Gym for brain injury survivors?

[FlowerPower62]

Hello, I was wondering if anyone knows if such a thing exists, a gym for those with brain injury? My husband has been out of hospital for 4 months now, and I feel he's no longer improving. Perhaps this is it? But the doctor said he should push himself a bit, by going to a gym, but I feel an ordinary one would be too much for him. He upset me the other day by saying "This is me now", as if he didn't think there was room for any improvement. Up to now I have left it up to him, didn't want to push him as I thought he knew best, but now I'm not so sure. Thank you in advance. x

[Shon48]

Do you get physiotherapy help ? Or a local gym who could make up a plan for him. My husband had a stroke a few years back and he now goes swimming three times a week and the gym set him a few exercises and stayed with him for a few weeks until they felt confident he would be able to manage on his own . Hard slog but well worth it . 🤗🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[FlowerPower62 in reply to Shon48]

No, there's been nothing since his discharge. At his follow up appointment last week I asked, but the doctor just said go to the gym. I wouldn't think the ordinary attendants would know about such things though? How hard to push him. Thanks for your reply.

[Shon48 in reply to FlowerPower62]

I would check all the gyms near you . Most of them are really educated on strokes . If not , the doctor should be able to refer you .He needs stimulation and the physiotherapy dept in your hospital should address this. You could also just phone the physiotherapy dept yourself. Is your husband keen to swim or go to the gym ?? 🤗🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[Kirk5w7]

Hi where are you?

There is a gym at BASIC which is attached to Salford Royal Hospital. It is the only one i know of but maybe there are others around the country.

Janet

[Diannesmith]

We live just outside Newton Abbot and the local Dainton Golf club are also the home of Sensability Therapy. They're especially for those with brain injuries.

[LokiLocks]

I waited for about five months after mine then e-mailed a few local gyms. I found one trainer who was really good and went with her. She adapts exercise to suit what I can do. It's hard and progress is slow but it's definitely helped my balance, strength and confidence. Maybe you could e-mail a few local gyms and trainers? I really hope you and your husband find something.

[Futurecut]

A decent gym will provide a tailored service to suit. Much of the benefit comes from just doing something and not vegetating. Bigger operators have decent staff who I’ve found very helpful. Even starting at 10 mins and increasing gradually is worth it’s weight in gold.

[FlowerPower62]

Many, many thanks everyone for your kind replies. I will have a look online. We are in Liverpool, by the way. It does seem worth looking into.

[randomphantoms]

Just caught up with your posts.

I can't remember the name but there is an excellent brain injury group operating from or very near the royal hospital.

Pester for a referral to neuro rehab.

As a rule of thumb I have been told natural healing takes place for 6 months, up to 2 years your get great results for the work you put in and beyond that progress is still likely but you need to work a lot harder for what seem like small gains.

Depending on the personality of the person before and the area of injury you may have to take a more forceful role in organising how much activity your husband does.

It may sound like a contradiction in terms but exercise can help with fatigue. I describe it as feeling like my brain has run a marathon but my body needs to do something.

Hope this makes sense tired now.

[FlowerPower62 in reply to randomphantoms]

Thanks for your reply. Think you mean the Brain Charity, we do go there for ukelele lessons actually! But they don't do any exercise. We saw the consultant for the first time since he left hospital in April, a month ago, and she understood we felt a bit abandoned. She has referred him to the brain injury team for further therapy, but doesn't promise it happening. She also prescribed medication for his dizziness, which doesn't seem to be helping yet, but he's only been on it 10 days. ( Betahistine Dihydrochloride, anyone tried it?)

He does walk, but not very far, especially now as he hates the cold, says it stops him walking far! We tried an ordinary gym, got a Groupon for 10 sessions, but we only went 4 times as he hates it. Think he needs someone other than me telling him what to do! I agree, he needs to exercise, as his muscles are wasting away. He couldn't get out of the bath the other day, which was upsetting. Hard even getting off the settee! Thanks again x

[Hidden]

Oh how I would love to be at the gym, but juggling a seven year old and 15 mile drive one way it ended up being a puppy walking in the forest for now. At least I am out meeting peeps

[Hidden]

My gym has several trainers trained in all sorts of healing and I’ve seen them working with patients after all different levels of injury. One on one, it’s not cheap but we’ll worth keeping him safe and progressing in the right direction at the right pace. Check their qualifications; most will list their credentials on either a website or their business card but the gym should know who would be best if you just call and ask. Some trainers even make house calls. Best of luck!

[FlowerPower62 in reply to Hidden]

Thanks for that. How did you find them, might I ask? Tried a gym but their personal trainers were not specialists, so we didn't go. Did you just Google them? What did you type in,? This sounds exactly what we're looking for.