Our speaker at our meeting last week was Dr Helen Oakes, Advanced Practice Physiotherapist at East Kent Hospitals University NHS Trust. She’s also a member of Hythe Aqua Master Swimmers and regularly competes in age related swimming galas 

Helen gave us a very illuminating talk on a project she is currently undertaking on seeing how swimming can help as a rehabilitation modality for people with lower back pain.

As in all research projects there are several steps that need to be followed in order to arrive at a realistic scope for the research that will lead to meaningful conclusions. Helen explained how this is done and where she now is with the project.

Key takeaways from what she said include the importance of the general public being able to have access to swimming pools and hydrotherapy pools local to where they live. Choice of the best swimming stroke is also important and her research is in the process of finding out which stroke provides the best results as well as what exercise regime will further help this rehabilitation.

The next stage of her project is looking at selecting a focus group to get involved in the practical research she would like to undertake. If you live in the East Kent/Swale area you’re interested in being part of the group Helen would like to hear from you via her e-mail address helenoakes@nhs.net

There is also some very useful information about swimming with musculoskeletal conditions available from the Swim England website https://www.swimming.org/justswim/musculoskeletal-conditions-swimming/