Cerebral Palsy and Exercise: Reviewing CP Empower by Neuro Heroes
Cerebral palsy (CP) is a lifelong disability that is caused by brain damage around the time of birth. Despite the brain damage staying the same, it’s common to experience a deterioration of mobility during adulthood.
This is often due to the extra strain on our joints and muscles, a secondary affect of mobilising with cerebral palsy. The deterioration and changes can be explained by post-impairment syndrome. Despite adults with CP regularly experiencing higher levels of pain and fatigue, research and knowledge of post-impairment syndrome is still relatively new.
Post-Impairment Syndrome and Cerebral Palsy (Scope forum)
Due to the impact of post-impairment and cerebral palsy, I was very intrigued when I came across Neuro Heroes. Particularly their CP Empower course. It was time to get moving and learn more about my disability.
Read more — Cerebral Palsy and energy levels
Getting to know Neuro Heroes
Neuro Heroes are an organisation that provide online physiotherapy sessions for disabled people.
They have condition specific sessions for people with:
- Parkinson’s (PD)
- Cerebral Palsy (CP)
- Neurological conditions
- Multiple sclerosis (MS)
They believe that exercise is most effective when it is condition specific, expert led, varied and engaging.
Every class they provide is led by an experienced Neuro Heroes physiotherapist. They also have condition specific knowledge. This enables them to tailor sessions to a specific condition and adapt it along the way if needed.
They run weekly exercise classes, as well as workshops which are 6 weeks long.
Neuro physio led exercise | Neuro Heroes
My experience of CP Empower
During May 2021 I took part in Neuro Heroes first CP Empower workshop. It was a 6 week course that looked at different aspects of cerebral palsy. These included:
- principles of exercise and ageing with CP
- changes in walking
- fatigue and the benefits of exercise for improving efficiency
- falls and optimising bone health
- pain, arthritis and improving the stability around your joints
- depression and the effects endorphins have on your mood
Disclaimer: I did receive a discount to participate, the course is £75. But this is not a sponsored blog post and there was no obligation to write a review. Everything I do say is my own opinion.
Each session included 40 minutes of exercise and a 20 minute group discussion. I’ll be honest, I was unsure what to expect. Yet I was pleasantly surprised throughout!
Due to it being a small group of people, a real sense of community was formed early on. We got to know each other and found a lot of similarities when it came to the group discussion. It may sound clique, but it was refreshing to see other people with CP exercising and moving in a similar way to myself. Cerebral palsy can mean you’re not the most graceful!
Exercise
The dialog around fitness and exercise rarely includes disabled people. But CP Empower allowed us to be ourselves and have fun. I know disabled people should be included in the narrative and we should be able to exercise in a way that’s accessible to others. However, I found it reassuring to be around other disabled people. I suppose this could be down to my own confidence and insecurities, but I felt confident knowing it was designed with CP in mind.
All of the exercises were demonstrated, with an alternative given if we needed to sit down. I found this really helpful as it made it easier to pace yourself during the 40 minutes. It also meant the class could accommodate a range of abilities. Having the option to take breaks also made it feel more inclusive from the start. In fact, breaks were encouraged when the sessions happened to be during a heatwave!
I enjoyed all of the sessions, particularly cardiovascular and dance. After every session I was left suitably out of breath. It quickly became a part of my routine I looked forward to.
Each week we looked at a different kind of exercise, these included:
- strength
- cardiovascular
- HIIT (high-intensity interval training)
- dance
- pilates and yoga style stretches
Group discussion
After 40 minutes of exercise, we would discuss a chosen subject for 20 minutes. Bex, who delivered the sessions, would share her knowledge from a physiological point of view. The group would then have a chance to share their experiences.
It was extremely validating to hear others talk about how cerebral palsy affects them. More often than not, we agreed and found similarities. In a world that’s designed for non-disabled people, it’s very easy to forget that there are others who share your experiences.
Final thoughts
At £75, I wondered it it would be worth the price. I know disabled people already have extra costs, with programmes often needing to charge more due to the niche market. However, after completing the workshop I would recommend it to anyone with cerebral palsy. The class is suitable for people who haven’t exercised in years, to people who exercise regularly. If you are a professional athlete, you might not learn as much, but will certainly have fun!
Included within the price you get:
- 6 sessions with a physiotherapist who tailors the session for you
- socialising with a small group of people who you get to know
- weekly handouts full of information
- the chance to message Neuro Heroes through the week for personalised advice
I found the sessions engaging and motivating. It also fit into my schedule well with the classes being via Zoom. If there was a weekly CP class with Neuro Heroes, I’d want to join.
Want to learn more about how CP Empower was designed?
I appreciate the range of experiences that people can have when trying to access healthcare. Having cerebral palsy as an adult can feel like unknown territory, yet I felt Bex had a lot of wisdom to share. It can be so difficult to find a physiotherapist who specialises in cerebral palsy.
As a result, I was so excited to interview Bex. I wanted to ask her all about the CP Empower workshop and how she came to specialise in CP.
Read more — Interviewing Neuro Heroes’ cerebral palsy specialist
The next CP Empower workshop starts 28th September. You can sign up on the Neuro Heroes website or contact them on social media if you have any questions.
Neuro physio led exercise | Neuro Heroes
~ Chloe x
