Well done to everyone who took part in the 6 week exercise challenge that was set by the SCMSTC Physio team during January and February 2015.
Participants were initially timed to walk 8m at the Centre and then asked to undertake a series of exercises regularly at home for the next 6 weeks. They were then timed again over 8m and the results recorded.
The exercises were specifically designed with the aim of improving walking speeds and those taking part included people using walkers and sticks.
As well as the serious business of improving walk times there was also a fun element as each exercise scored points and members from each day formed a team to compete against the teams on other days.
We are delighted to report that of the 45 members that took part in the Challenge, 35 were recorded as having an improvement in their walking speed over 8m. 4 people improved by over 5 seconds!
Wheelchair users also took part in the 6 week challenge with the exercises for this group aimed at increasing flexibility and aerobic capacity. As these are difficult to measure we hope those who took part in this challenge felt the benefits of the 6 weeks of exercises.
Congratulations to the Monday team who’s points total was the highest at a whopping 8987!
We feel that these results show that targeted exercise can really help with specific MS issues and hope those that took part enjoyed both improving their fitness and competing against fellow members.