IWD 2021: Reflecting on exercise inequality during Covid-19
As International Women’s Day comes around again we can’t believe a whole year has passed and we’re still in the grip of this pandemic. We want to take this moment to reflect on some of the reasons we set up Neuro Heroes as well as highlight the wider issues around exercise inequality both for women and people living with neurological conditions accessing the exercise opportunities they need.
We are Laura Douglas and Anna Kharin, specialist Neuro Physiotherapists, and both with little people at home. We juggled childcare (and babycare) and work in 2020 and took the plunge of starting a business together in a pandemic. We saw the potential danger to the patients we’ve served throughout our careers as the nation became less and less active and we wanted to do something about it. This is how Neuro Heroes began, with the aim of empowering the MS and PD community to get active!
Fitness, as well as vital socialising, moved online for so many of us as the pandemic hit. There was sparse provision for those living with neurological conditions such as Parkinson’s Disease and MS to meet their exercise goals, set out in National guidelines. We set out to provide a communal, motivating and positive environment where people could exercise with specialist guidance to ensure that the work they were doing would have a positive impact on their everyday lives.
“Twice as many disabled people felt that coronavirus greatly reduced their ability to do sport or physical activity compared to non-disabled people”
Activity Alliance published new research which shows ‘twice as many disabled people felt that coronavirus greatly reduced their ability to do sport or physical activity compared to non-disabled people’. You can read more about their research here, but it backs up what we felt, that there was an urgent gap that needed to be filled.
It’s been widely reported that this pandemic has, and will continue to adversely affect women globally, despite the mortality rate from the virus being higher in men. This is due to so many factors it would be impossible for us to do them justice here but domestic abuse during lockdown and job loss due to caring responsibilities are two of the biggest in the UK. Read more about these global issues in The Lancet.
On top of the stress and isolation of living with a neurological condition and being stuck at home during the pandemic, women are often juggling caring for children or elderly relatives, not to mention home-schooling and work. This isn’t to say these things aren’t affecting many men as well. We wanted to do our bit to ensure that the vital movement, exercise and brain training our clients need to fit in to their week is as stress-free and fun as possible. Being able to access it virtually from the comfort of home felt very important.
“The online classes have been a total lifesaver during the pandemic just because exercise is so vital to staying well with Parkinson’s and it’s difficult to motivate ourselves to do it on our own. It’s also easy to get bored doing the same thing day in day out and what I love about what Laura and Anna offer is that they are very creative. They mix it up and make exercising so much fun. Superb motivators. The pandemic has been a lonely time and these classes have been a lovely way to connect with others. ”
With an estimated 130,000 people living with MS in the UK and around 150,000 living with Parkinson’s Disease as well as those going through rehabilitation from stroke or other brain injuries, this is a significant group of people struggling to get the help they need.
“I think your enthusiasm for your job makes Neuro Heroes different to others and infectious for your clients”
So, what’s different about Neuro Heroes?
We make sure our classes are different every week
We offer an intense workout, whatever your level
Our classes are expert led so we can offer condition specific advice and tailor exercises to your needs
Classes are small and regular assessments mean the class content is tailored to our heroes’ needs
Our neuro heroes contribute to class content with ideas on what they want to cover, themes and ways to keep things fun.
We bring our a-game in terms of enthusiasm to every session and we hope everyone leaves energised and positive
We hope that Neuro Heroes and what we offer will continue to close the gap on exercise inequality and empower our clients to get active, giving them access to specialist exercise, motivation and support well beyond the pandemic and into the future.
Find out more about our classes, or get in touch to find out more about Neuro Heroes!
