Irene is 78 years old and lives in Gateshead. She has attended our dancercise group for many years now and loves the music, dancing, and getting to spend time with her friends after class.
Last year, Irene was experiencing a lot of stiffness in her knees due to arthritis and had a few falls. This led to her losing her confidence and she subsequently stopped attending the dancercise class due to her worsening condition and fear of falling. She found herself becoming frustrated at not being able to attend her class and missed her friends and the energy she got from taking part. As her condition worsened further, Irene began to use a walking stick to help her feel steady.
Irene signed up for our Staying Steady falls prevention course. As she progressed through the course, she started to feel steadier on her feet and soon got to the point where she no longer needed her stick. Her leg strength and mobility were improving and she was feeling less pain when exercising. As her confidence grew, Irene started to return to her beloved dancercise class, initially just doing a couple of dances on her feet and then from a seated position.
Since finishing the Staying Steady course, Irene has continued to attend our strength and balance class to maintain her progress. She has also been offered a knee replacement and feels as though she is now in the right place to ensure that she will be able to bounce back after the procedure.
"The course has helped me to get my strength and mobility back in my legs. I'm now able to do the things I enjoy again with confidence."
Karen attends five classes at our Deckham hub each week.
Karen recently retired from a career as an accountant. When she retired, many of her friends were still working or looking after their grandchildren. This meant Karen's social network was limited during the day. She realised she needed to be more proactive about getting out and meeting new people, so she searched for activities for retirees and found our website.
After taking a look at our activities guide, Karen chose to start attending dancercise, a step which she found to be a liberating and friendly experience.
"The main thing was I just brought myself. Some people came with their friends but it felt quite liberating coming by myself!"
After a couple of weeks, another dancercise participant invited Karen to join the Gateshead 50+ singing group. Karen was initially hesitant, but she gave it a go and has since joined other groups through recommendations and encouragement from other attendees.
"When I started the singing group, another lady suggested I join the Tai Chi class which meets just before singing, so I did that. And then the ladies who go to dancercise asked me to go to the ukulele group. Ukulele has turned out to be my favourite now because they're just so nice."
Since finding out about Gateshead 50+, Karen now attends five classes over three days each week. She is a great example of the social benefits of group activity and of the friendly welcome that people will receive when they join us.
Kathryn is 69 years old and lives in Deckham. She has been an active member of the Gateshead 50+ community for several years, taking part in Tai Chi and dancercise. In December 2022, Kathryn suffered a stroke and lost much of her control of her left side. She spent a couple of months stuck in the house and was supported by carers and stroke support. Kathryn lost her self confidence and felt as though she had lost a lot of her independence.
When she felt ready, Kathryn signed up for our Staying Steady programme, which is designed to improve participants' balance, mobility, and flexibility. In her initial assessment, Kathryn scored a 20. An ideal score is 6 (no limitations), rising to 36 (unable to complete assessment tasks).
Over the course of the 20-week programme, Kathryn was committed to the course and completed her home exercise regularly. She showed good progress in her mobility, strength, and balance and was able to get up and down from the floor with ease by the end of the course. At her final assessment, Kathryn's score improved to 9.
Kathryn now reports that she can perform her daily tasks with ease and is walking so much better. She is able to walk to her local shop and can confidently get on the bus now. Since finishing the course, Kathryn has continued to attend our weekly strength and balance class as well as our art group. Her next steps are to return to Tai Chi class and travel to Spain to visit her daughter.
"I feel as though I have my confidence back. It was really difficult having to have people look after me. Now I'm back doing the things I used to do and I feel more independent."
Alma shares how taking part in one of our yoga classes helped to lower her stress levels.
"I probably wouldn't have gone to face-to-face classes because it was too much of a faff. It would be two buses for me and I don't drive anymore because I have macular degeneration."
"I was doing a paid-for yoga class and sadly it was just a little bit out of my level. I hurt myself. And I thought, 'Well, this is no good. I'm paying to do a class and actually it's just really too hard for me because people don't know you've got osteoporosis or this, that, and the other.' That's why I like the fact that your classes ask you to fill in health questionnaires first. I found Rose's yoga class much more to my ability."
"I spoke to my GP about this constant feeling in my throat. I felt like I was choking, like someone had stuck a golf ball down and the GP said it was stress. She asked me to let her know how I was after I started Rose's yoga class and I was happy to report to my GP that the feeling is gone. Completely gone!"
When Isobel signed up to take part in our Staying Steady falls prevention course, her shoulder flexibility was severely limited due to a previous injury. This prevented her from doing many day-to-day tasks and for the past 20 years she had been unable to play bowls, which she had previously enjoyed.
In addition to her shoulder issue, Isobel walked with a kyphotic (hunched) posture and, when using her walking frame, would lean onto the frame to take the strain off her legs.
Our postural stability instructor recommended a home exercise programme to Isobel which included carrying out daily shoulder mobilisers and tricep stretches to improve her shoulder mobility. The instructor also spent time with Isobel practicing walking with her frame, encouraging her to walk tall using a heel-toe motion and then encouraging her to rest when needed, rather than resting on the bars while walking.
Isobel used this advice and stuck to her programme. She is now walking taller and does not have to sit down as often. She has also been carrying out her shoulder exercises and can reach to the back of her neck. After six weeks, Isobel started back at local bowls classes after a twenty year break!
Taking part in our Staying Steady programme helped Isobel return to playing bowls after a twenty year break!
