Love activity, Hate exercise?: the power of the conversation

As part of our Love activity, Hate exercise? campaign, we’ve recorded interviews with CSP members and their patients to highlight how a conversation can increase activity.

You’ll have seen the launch to members in the last issue of Frontline of the CSP’s new campaign, Love Activity, Hate Exercise? Now a series of case study interviews – available on the CSP’s campaign page as videos – will aim to inspire conversations between members and their patients about activity levels.

We asked members to give us examples of the sorts of conversations that can help to transform attitudes and behaviours towards activity. In the videos, three CSP members highlight the vital conversations taking place between physiotherapists and their patients across the UK. They also show, through partnership working, that patients can realise activity goals they never thought possible.

Women’s health physiotherapist, Emma Brockwell, from Oxted in Surrey, pinpoints a typical barrier to activity: ‘I have a lot of patients who are quite scared of exercise because of their symptoms.’

Known as ‘Physio Mum’, Emma set up a running club specifically for women, including post-partum mums, so that she could ‘make running accessible in a non-intimidating way’.

One of Emma’s patients reports how the running club and physio treatment have helped her to know ‘how to do it the right way for my body’.

Leanne Antoine from Distinct Physiotherapy in Hertfordshire shares her approach to encouraging those with injuries and long-term conditions to be more active: ‘When I hear a patient say X has told me I won’t be able to do this, I ask them why. I often relate stories back to professional athletes who have injuries and get back to playing professionally. I know those people have a team of physios but the body is the same and you can re-educate it and train it.’

One of Leanne’s patients, Andrea, reflects on her experience of embracing exercise after recovering from a knee injury: ‘Being faced with a situation where you can’t walk was the scariest experience of my life. I desperately wanted to get fit, but had a fear of injury. I also had a fear that whatever exercise I did would impact on my knee negatively.

‘The combination of all of this [physio support] brought me back my love for exercise and fitness, so bring it on!

‘I can’t wait to do everything I used to love again and I think I am on the right journey.’

It doesn’t have to be just about traditional forms of exercise. CSP’s new campaign is also about encouraging patients to ‘do more of what you love with physio’. Member Ben Seymour and his patient, Paul Hilsey, are a perfect example of this, as Ben explains: ‘Paul mentioned that he has a dog at home and wants to be able to go walking with the dog again. That’s fantastic and a really great goal. It’s something we can work towards.’

Miss Antoine reflects: ‘As physios we don’t shout loud enough about what we do and how well we do it. Being good problem-solvers, we help patients to establish what they want and how to get there.’

Now it’s your turn..

We know stories like these are happening across the country, thanks to the work of CSP members. But Love Activity, Hate Exercise? helps you to promote the vital role of physiotherapy in improving the nation’s activity levels. So sign up now!

Inspired?

Here’s how to get involved

Register via the CSP website to take part in the campaign between 17 May and 24 June
You will receive digital and hard copy resources in time for the public launch on 5 July

Once you have received your pack, you can support the campaign in the following ways:

Have the important conversations about recommended activity levels and inspire your patients to be more active
Familiarise yourself with the options available locally so you can signpost patients when discussing how to become active
Discuss and share ideas with colleagues on ways to inspire patients to be more active
Promote active lifestyles to the public either through a stand at a local public health and wellbeing event, your practice reception or hospital foyer
Seek out other public-facing opportunities such as a health talk at a local patient participation group or a GP training event to highlight the role of physiotherapy in influencing patient behaviours
Have these conversations with friends and family and help the spread the word via social media channels such as Twitter and Facebook
Share success and patient breakthroughs by emailing cre@csp.org.uk

16 May 2018