People taking part in a postural stability course do so for a variety of reasons and cover a large age spectrum, from people aged in their mid-50s to some clients aged 80 and above.
Fear of falling, hip replacements and many other personal circumstances that culminate in deteriorating health and mobility are cited as reasons for taking part, many through referrals.
Let’s take a look at some of our case studies.
When MB joined the class, she was very afraid of falling and felt that she needed to rely on others for help.
MB has a musculoskeletal condition and did not feel confident getting up from a chair, walking without support or on uneven pavements.
During the 24-week Postural Stability course her confidence improved significantly, she stopped using her walking stick and in her final assessment completed 11 sit to stands in 30 seconds.
Midway through the course MB was encouraged by her instructor to join Broughton Leisure Centre, for which she received a three-month gym pass via the Exercise on Referral programme.
After the induction she started using ladies-only gym at Broughton Leisure Centre, which boosted her self-esteem and ability to go out. She’s also started enjoying swimming with her daughter.
VB was initially quite reliant upon her stick for walking but in her sit to stand at week 1 managed six sit to stands.
She was very disciplined with her exercises throughout the course and was keen for home exercise and any progressions.
She soon made friends with other members of the class and would look forward to coming. The instructor noticed VB’s improvement throughout the course as she began holding herself much better and seemed to have a lot more energy.
She started arriving to the class in leggings and trainers and at week 12 did 13 sit to stands. This improvement continued and she started coming to the class without her stick and by week 24 achieved 15 sit to stands in her assessment.
After years of seeing such incredible improvement in clients’ ability, it has been agreed that on future courses, with client consent, we will request to take video footage in the first few weeks attendance and again at the end to capture their achievements which can then be used to show new clients and commissioners.
BD was one of the younger clients in a class but struggled with her mobility and balance quite considerably.
When she first started attending, she was adamant that she couldn’t get up but to do so would have to sit sideways and use her arms to push up from the chair and the back of the chair.
She came across as quite introverted but quickly seemed to enjoy the classes often smiling during the exercises.
She attended on a regular basis and worked hard in every session. At week 12 she achieved 3 sit to stands and at week 24 she managed 4.
When the 24-week course came to an end at Worsley she was invited to do a 12 week top up at Wardley Community Centre.
She quickly settled in and opened up about herself to the group and would regularly have her fellow classmates laughing. One week she said she wanted to tell the instructor something at the end, but instead decided to share with the group the news that she had lost 2 stone!
She had started walking again regularly between the sessions and she was very motivated with her exercises although still sometimes doubting her ability then demonstrating to herself that she could in fact walk on her toes for example. At the final week of Postural Stability top up (36 weeks) both the instructor and BD were looking forward to her assessments and sure enough in 30 seconds she achieved a phenomenal 14 sit to stands.
BD is now attending the Step-Up maintenance class and after losing so much weight she attended her first gym induction with her Step-Up instructor.
She is over the moon with her progress when we reflected how far she has come.
AP began attending Postural Stability and was later referred onto a top-up class as his health had sadly deteriorated as had his mobility.
In the previous year he had managed 10 sit to stands in 30 seconds but in assessments at week 24 could only manage 1.
When he first started attending the top up class with a new instructor, he seemed to have very little motivation. It could take him around five minutes to walk from the taxi, parked outside, into the room.
As the weeks went on and with constant gentle, light-hearted encouragement, AP started getting more involved and turned out to be quite a comic.
It started taking him much less time to walk in/out of the class and by the end of the course he was actually doing a few extra exercise repetitions without any encouragement.
In his week 24 assessment his leg strength and stamina had returned significantly, and he completed 11 sit to stands with which the whole class were over the moon!
Below is just some of the quotes we have captured from clients.
“I was trying to open the gate in my garden, one of tiles moved and I fell forward hurt my knee and elbow. But I didn’t panic – I just turned myself over, pushed on all fours and stood up like you told us!”
“I’m benefitting therefore I’m determined, and it’s also good meeting people – we’re in it together.”
“Improved confidence, not as reliant on stick, and improved fitness.”
“It gets you out, I’m benefitting from exercising, it gives me motivation, and my fitness has improved.”
“Has given me motivation, maintaining mobility, and improved leg strength.”
“I’m picking my feet up better and standing better.”
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