GIVING A BOOST TO STROKE SURVIVORS

Pilot project equips fitness instructors with the skills to assist those with disabilities

- Kimberly Kwek

After suffering a stroke in 2017, tasks such as climbing a flight of stairs took Maya Seah hours to complete. The haemorrhagic stroke - or stroke with bleeding in the brain - has caused brain fog, muscle weakness on the right side of her body and affected her ability to communicate.

But Seah, who used to jog and practise yoga before her stroke, has been able to get active recently.

In 2023, she picked up dragon boating and about a month ago, she started going to the gym, with these activities helping in her recovery process.

The 44-year-old was among several stroke survivors who shared their experiences using ActiveSG gyms and swimming pools as part of a pilot training programme launched by the Singapore National Stroke Association (SNSA) and the Singapore Institute of Technology in October.

Aligned with the Disability Sports Masterplan 2024, this programme was set up to create a more inclusive environment in those ActiveSG facilities by equipping fitness professionals with the skills to better assist stroke survivors and people with disabilities.

Surveys with stroke survivors and exercise professionals have found that survivors wanted to be fit, while professionals wanted to learn more about how to assist people with disabilities in the gym, said Associate Professor Shamala Thilarajah, president of the SNSA.