Welcome to Matt, our new exercise therapist

Matt works with a service user on the adapted rowing machine

We are pleased to announce that we have recently been joined at the Centre by Matt who has taken on the role of Exercise Therapist. This is a new role at the Centre with a primary focus on helping people improve their cardiovascular fitness.

Cardiovascular fitness is important for everyone’s health but has been shown to be especially important for people living with MS and Parkinson’s. People living with MS, who are fitter, tend to have better long-term outcomes. Cardiovascular exercise has been shown to help with a diverse range of MS symptoms including fatigue, cognition and pain. Similarly, for people living with Parkinson’s, exercise has been shown to improve symptoms by making more efficient use of dopamine.

Because of the importance of fitness for people with MS and Parkinson’s, we have been able to secure funding from THe Amateurs Trust for this new initiative. The funding we have received will help support this initiative for the next 3 years. providing suitable outcomes are achieved.

Matt will be working with members both one to one and in groups, developing programmes that are both engaging and appropriate for individual needs. Matt will also be supporting members to develop exercise programmes that they can follow safely outside the Centre to enable them to exercise on a regular basis.

As part of his role, Matt will monitor the improvement in members’ fitness, and will share this information with you. Our funders are really interested to see how the money they have donated has helped to improve outcomes for our members.

If you would like to work with Matt to improve your fitness and see how this can help with your MS, Parkinson’s or general health, you can book an appointment with Matt through reception on 01234 325781 or reception@mscentrebedsandnorthants.com.

The Amateurs Trust supports charitable causes in Bedfordshire, amongst others, in particular, health related charities. We would like to thank them for their generous grant towards this role.