 (Amersham) to speak with one of our physiotherapists who can chat to you about your goals and provide a physiotherapy ‘virtual’ treatment plan, or link you up with other services suited to you.
Well-being Tip #4 – Try a new exercise (5th May 2020)
Being an amputee or having a limb deficiency does not mean that you cannot engage in mainstream exercise activities. Having some spare time at home provides the perfect opportunity to test your limits and try out new activities, or those you haven’t tried in a while!
There are lots of options to exercise from home, here are a few examples:
- Fiit– this is the current number 1 rated fitness app, bringing typical gym classes into your home. One of the nice features of this app is you have access to a 14-day free trial before committing to membership. They split their classes into cardio, strength and re-balance sections, so there is something for everyone.
- Exercise DVD – there are endless options, from celebrities like Davina McCall’s DVD collection, professional groups like APPI (Pilates) to exercise legends like Shaun T (these are tough!) These really are just about personal preference. Find someone who’s personality you like (Davina is nice, Shaun T shouts!), a teaching style that suits you and a difficulty level that challenges you but is not impossible. It might take a few tries, but persevere.
- Joe Wicks PE – this isn’t just for kids! One of the great things about this is the routine, Monday to Friday every morning – commit to this and you will definitely start to feel a difference in your fitness. The best bit being this is absolutely free. To access, open YouTube and search The Body Coach TV, or Joe Wicks PE. There are other videos other than the ‘PE’ classes to choose from as well.
Remember: Yes, you will have to adapt some movements. Yes you might not be able to keep up, but no-one ever can!! This is all about just keeping moving and enjoying exercise, you are in your own home, so adapt it however you like. Or, if you need ideas, contact our physiotherapy team at Pace. There is a way to do everything!
Well-being Tip #3 – Walking Couch to 5k (1st May 2020)
Walking is a great exercise. It is an effective way to keep physically fit, maintain strength and bone health, and is achievable for most.
This programme was developed by Kent Sport which is an integrated team of Kent County Council and Sport England funded staff.
The nice thing about it is the simplicity – to start off all you need to commit to is 10 minutes walk every day.
You can use a stick(s) if you want and wear supportive shoes.
At week 7, you could walk 1.5 miles if the jump to 2 miles is too much. You can also repeat a week if you are not ready to progress.
Keeping a diary will keep you on track and help you look back at your progress.
Give it a go… we would love to hear about your progress on Twitter & Facebook. Good luck!
Please remember to adhere to government guidelines during the lockdown period.
Well-being Tip #2 – Protect your emotional energy (29th April 2020)
With so many changes to our daily lives in such a short time, it is understandable that we may be feeling a little stressed. This often comes out in our behaviour, whether we notice we are struggling to sleep, have changes in our appetite or energy levels, feel a bit more sensitive and tearful, or perhaps are noticing we are a little less tolerant than usual.
These are all really normal responses to what is an “extra-ordinary” event, and part of our brains alarm system letting us know there is something not quite right…
Unfortunately, our body’s alarm – the stress response system is only designed to be switched on for short “bursts” of activity. When we are caught in situations that we cannot escape, or fix, our brains alarm system will just keep ringing and can start to get a bit run down – a little bit like a car alarm that keeps going and going…
Eventually the car battery will start to drain! That’s when we can start to fall in a heap and feel really exhausted and flat.
The following video talks about ways to help “calm the alarm” centre in our brains and shift our focus onto the things we can do to re-gain a sense of control at the moment.
This is really important to do if you are in long drawn out stress situations, to prevent becoming burnout. It’s only 5 minutes long, so go on, click HERE.
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
Well-being Tip #1 – Amputee Fitness App (21st April 2020)
First up is the Ottobock Fitness App
This is a free downloadable exercise app which includes:
- 3 different modules: Stretch & Relax, Strength & Endurance and Coordination & Balance
- 3 levels of intensity – allowing you to tailor how difficult a session you would like
- You can follow predefined training programmes or create your own.
- It will track your progress allowing you to monitor how you are doing
Although our minds might be busier than ever, with the loss of daily routine and the stress associated with COVID19. The likelihood is that you have a little more time to dedicate to exercise. It might not feel like a priority, but daily exercise will make you feel better both physically and mentally.
Please get in touch with the physiotherapists if you need some help with exercise ideas – info@pacerehab.com
We would like to offer referrers of our rehabilitation services a convenient update on the latest developments regarding the prosthetic/orthotic industry & associated therapy services, at your place of work.
The module is a collection of exercises appropriate for both prosthetic and non-prosthetic limb wearers, which include written instructions, pictures and even video instructions of each move.
On Saturday 22nd December 2018, after more than ten years in C.hesham, we will begin transferring to the new building and will open the doors of the new facility on Monday 14th January 2019*.