The Leicestershire MS support group getting Active Together
Exercising can be more difficult when you’re living with MS. But there are many ways to get active in your day-to-day life. The We Are Undefeatable campaign helps people do just that. Here’s how it's helped one Leicestershire support group.
We Are Undefeatable is a movement helping people with a range of long-term health conditions find ways to be active that work for them.
People in Leicestershire, Leicester and Rutland have embraced We Are Undefeatable with the help of Active Together. The organisation supports people in living healthier and happier lives through physical activity.
Active Together have supported the MS Society Hinckley and District Group since November 2022. They secured £4,000 of Together Fund investment to increase accessibility to services for people living with MS.
Representatives from Active Together and We Are Undefeatable visited the MS Society’s Hinckley and District Group to see the real-life impact this work has had for people living with MS.
Visiting the local MS Society group
Words by Andrew Harris (Sports Development Officer – Active Together)
This was a thought-provoking phrase coined at the beginning of the exercise class I visited at the MS Society Hinckley and District Group. It’ll stick with me for a long time and could be applied to people living with many long-term health conditions. No two people have the same experience.
In fact, many of the members at the exercise class were living with multiple long-term health conditions. The group of 15-20 people meet every Thursday to enjoy a tailored physical activity experience. They’re expertly led by Liz Causon from the Leicester Tigers Foundation. She shared her experience of leading the group:
Combining physical and emotional wellbeing
The Group Coordinator of the Hinckley and District Group, Fiona Caton, spoke about the wider benefits of physical activity that the sessions have on members of the group:
Different perspectives
Andrew Harris continues...
These were words I wasn’t expecting to hear when I visited the group session. Perhaps it was naïve to think that everyone living with a long-term health condition, myself included, views their diagnosis through a negative lens.
What actually struck me the most during the visit was the sheer range of feelings and emotions on display. We had tears, laughter, naughtiness, empathy, grit, determination and passion. But in the end, it was smiles all round.
We hope to support some of the group members to become Let’s Get Moving Champions and help us to share the message far and wide about the benefits of being physically active.
- Learn more about We Are Undefeatable and exercising with MS
- Find your way to move more – visit We Are Undefeatable
- Connect your MS Society Group with your local Active Partnership for support with your physical activity offer