a day ago
Exercise physiology students helping folk stay mobile
Jeffrey Batts reckons if he can get in or out of his car without his leg locking up, he is having a good day.
The 63-year-old has arthritis in his right hip, which flares up from time to time, sometimes leaving him unable to move.
"It's sort of like the hip's jamming.
"If I put my leg in the wrong position, then I can't move the leg and it goes into spasm.
"Then I have to call the ambulance — or like the other day, this lady saw me in trouble and gave me a ride to my house."
Mr Batts said he had prescribed painkillers to help with the pain, and he was trying to get an appointment with a specialist so he could get a hip replacement.
But in the meantime, he was hoping students at the University of Otago's Connection Through Movement Studio might be able to help him manage the pain and stay mobile enough to do everyday activities.
"I can't do quite as much as I used to do, you know.
"Just getting into the car, that's enough to set it off."
Mr Batts is one of about 45 members of the Dunedin community who attend the studio each week.
University of Otago postgraduate clinical exercise physiology student Aliya Mottus is part of a group of clinical exercise physiology students who have created the studio, where they work with members of the Dunedin community with illnesses or ailments, to help improve their wellbeing.
She said they created personalised exercise programmes for each client and ran a range of group sessions, such as pregnancy classes and the "Strong and Steady" programme, which helped people with balance issues.
"We work with people who have cardiovascular conditions like hypertension, people that have had heart attacks or coronary artery disease. We've got a couple of people with chronic fatigue or neurological conditions, people with different types of arthritis, people with diabetes — even some with cancer are coming through."
She said exercise physiology aimed to help people maintain or re-establish physical capacity, especially those with degenerative conditions.
"If you can help maintain that as long as possible, it helps improve overall quality of life."
The studio had been running for about 10 weeks and clients had already made major progress, including some who could now touch their toes, climb the stairs to their front door, or ride a bike.
"They may seem like really little things, but they're really big wins for our clients, which is so rewarding for us to see."
While the studio was helping people in the community, it was also helping the students to build the 360 clinical hours to get their accreditation with Sport and Exercise Science New Zealand or Clinical Exercise Physiology New Zealand.
"So this functions as an outlet for us to work with people with different complex and chronic conditions."
The studio would remain open until November 7, and would continue to operate next year.
