Carol was an active hill walker, participating in a walking group as well as enjoying her own walks.
Unfortunately, she developed osteoarthritis and walking downhill became too painful, so she had to stop this activity.
As a child, Carol had never learned how to ride a bike so decided to join the free ladies-only Cycle & Stride sessions, funded by TfGM (Transport for Greater Manchester) and on this occasion delivered by Your Trust in Rochdale.
After attending four sessions, at the age of 61, Carol learned how to ride a bike for the very first time.
If you have never learnt to ride a bike; would like to develop your cycling skills, or become more confident cycling in traffic, you can access cycle training in Manchester.
TFGM is currently running FREE cycle training for all levels of rider (and non-rider) at two Manchester locations:
Bikes and helmets are provided for free.
“I went along to the cycling event with some trepidation as I had never ridden a bike before. From the first moment I was made to feel really welcome and there was a lovely group of ladies present. The instructors were fabulous and within the hour I was cycling! Oh the freedom!
“I never thought I would find anything to replace my beloved hill walking, but I think I may just have found it. I would like to urge anyone thinking of giving it a go to just do it! I have purchased my own bike now and it has given me a new lease of life.
“I would now like to be able to progress to longer bike rides and to meet up with other cyclists to see all of the beautiful countryside that surrounds the Greater Manchester area. The idea of seeing new places and people fills me with excitement. I would like to say thank you to all involved. It’s truly a worthwhile scheme and it has changed life for me.”
Ideas and projects are continuously evolving and progressing at GM Active. View our latest news stories below to find out how we are moving as one and contributing towards building the healthy, happy and prosperous Greater Manchester we all aspire to.
Amanda joined the Nutrition, Exercise and Wellbeing Programme at Your Trust in Rochdale to gain confidence, get support to lose weight and to become active and get fit.
Keep reading to hear what fantastic achievements Amanda had reached by the end of the 12 week programme.
During the course, our friendly, fully qualified team give support to lose weight, set achievable goals, make healthier food choices, exercise to help with weight loss and learn skills to prevent weight gain.
A GP, practice nurse or health advisor can refer you to the programme or you can self-refer by contacting 01706 923685 or exercise.referrals@rochdale.gov.uk or by clicking the link below.
At the end of the 12 week programme, Amanda has had some fantastic achievements:
“Over the 12 weeks, I’ve learned a lot of things including what to eat, how much to eat and the daily allowance of salt and sugar. I’m now cooking with herbs and spices rather than jars and use the eat well plate as a guide of what to include in my meals.
“And I’ve increased the amount of fruit and veg that I’m eating each day. The programme is excellent, and I would recommend it to everyone.
“Attending the group was my first achievement but every bit of information given is broken down and made easy to understand and follow which is what I needed.
“I’m feeling better and am more active, and people are noticing a difference. It’s also made a big impact on my mental health and wellbeing as I now feel that my depression and anxiety are more manageable.”
Ideas and projects are continuously evolving and progressing at GM Active. View our latest news stories below to find out how we are moving as one and contributing towards building the healthy, happy and prosperous Greater Manchester we all aspire to.
This project was one simply aimed to engage African and Caribbean women in swimming lessons for a 10-week period.
The participants would be provided with a Soul Cap, made to manage Afro hair, and taught how to swim with the intention of improved confidence and water safety, while becoming more physically active and having a positive impact on overall health and wellbeing.
The Soul Cap itself was the subject of controversy at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, where it was banned – a move overturned two years later.
Among discussions about this and Black History Month, conversation turned to giving women from African and Caribbean backgrounds the chance to learn to swim and to encourage continued activity for health and wellbeing purposes beyond that.
GLL and Buzz agreed to joint fund the project, which would engage two cohorts of a total of 20 people in swimming lessons.
Information regarding the project was made available to local community groups that supported the BAME communities and encouraged those interested to register their interest.
There were five leisure centres across the city that were being made available: Arcadia Library and Leisure Centre, East Manchester, Hough End, Moss Side Leisure Centre and North City Family and Fitness Centre.
Women from the African and Caribbean community were the initial target participants; however, one male and a few South Asian women were given the opportunity to participate.
The project hoped to achieve improved water confidence along with the confidence to go swimming independently following the project which would in turn provide positive movement towards improved health and wellbeing.
A celebration event was held with some of the participants, stakeholders and local councillors to showcase the impact and give the participants recognition for their achievement in taking part.
Feedback from those who took part included:
The celebration was well received and provided an opportunity to seek further funding to support similar opportunities via a Neighbourhood Investment Fund application to support wider opportunity for the African and Caribbean community.
This what some of those who completed the project had to say…
*Images sourced from The Black Swimming Association
Ideas and projects are continuously evolving and progressing at GM Active. View our latest news stories below to find out how we are moving as one and contributing towards building the healthy, happy and prosperous Greater Manchester we all aspire to.
The Bury Live Well Service compromises of four neighbourhood teams that focus on the needs and priorities of each neighbourhood.
Our teams will provide free personalised support. We believe in creating a healthier community where everyone can:
We help people to…
We have supported thousands of people across the Borough of Bury to reach a healthy weight; build more activity into their daily life; stop smoking; eat better; and generally improve their health and wellbeing.
We are here to help people stay well, stay independent, and enjoy life for longer. We help people to…
Janette was referred to us from physiotherapy suffering with neuropathy, which was causing severe balance issues.
She had experienced many falls, one of which had resulted in a broken nose. As a result, she was anxious about having further falls and had greatly reduced her activity levels due to fear.
She also has Raynaud’s disease and was getting very cold, white hands and feet which was painful and scary at times. She wasn’t medicated for this and wasn’t sure what she could do to help.
She had been given exercises for her hands and feet by physiotherapy but was looking to take a wider-ranging approach to her health and to develop an overall more active lifestyle.
She was medicated for restless legs which were worse at night and had suffered with vertigo in the past but put it down to stress.
She also had bursitis in her hip and had had injections some time previously which had helped with pain but had some limited range of movement and had lost some lower body strength.
Janette was supported by Live Well officers Cheryl and Bev. Janette originally had a face-to-face consultation with Chery at Castle Leisure Centre when Cheryl provided a full wellbeing timetable as well as details on how to book classes, what each class covered and all other relevant information.
As a result, Janette started Monday morning classes run by Bev in Ramsbottom, which is ideally located for her to walk to, thus already giving motivation to increase regular walking.
Over 13 months, Janette has attended regularly and consistently on a weekly basis. Through regular strength, balance and cardiovascular exercises, she has improved her fitness and strength levels as well as her balance.
She has increased the weights she can lift, as well as her cardiovascular and muscular endurance.
During classes, Bev also aims to educate members on how to help stay as safe as possible in their everyday life, for example foot placement when standing, techniques for going from sitting to standing safely and being aware of head movements, speed of movements etc. when doing any balance work.
Ideas and projects are continuously evolving and progressing at GM Active. View our latest news stories below to find out how we are moving as one and contributing towards building the healthy, happy and prosperous Greater Manchester we all aspire to.
The Bury Live Well Service compromises of four neighbourhood teams that focus on the needs and priorities of each neighbourhood.
Our teams will provide free personalised support. We believe in creating a healthier community where everyone can:
We help people to…
We have supported thousands of people across the Borough of Bury to reach a healthy weight; build more activity into their daily life; stop smoking; eat better; and generally improve their health and wellbeing.
We are here to help people stay well, stay independent, and enjoy life for longer. We help people to…
Cheryl was referred to us by the stroke team at Fairfield Hospital following a stroke in 2022 and kept falling, which had a huge impact on her quality of life.
Cheryl’s confidence massively declined as she chose to stay at home due to having a fear of falling when she was on her own.
While Cheryl was receiving regular physio after her initial stroke to restore loss of movement, she could not drive. She was very restricted and felt like she put a lot of pressure on her husband who was taking her to the appointments so gradually stopped going.
Over six months of regularly supporting Cheryl with regular check ins and face-to-face chats there was a massive change in Cheryl’s wellbeing.
Cheryl started attending two wellbeing classes per week and can do the advanced options of the exercises set.
Cheryl thought she had lost her independence forever, and never thought she would be able to drive again. She now independently drives herself to the classes every week, which was a huge milestone for her and her family.
Live Well Officer Lizzie Howard says:
“From meeting with Cheryl face-to face in her initial consultation, I could see how much of an impact the physical and mental health outcomes from the stroke had had on her life, the sudden changes at home, at work and in her relationship.
“Cheryl did not feel safe exercising on her own therefore I suggested we started off with trying one strength and balance exercise class at her local leisure centre, as I felt they provided the correct support for her to feel confident whilst exercising.
“Cheryl started to come to my strength and balance class on a Friday morning. This was great as I was able to have regular contact with her, checking in with her week by week, setting her little tasks to do each week, making sure she was making progress and giving her the praise she deserved.
“Some tasks involved reaching out to friends and going for a coffee or going to the garden centre and treating herself.”
Cheryl is no longer a frequent faller, since being under Bury Live Well Service Cheryl hasn’t had a single fall, with Cheryl’s strength, balance and mobility getting better each week, she has the confidence to do other activities she never dreamt of doing.
Cheryl says:
“For the first few weeks I found the exercises quite difficult and was very tired afterwards.
“After a few months, I was more able to complete the exercises and started to notice improvements in my mobility. At this point, I started a second chair-based class and began to go to classes twice a week.
“The improvements to my mobility and balance have been terrific. I now can walk much further and feel my balance has greatly improved and have I have not had any falls since starting the classes.
“Another great improvement has been the ability to stand up from a chair and sit back down, which is particularly useful when there are no disabled toilet facilities available!
“My family and friends have all commented on the improvement I’ve made. My husband says it is startling.”
Ideas and projects are continuously evolving and progressing at GM Active. View our latest news stories below to find out how we are moving as one and contributing towards building the healthy, happy and prosperous Greater Manchester we all aspire to.
Good Boost was initially introduced at Arcadia Library and Leisure Centre as part of a six-month pilot programme looking at the uptake and effectiveness of a water-based muscular skeletal (MSK) programme.
The Good Boost session at Arcadia has since become part of the wider MSK offer, which is a UK Research and Innovation Project including ESCAPE Pain and Good Boost run across Arcadia Library and Leisure Centre and Hough End Leisure Centre.
Each six-week block can accommodate up to 10 people. Participants must complete an initial sign up process which takes approximately 30 minutes and includes a series of questions about their condition and the pain they experience.
Once this is complete, weekly sessions will require the participant to log in to a tablet which is collected from reception on the way in and set it up on the pool side to follow their personalised programme and enter changes with their condition or pain levels.
The session is facilitated by a member of staff, in this case Clive, who is the Health Living Instructor across Manchester leisure centres.
For the purpose of this case study we’ve concentrated on a course which had eight participants, of which Anita (63) and Donna (51), both from Beswick, who are the longest attending having begun attending (seen right with Clive).
Donna found out about the Good Boost offer while searching for classes that supported those living with muscle and joint pain and came across the Better website with the Good Boost information.
Donna, who lives with scoliosis and trapped nerves, took the information to her physio who she regularly visits at Crumpsall Hospital who then gave her the go ahead to get involved.
Anita, meanwhile, was awaiting a hip replacement and also has slight curvature of the spine.
Both Anita and Donna have had a positive experience from attending Good Boost sessions.
They both wanted to share their positive results and endorse the programme for those considering either applying it to their centre, or taking part themselves.
Ideas and projects are continuously evolving and progressing at GM Active. View our latest news stories below to find out how we are moving as one and contributing towards building the healthy, happy and prosperous Greater Manchester we all aspire to.
Active Ageing aims to help people maintain their independence through keeping active in later life. Along with the health benefits of becoming more active, our participants enjoy getting out of the house and meeting like-minded people.
We work closely with NHS professionals, Primary Care Networks, Adult Social Care and other local organisations as part of a wider offer and support network for residents across the Wigan borough. We are a part of the local Falls Strategy and Pathway.
Our team of qualified and experienced instructors support participants to improve their wellbeing, mobility, strength and balance with a flexible programme that can be adapted to meet their aspirations and interests.
Activities are held in a variety of settings across the borough to meet demand and to focus on areas of most need. Home exercise is also provided for people unable to attend sessions in the community.
This could be a result of their health conditions, confidence, or access to transport. This helps us to focus support with people in lower socio-economic groups where these barriers maybe more prevalent. We are currently exploring integrated support with re-ablement which will further strengthen our aim to reduce health inequalities and support hospital discharge.
In Wigan, hospital admissions of the over 65s due to a fall are amongst the highest in Greater Manchester, while GM is above the England average.
Deaths following a falling is also on the rise. The proportion of over 75s in Wigan is high compared to other areas of Greater Manchester and projections show that this population is rapidly increasing.
Be Well (Wigan Council) is committed to taking a life course approach to reducing the risk of falls by providing a range of opportunities to help people improve their balance, increase muscle strength and promote bone health.
During the sessions we work with participants, so they know how to get off the floor safely if they fall, put strategies in place to support them getting up and advice on what to do if they are unable to do so.
This is practiced in sessions and techniques demonstrated to support this. We have had many examples over the years of where this has been successful, and participants have been able to help themselves. Before accessing our activities, they needed to call for help, sometimes from emergency services or where they have had a long lie increasing the risk of complications.
Recently, we have started to explore how we can help our residents who do not access our services to Age Well by increasing awareness about the importance of strength and balance, as well providing resources to help people move more, including the Super 6 Exercises, Winter Wise booklet and home exercise videos.
For Falls Awareness Week in 2022 we took this further, and the team produced a film to demonstrate what to do if you fall following the advice we provide in our sessions.
This was made available on our website and shared with partner organisations.
In December 2022, ahead of the paramedic strikes, when this message was more important than ever, we re-released the film on Wigan Council’s social media channels.
We were aware that it may not be seen by our target audience, but the aim was to provide friends and family with the information to help their loved ones.
Analytics from Facebook showed that the post reached 6,528 people, the content was displayed 6,528 times, engaged with by 357 people and shared 28 times.
We also shared the video with our partners, so it was available to people that they support.
A Strength and Balance participant at Howe Bridge Leisure Centre explained that her husband had fallen at home over Christmas. She assisted her husband following the backward chaining process to get back up. Their granddaughter was there who is a nurse, and she couldn’t believe that he managed to get up using backward chaining steps as shown the group session.
Another Strength and Balance participant, this time at St Anne’s Church, Shevington said he was out for a meal with his wife when. He found another gent had fallen in the toilets. Using the backward chaining process that he has learnt in the group sessions he managed to help the stricken gentleman to get back up to standing (with support from another member of the public). Without knowing these steps this gentleman would’ve required an ambulance callout to get him back on his feet.
Every time we help our residents to stay balanced, avoid an injurious fall or get back on their feet without support we reduce costs in the wider system.
Figures from the Falls Tool correct as of 2016 show that:
Resource – Unit Cost
GP visit – £36.00
A&E visit – admission – £100.53
A&E visit – no admission – £90.29
Ambulance call-out to hospital – £236
Non-hip fracture – hospital inpatient stay – £7,949
Hip fracture – hospital inpatient stay – £8,955
Hip fracture – 1st year follow-up costs – £527
Hip fracture – 2nd year costs – £2,212
Geriatric long-stay – £14,659
We would like to spread the word further and welcome you sharing this film with your own residents:
Ideas and projects are continuously evolving and progressing at GM Active. View our latest news stories below to find out how we are moving as one and contributing towards building the healthy, happy and prosperous Greater Manchester we all aspire to.
Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common musculoskeletal condition in older people and poses a large burden to the health and social care system. OA can develop in any joint in the body, but when it affects the knee or hip, mobility can be affected leading to disability.
Over 6.5 million people have sought treatment from their GP for OA of the hip and knee. Almost all (98%) of initial knee replacements are due to osteoarthritis.
There are several risk factors for the development of OA, including increasing age, gender, genetic factors, and previous joint injury. The largest modifiable risk factor is obesity.
Given the projected increases in obesity, and the growth and ageing of the population, the proportion of people affected by OA is expected to rise.
Data from Arthritis Research UK estimates that a total of 28,133 people aged 45 or over in Wigan live with knee osteoarthritis. This means that of the total Wigan population aged 45 years or over, 20.2% are estimated to have knee osteoarthritis (overall prevalence).
This is higher than the overall prevalence for England as a whole – 18.2%. Of the total number of people with knee osteoarthritis, 12,478 are male (male prevalence 18.4%) and 15,655 are female (female prevalence 21.8%).
It is estimated that there are 9,990 people with severe knee osteoarthritis, which is 7.2% of the population aged 45 years or over. It is also estimated that a total of 16,416 people aged 45 or over in Wigan live with hip osteoarthritis.
This means that of the total Wigan population aged 45 years or over, 11.8% are estimated to have hip osteoarthritis (overall prevalence). This is higher than the overall England prevalence of 10.9%.
Of the total number of people with hip osteoarthritis, 5,900 are male (male prevalence 8.7%) and 10,516 are female (female prevalence 14.7%). It is estimated that there are 5,106 people in Wigan with severe hip osteoarthritis, which is 3.7% of the population aged 45 years or over.
The cost of hip and knee replacements throughout the borough is approximately £4.5 million a year.
Traditionally within Wigan, we have worked closely with clinical teams within secondary care.
Across all Be Well programmes in 2022, 21% of all referrals reported Musculo-skeletal as a condition.
On the long-term condition programme, we had a total of 2,074 referrals (2022), of which 765 (37%) identified MSK (pain/Injury) and 489 (24%) identified arthritis as their primary medical condition. 225 (11%) had both on their medical history.
Analysis of these 1,029 unique referrals, shows 783 had a first contact with the Be Well team, of these 191 did not take up the pain management pathway programme. Of the 592 that did engage, 450 (76%) completed the programme.
In Sept 22 we started to look at a more proactive approach and look to engage with residents earlier on and prevent them entering the pain/medication cycle.
We wanted to place ourselves at the front end of pain management and identify first instances of pain. NICE makes recommendations about the diagnosis, treatment, and care of people with osteoarthritis. These recommendations include holistic assessment of people with osteoarthritis and core treatments which include activity and exercise, and weight loss if the person is overweight or obese.
We wanted to embed Be Well into this holistic assessment.
We saw the role of the First Contact Practitioners/Physiotherapists (FCPs) as an ideal opportunity to change the way we tackled this issue and the perfect enablers.
The vast majority of musculoskeletal FCPs are physiotherapists with enhanced skills. They can help patients with musculoskeletal issues such as back, neck and joint pain by:
Patients with back and joint pain, including conditions such as arthritis, can contact their local physiotherapist directly, rather than waiting to see a GP or being referred to hospital.
The delivery model was designed to align the FCP leads with Be Well Wellbeing specialist instructors across the seven PCNs. Referrals were assigned directly to the WSI from the FCP and contacted in a timely manner.
The teams have been meeting at our leisure centre sites to visit classes and see facilities, with the aim for the clinical team to be based on within Be Well facilities.
We utilised our wider Be Well physical/nutritional opportunities to support participants including our strength and balance/weight management programme/leisure offer.
More specifically we delivered the ESCAPE Pain Programme (EP), an education and exercise intervention within our leisure centres. This is a six-week intervention for people with knee and hip OA, which Wigan has a higher rate of than other GM areas.
Delivered in 12 sessions, twice weekly, it incorporates a progressive exercise circuit (40 min) and an educational component (usually the last 15-20 mins). The aim of the programme is to reduce pain in the joints and increase mobility and function.
We wanted to evaluate lifestyle factors such as mental health and physical inactivity and more importantly its impact on musculoskeletal health with specific questionnaires (HOOs and KOOS).
The infographic below highlights the impact since starting the new pathway in Sept 22. Including increasing physical activity levels (IPAQ – a physical activity questionnaire looking at vigorous, moderate, walking) and improvements in mental health score (WHO-5).
We mentioned the Escape Pain earlier in our model and we deliver 5/6 cohorts per year at two sites across the borough: Robin Park Sports Centre and Leigh Leisure Centre (10-12 per year).
We have had 305 attendances at our EP cohorts since the start of our work with the FCPs (Sept 22).
We collected pre and post outcome questionnaires for specific OA measures, HOOS (Hip dysfunction and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score) and KOOS (Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score) to determine if a participant has decreased pain and increased function and mobility. The higher the score the more improvements that have been made.
This coupled with the increased IPAQ scores from the infographic suggest a significant impact on the participants. Often introducing PA to those with hip/knee pain and dysfunction can lead to a short-term increase/worsening of symptoms.
A functional test (30 second sit to stand test) testing leg strength and endurance was completed at baseline and post cohort. The average score increased from 9.5 to 13.5, a 42% increase in functional capacity.
Since the scheme was implemented, Be Well has seen great results and stories from people like Roy – benefiting from the range of choices now available to them:
Ideas and projects are continuously evolving and progressing at GM Active. View our latest news stories below to find out how we are moving as one and contributing towards building the healthy, happy and prosperous Greater Manchester we all aspire to.
Tameside MBC/Active Tameside are responsible for the coordination of the programme and are continuously looking to develop partnerships with community sports clubs, physical activity/faith groups and schools with the main purpose being that the partner organisation will deliver holiday programmes independently on behalf of Fuel4Fun, and its brand.
Tameside as a borough has a high number of families living in poverty and deprivation. Tackling school holiday hunger is a key element of the funding.
As part of the Fuel4Fun offer, each eligible family receives a hamper delivered to the family home
Each family receives a hamper delivered to the family home; each hamper contains enough food to feed a family of four for five nights.
The hampers contain fresh fruit and vegetables, fresh meat, and ambient products.
Alongside this, each meal is accompanied with a menu card with step-by-step guides to create a family approach to home-cooked, healthy meals with the support of online tuition.
Menu cards are created in partnership with Tameside Children’s Nutritional Health Team to ensure each meal meets nutritional guidance.
In one 12-month period the funding enabled us to support 4,935 individual families with food hampers (some families receiving five hampers over the summer to support the need in Tameside) with a total of 24,675 meals delivered.
On top of helping to break down barriers to access sports and physical activities, children are also encouraged to develop life-skills such as gardening on the trust’s community allotments and cooking their own healthy lunches.
Alongside these activities, each child received a healthy lunch, with each child being actively encouraged to get involved in the meal’s preparation and making, before eating their own lunch, exploring new foods, and developing their own recipes.To create a transferable approach, each child receives an activity bag to take home which includes sports items, arts and crafts and a water bottle, giving each family the opportunity to increase activity levels at home, boosting their health and wellbeing, and supporting positive behaviour changes.
What’s more, Fuel4Fun has created a number of volunteering and paid employment opportunities.
Notwithstanding, the incredible social impact Fuel4Fun has had on young people and their families, it has provided the opportunity for Adult Day Service clients from our Everybody Can programme – which provides services and provision for children and adults with additional needs and/or disabilities – the opportunity to gain valuable life skills through volunteering and paid roles.
Fuel4Fun has had a huge impact: delivering 6,019 food boxes in 2021 and almost doubling delivery in 2022 with 11,300 food boxes delivered to families.
Fuel4Fun also delivered a wide range of activities over the summer engaging with 13 primary schools, 11 clubs, 6 PVIs, five active sites, five youth provisions and four SEND groups.
Each setting delivered a diverse, interactive, and exciting timetable, including activities such as: Commonwealth games tournaments, social media awareness courses, nutrition education sessions, swimming lessons, the introduction of the daily mile and bike ability courses.
Additionally, we engaged with 1,500 young people at our Tameside Rocks Community Festival and a further 100 young people who attended our youth adventure days.
Ideas and projects are continuously evolving and progressing at GM Active. View our latest news stories below to find out how we are moving as one and contributing towards building the healthy, happy and prosperous Greater Manchester we all aspire to.
