Innovative solution helping people with join and pain (musculoskeletal) conditions to keep active indoors
Musculoskeletal disorders (MSKDs) are the primary cause of disability on the planet and the main contributing factor towards falls and fractures, which are the leading causes of accidental death in people over 65 years old. MSK conditions are not just a “niggle in your knee” or an “ache in your back”; they fundamentally impact people’s ability to live, love, be active and enjoy life. Good Boost, a social enterprise that creates personally tailored exercise and rehabilitation programmes for people with MSK conditions, is looking to work with care homes to further scale its innovative software and carry out its mission to improve the wellbeing and quality of life of older adults.
Good Boost addresses the need for effective, accessible and affordable aquatic exercise programmes for older adults living with an MSK condition by incorporating decades of research, medical guidelines and clinical best practice into an intelligent app which can generate exercise programmes that adapt and evolve session-by-session based on user feedback. Their mission is to enable people to self-manage their MSK health by transforming any pool space into a therapeutic exercise space.
To date, their work has focussed on providing individually-tailored therapeutic exercise in swimming pools, using specially designed waterproof tablets. The results have been impressive, with many of the participants indicating that while they struggle to be active on dry land, the water-based exercise programme has led to significant improvements in function, wellbeing and quality of life. Within 8 weeks, they see improvements equivalent to medication, physiotherapy, and even surgery with an average of 56% improvement in pain, 51% improvement in function, and 62% of users improving their overall quality of life.
Good Boost have therefore adapted their technology and have now developed a land-based app which has recently launched on the Google Play and Apple Stores. The app has been co-designed in collaboration with MSK charities to ensure it is user-friendly and navigable for an age group that has, on average, low technology confidence.
Good Boost are seeking to work with care homes to further develop their product and learn more about how to improve the experience for residents when interacting with the app. They are particularly keen to hear from care homes who have access to facilities with water and are able to provide some tablets at no cost to the homes to trial the app. Their CEO, Ben Wilkins, said: “We believe Good Boost provides a crucial service for care home residents, helping them to keep active, especially during current restrictions due to COVID-19. Equally, a core part of Good Boost is peer support, with our programmes allowing people living with MSK conditions to support each other to set physical activity goals and improve their health, all while therefore combatting loneliness. We are keen to work with care homes to ensure that the app is fit for purpose for care home residents.”
If you are interested in getting involved, please get in touch at: [email protected]
Good Boost was created by Ben Wilkins who is a Registered Osteopath and MSK Clinical Champion for Versus Arthritis. The app is a Class 1 Medical Device registered with the Medicines and Health Regulatory Authority (MHRA) and one of the highest ranked join/bone/muscle medical-apps on the planet as reviewed by Orcha, the internal medical-app kitemark.
Further information about Good Boost can be found at https://www.goodboost.org/
