The leaflet, which explains how to perform 10 simple exercises to improve strength and coordination, has been used and shared by Age Scotland, Macmillan, Highland Senior Citizens Network, the Food Train, Argyll and Bute Health and Social Care Partnership, and Dementia Friendly Prestwick since restrictions first came into force in March 2020.
Inverclyde Royal Hospital, Inverness Botanic Gardens, NHS Shetland, Good Moves Glasgow, and Highland Council have also been using the resource as well as those leading and coordinating Health Walks taking place across Scotland.
The leaflet’s even been included in doorstep deliveries of food and medicines to those staying at home.
Frances Bain, our Walking for Health Manager said
Simple exercises that can be done easily at home became even more important during the many months of lockdown we had in the past year-and-a-half.
It’s fantastic to see this resource being used by not only large organisations but also at a local level and by those looking after elderly or vulnerable residents and neighbours.
Performing Strength and Balance exercises alongside everyday walking is key to staying active, independent and happy in later life, but it’s something that we often overlook or forget about.
As restrictions really start to ease, we hope that individuals and organisations will continue to use and share resources like this to build their strength and confidence, helping older adults to keep active and feel good.
Claire Buchanan, a Health Walk Co-ordinator with Walk Moray said “We have been ordering small numbers of strength and balance leaflets to support our Walk Leaders to promote the simple exercises on their Health Walks. During lockdown periods, we gave local community groups some leaflets to distribute in food parcels to vulnerable residents, encouraging them to stay active indoors. In a further response to Covid-19, we set up our own strength and balance programme called Stretch2Step which was designed to support sedentary and less-confident individuals back to regular walking via outdoor strength and balance and short Health Walk sessions and the provision of a home support pack for participants.
The leaflets are a core part of this programme, guiding people to safely exercise at home as well as being a handy tool for Walk Leaders to refer to during the outdoor sessions.
There has never been a more important time to highlight strength and balance and we are always grateful to Paths for All for creating such a brilliant programme.
Strength and Balance is a key part of the latest Chief Medical Officers’ Physical Activity Guidelines, with adults advised to build muscle strength at least twice a week.
To download a leaflet, click here.
To order our leaflet or any of our Strength and Balance resources, click here.