Exercise therapy staff from across the Trust have been making exercise videos to encourage staff and patients to stay active.
With the government asking the public to stay home as much as possible and many people having to self-isolate because of COVID-19, home exercise videos are becoming increasingly popular.
Research shows that physical activity can boost self-esteem, mood and sleep as well as reducing stress and anxiety.
Staff from our exercise therapy teams at Bamburgh Clinic and Hopewood Park have created a number of videos to keep both staff and patients active during these uncertain times.
The exercises are suitable for a range of abilities and can be done anywhere, from the garden to the comfort of your own living room.
Hopewood Park staff have made videos for mobilising and movement and bums, legs and tums as well as walking routes around the site for staff who might be looking to do a walk on their break.
While Bamburgh Clinic staff have made videos in the clinic’s courtyard and a bedroom to demonstrate the type of exercises that can be done in an inpatient environment.
Helen Goudie, Clinical Manager at Bamburgh Clinic, said: “We want to ensure that our patients at Bamburgh and across the organisation have some handy tips to keep active and exercise safely.
“Of course, the exercises can be done by staff too.”
Chris Quinn, an exercise therapist at Hopewood Park, said: “The aim of our videos is to promote physical activity among staff and service users.
“Given the current restrictions on our lifestyles and the closure of gyms and leisure centres, we thought the videos could provide people access to an alternative.
“Our exercise therapy ethos is ‘Movement is Medicine’ and we are strong advocates for tailored exercise to assist in the recovery and ongoing wellbeing of service users.
“We know that health inequality exists with people who have experienced mental illness so anything we can do to make lifestyle improvements we will.”
The Hopewood Park team are also taking part in Sunderland AFC Foundation of Light’s 30 Day Fitness Challenge.
Part of the charity’s #FoLFightsBack campaign, the challenge has three new exercises each day to try which will not only keep you fit but will boost your mood too.
We will be sharing the fitness challenges daily on our social media channels if you would like to join in.
If a patient is exercising for the first time they should speak to a member of their multi-disciplinary team and a sports instructor, especially if they have any pre-existing injuries or medical conditions. People should not exercise if they are feeling unwell.
All the videos can be found on our YouTube channel.