The fit bit of keeping us all healthy

What do dumbbells, treadmills and tutus all have in common? No, it’s not a new gym fad – but they are, in fact, all being used to keep us all healthy.

There’s been a change in focus in recent years and now being a doctor or nurse doesn’t only involve caring for the sick but also finding ways to ensure they stay well.

Small_Medical_1So how do you do that? One way is by prescribing fitness and exercise classes.

Those being targeted by this new regime include people who are overweight and at risk of strokes and heart disease as well as sufferers of back pain and diabetes.

Even s1jobs’ very own Davey has mastered the art of twerking to enhance his fitness . . . if only he could do it without a pint in hand!

Exercise is a prescription that’s worked wonders for osteoporosis sufferer Helen Morrison. She suffered a shattered pelvis when she slipped in the shower and after two weeks in hospital came home in a wheelchair fully expecting never to walk again.

But after six weeks of intensive physiotherapy, her GP recommended a combination of gym and exercise sessions at her local health club that got her back on her feet.

Two years on and she still works out twice a week and says her life has been transformed by exercise on prescription.

“The instructors are trained to work with people who have health and mobility problems, so it’s a safe environment and it keeps me so fit that I hardly ever have to see my GP.”

Meanwhile a radical new treatment has been developed for people with Parkinson’s Disease and it is taking place, not in the surgery, but in the rehearsal studios of Scottish Ballet.

The Dance for Parkinson’s classes run by the national ballet company aim to tackle issues of balance, flexibility and even depression that can accompany the illness.

Dancers working with participants focus on fluidity of movement, expression, posture and rhythm and also help with vocal skills, memory and multi-tasking.

So in future, as a medical professional, you could find yourself handing out point shoes instead of pills or signing patients up to walking groups or green gyms, where they get fit by clearing woodland.

If you’d like to join this health revolution, check out the fittest Medical and Healthcare vacancies at s1jobs.com