14 Aug 2023
Musculoskeletal rehab programmes are turning health clubs into health hubs
BY Tom Walker
Parkwood Leisure, in partnership with its subsidiary companies Legacy Leisure and Lex Leisure, has launched two rehabilitation programmes across 24 leisure centres in England and Wales.
Doing so, Parkwood has become the latest operator to pilot a project which forms part of a wider strategy, driven by UK Active, aiming to transform leisure centres, swimming pools, and gyms into musculoskeletal (MSK) health hubs.
The two new programmes introduced by Parkwood are Good Boost and Escape-pain.
Good Boost is an aqua- and land-based exercise rehabilitation programme that uses AI technology to assess individual conditions and create tailored exercise programmes.
Sessions are delivered as group sessions to aid social support, while enabling individuals to benefit from a personalised exercise plan.
Meanwhile, Escape-pain is an educational and exercise-based rehabilitation programme, supported by Orthopaedic Research UK, that reduces chronic pain and improves physical and mental wellbeing.
The MSK hubs initiative includes a two-year research project investigating how to develop health clubs and leisure centres into musculoskeletal hubs that can be accessed in every community.
The wider project has received £1.4m funding from UK Research and Innovation as part of the Healthy Ageing Challenge.
The research project is led by a health and fitness consortium including UK Active, Good Boost, Orthopaedic Research UK, Escape-pain and Arthritis Action.
Glen Hall, MD of Parkwood Leisure, said: “We’re incredibly proud to be a part of this project and we believe there's a huge opportunity for leisure facilities to improve access to healthcare provision and help ease the burden on the health service.
“Working with our partners, we strive to provide everyone within our local communities with the facilities and support needed to encourage healthy and active lifestyles; the launch of Good Boost, Escape-pain and the Arthritis Action coffee mornings takes this even further, and we hope to expand the roll-out across even more sites in due course.”
Commenting on the initiative, Mike Farrar, chair of UK Active, added: “Millions of people are living in pain with musculoskeletal conditions that cause major disruption to their lives.
“The physical activity and leisure sector can help reduce the burden on the health service, social care and the economy by providing a national activity therapy service, keeping patients out of hospitals and surgeries by encouraging them to use an MSK programme at their local pool, health club or leisure centre.
“Given the right conditions and support, we can scale this programme nationwide, which would have a transformative impact on our nation’s health, wellbeing and the economy.
“This is also a fantastic opportunity for health clubs and leisure centres to diversify their offer and reach many more people who can benefit from their expertise and services.”
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