Headway in Cork have been involved in a new innovative project, to promote physical activity for people living with neurological conditions. The Neurofunctional Training Programme (NFTP) is a collaboration between Headway Cork, HSE physiotherapists from Cork Kerry Community Healthcare, Cork Sports Partnership and staff from Mayfield Sports Complex.
The video explains the programme and illustrates the impact of the programme on survivors of stroke and other acquired brain injuries.
Why a neurofunctional training programme?
Following an Acquired Brain Injury, many people are inclined to live sedentary lifestyles once they leave hospital or a rehabilitation centre. This stage in recovery is a crucial point in someone’s rehabilitation journey. But the need for physical improvement and exercise isn’t always easy for survivors to address.
People often do not have access to tailored, safe and efficient community-based exercise programmes. Inaccessible equipment, costly membership rates and gym staff not trained in working with people with disabilities can also contribute to preventing survivors from participating in physical activity. Exercising regularly may well be new to some survivors and attending a gym can be a daunting prospect especially for those who are feeling vulnerable or lacking in confidence following injury.
Who is the project for?
Headway clients who participate in the programme have acquired brain injuries such as stroke, aneurysm or traumatic brain injury from accidents. Prior to their injury, they may never have exercised in a mainstream gym setting before. The participants are aiming to improve their quality of life, physical function and participation in everyday activities.
How the neurofunctional training programme works
Karen Brosnan, Senior Physiotherapist with HSE Cork Kerry Community Healthcare, has overseen the programme since November 2022 in close collaboration with Headway Community Rehabilitation Worker Bob O’Brien.
The main aim of the programme is to provide a link for brain injury survivors on their journey from rehabilitation hospitals to physiotherapy clinics and from there, to exercising independently in their community.
By locating the specialised physiotherapy input in the mainstream gym setting, the survivors get used to participating in exercise which is tailored to their own recovery in an inclusive and welcoming environment. This enables them to develop confidence and, over time, to make the transition to exercising independently in a mainstream setting.
Karen provides each client participating on the programme with a tailored rehabilitation exercise regime, based on an assessment. Neurological Physiotherapists based in Cork Kerry Community Health Care supervise and implement the programme, assisted by rehabilitation staff from Headway Cork.
The setting
Mayfield Sports Complex staff members have been extremely accommodating in providing facilities and a welcoming atmosphere for when Headway clients walk through their doors. In their programme, the clients have the opportunity to focus on rehabilitation exercises such as balance, strength, proprioception, gait training and cardiovascular fitness depending on their assessed needs. The project would not have been possible without some specialised equipment. Cork Sports Partnership provided funding to kit out Mayfield Sports Complex with adapted equipment such as ergometers, a medical treadmill, Balance Analysis Machine and adapted hand straps.
The impact of the project
Bob O’Brien, Community Rehabilitation Worker with Headway highlights the benefit of the neurofunctional training programme:
“Many of our clients attending this programme would have had no access to physiotherapy for several years, nor would they have stepped into a gym for a long time due to expense of memberships, inaccessible machines and staff not trained in working with people with disabilities. Removing these barriers for our clients & creating pathways to physical activity and exercise in their community is one of the many goals of our community rehabilitation service in Headway. This wouldn’t have been possible without the fantastic support from Cork Sports Partnership & Karen Brosnan’s team, and I can’t emphasise how grateful we are. Exercising in Mayfield helps our clients feel like they are an active member of society community again.”
Bob O’Brien Community Rehabilitation Worker, Headway
The Feedback from some of the clients has been moving. Alan McCarthy, a Headway client, outlined his experience of the programme. “I’m loving it, I’ve seen people come on leaps and bounds since they started”. “Even with myself, I’m improving which is a great bonus,” he said. “There are people on the programme who I’ve been in hospital with, seeing them improving is phenomenal”. “The adapted equipment has made a difference,” Mr McCarthy added.
A productive collaboration
Bob comments on the way the neurofunctional training programme project has evolved.
“The success of a project like this is the result of the coming together of many different actors and circumstances -the working partnerships between the Headway rehabilitation worker, gym instructor & physiotherapist as well as the brain injury survivor at the centre of everything.”
“To get the whole picture, we need each piece of the jigsaw to be in place. This is extremely difficult to achieve without the right professionals in the right place at the right time. Collaboration and networking between physiotherapists, Headway staff, gym staff, HSE Disability Services and, most importantly, the client makes this all possible.”
“The framework we have achieved here, to enable access to physical activity and exercise in the community for people with acquired brain injury is one that I could definitely see replicated elsewhere.”