Stroke-specific exercise video programme: what we learned

Last year we saw the pandemic change a lot in our daily lives, and while we have all done well to adjust so quickly, its impact on the NHS and its services have been detrimental.

To fill a small part of the gap, the Stroke Association and A Stroke of Luck collaborated on a 12-week exercise video programme you can watch in the comfort of your own home to help you stay on course in your stroke recovery journey. The programme was designed with three types of mobility groups in mind:

Red group is for people with limited mobility.

Amber group is for those with some mobility.

Green group is for people who are independently mobile.

Collaboration

Most (if not all) after-care services were suspended during the pandemic and still remain backlogged. Stroke survivors were also being discharged from the hospital early than usual, to help the medical teams keep up with Covid demand. This meant that many stroke survivors were faced with having to improvise their rehabilitation exercises at home.

A Stroke of Luck founder, Craig quickly recognised there was a gap in this area for stroke survivors and started production of the videos to help survivors stay on course with their recovery. We also recognised there was a widening gap in recovery support and quickly started working together to bring the programme to as many people as possible.

How did it go?

We released a new video every Thursday at 10 am for each group (red, amber and green) on the My Stroke Guide YouTube channel, this was ideal as a hosting platform because you can subscribe to the channel and be notified of new videos.

The exercise programme launched in early June and quickly saw a growing following over the weeks. Many people following the programme commented how helpful they found the exercises and how keen they were to integrate them into their exercise routine.

What next?

We're doing another series! We are currently working on the next lot of videos and feel they will complement the original programme well. With feedback from the last time, we're making some improvements and hope that you'll join us for the next round.

You can also follow discussions about getting active after stroke on our online forum, if you would like to read more about the exercise programme you can do so from our blog, the programme is also available to watch on our YouTube channel.

We look forward to seeing you!