Media Release
Bike Therapy for people living with Parkinson’s has a positive impact on quality of life
Bike Therapy for People Living with Parkinson’s at Crewe Lifestyle Centre
On Monday 15th April Everybody Health and Leisure hosted a free drop-in event to celebrate World Parkinson’s Day and the launch of their weekly, Bike Therapy for People Living with Parkinson’s, at Crewe Lifestyle Centre.
The event was open for residents, health professionals and local organisations to come together and watch the group cycling class in action to see what the class involves.
Free tea and coffee was provided so everyone could stay and speak to the instructor and Everybody Healthy Team to find out more information about the class and receive a voucher to redeem their first Bike Therapy for People Living with Parkinson’s class for free.
Donna Williamson Senior Health Innovation Manager at Everybody Health and Leisure shared
“Our Bike Therapy class for People Living with Parkinson’s has seen a positive start, the class has been running for 6 weeks and we are full with class numbers, which is brilliant. We are looking to start a second class, growing the programme. We are amazed at the take up and really pleased with such a great start to the programme.”
Emma Hughes Area Development Manager for Parkinson’s UK shares
“As a charity, we recommend people living with Parkinson’s exercise for 2.5 hours a week, it can help with the symptoms of Parkinson’s, it can help slow down the progression and we advocate for that along with medication and therapies.
Parkinson’s is the fastest growing neurological condition in the world, there is 153,000 people living with Parkinson’s in the UK, as a charity we are here to support anybody affected by the condition, we’ve got a helpline, we’ve got a website, so people can get in touch with us if they want any more information.”
Donna Williamson continued
“The peer support is probably one of the most important aspects, one of the things we have introduced after the class is we have set up a social gathering in our café, where participants have a tea or a coffee and chat with each other offering peer support, which has proven a strong element of the programme.
As a charity we have just invested in training more of our staff in Level 4 Exercise for Neurological Diseases. The first thing we are going to do is expand this class to include a second cycling class and look at other centres to expand the class to. Also launch a programme for other neurological conditions and bring in different types of sessions like circuit training as an example, growing the programme, catering for more people and needs.”
Mike has been coming to the Bike Therapy for People Living with Parkinson’s since the class started and the biggest benefits he has noticed since coming is mainly the social side and just talking to people. Sharing it is really good and a friendly atmosphere. Mike shares:
“It is isolating and you do tend to stay at home, probably because it is a bit unpredictable really, one hour you could be fine and a couple of hours later you can’t hold a spoon, sometimes you daren’t go out, certainly not for meals or anything like that unless you are quite confident that your medication is going to work at that time, it’s a bit of a lottery to be honest.”
“If you see this class now and you see people cycling, this is not what it is like all the time, it can be quite devastating the difference between, one minute you are feeling fine and you wouldn’t know anything is wrong and then an hour later you can be absolutely fatigued and you struggle walking and you struggle to do anything, any coordination or anything, so it’s not always as you see it, behind the scenes it can be completely different but you come to places like this and you talk to people and it’s great because you’re not alone, other people are going through this so it is really good to sort of talk to people.”
“You feel like you have achieved something when you have been on the bike for three quarters of an hour you feel like you have actually achieved something, it’s a positive impact really when there is all this negativity around you with it. It’s good.”
Bike Therapy for people living with Parkinson’s class participant Mike
Another class participant, Mike shares:
“Before I started coming here I was having great deal of difficulty walking, I could walk for a mile or so and that was about it, I would just get so tired and so difficult to walk but with riding on these exercise cycles, I’ve gained an extra mile, I can now walk 2 miles with no problem and I have walked 3 miles with a few stops.
I find it a lot easier to walk and find it a lot easier to breathe because the exercise bikes make me breath correctly as well, and I feel a lot happier in myself and I feel a lot better with my aches and pains because the exercises help me with the aches and pains.
You don’t have to do anything that you don’t want to do, Victoria the instructor doesn’t make you do anything you don’t want so everything is very informal, very friendly and it’s like meeting old friends on the racetrack.”
Victoria Barker Fitness Experience Manager and Bike Therapy for People Living with Parkinson’s class instructor at Everybody Health & Leisure (Left) and class participant Mike (Right)
Victoria Barker Fitness Experience Manager and Bike Therapy for People Living with Parkinson’s class instructor at Everybody Health & Leisure shares
“I love this class, it’s one of the most rewarding classes that we deliver, it is amazing to see people come in for the first time and feel very apprehensive about what they are doing and leave with full confidence and knowledge about the benefits of the Bike Therapy class.
The most overwhelming change has to be the confidence that the participants leave with, so we see people coming in who have never even discussed Parkinson’s with anybody else and their diagnosis remains a secret, they come to the class and they leave feeling so confident that they are able to take part in other classes, they return here and even some of them have brought exercise bikes that they use at home as well.”
To find out more about the Bike Therapy for People Living with Parkinson’s dedicated group cycling class at Crewe Lifestyle Centre, visit: www.everybody.org.uk/what-we-offer/get-fit-and-healthy/health/bike-therapy-for-people-living-with-parkinsons/ or contact the Everybody Healthy team on 01270 685589 or email [email protected]
Parkinson’s UK website: www.parkinsons.org.uk and helpline: 0808 800 0303
Ends.
Notes to Editor
Everybody Health and Leisure is a registered charity which aims to provide ‘leisure for life’ by improving the health and wellbeing of local communities. The charity operates 16 leisure facilities including 9 swimming pools and 7 Taste for Life cafes across the Cheshire East region, and delivers a range of targeted health, sports and disability and inclusion programmes. For more information please visit: www.everybody.org.uk
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Media Contact
Name: Lucy Bourne
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