What do you think about GP's prescribing you 'a walk'?

[StrawberryMarble]

I just heard this on radio 4, that GP's will be able to prescribe a walk or a bike ride etc. We all know we need to move more & not lead sedentary lives. I don't disagree that we need to get moving & keep our fitness, especially as we get older. But I can see a few people getting upset over this. I think it might be a common prescription with waiting times post covid being so long.

Good idea but most people seem to be allergic to using their legs.
Some of my colleges drive less than a mile to the supermarket at lunch time. Does my head in. We live 1 mile from town and most people drive.
I get bored walking, I'm fed up carrying heavy bags from the supermarket and my regular dull lunch break walk but I still do it. The pay off is that I won't be costing the NHS as much.

I think this is 'news' because many more GP practices are developing 'social prescriber' teams to try to deal with the serious GP shortage.

This approach will benefit the type of patient who is presenting with slightly raised blood pressure, slightly raised cholesterol, slightly raised glucose, etc.

Complex cases like mine, with my psoriatic arthritis, damaged spine, synovitis and a whole raft of auto-immune conditions (including arthritis-related fatigue) need specialist care. 'Go for a walk' is like telling me to fly to the moon. I have finally been given appointments with an NHS MSK-physio at a Rehab Centre after a two year wait. Two bloody years. Crazy.

Social prescribing i.e. encouraging someone to join a specific walking group / exercise class / social activity sounds really positive and quite different from general advice to exercise / lose weight / cut down on alcohol

So many conditions are caused or exacerbated by lifestyle. I would support anything that helps people to develop and maintain a more healthy lifestyle

GP's will be able to prescribe a walk

What does this mean? I mean, how is that different to now, where I assume GPs will suggest exercise if appropriate? I've had a GP suggest exercise for depression. How will that change if they now call it a "prescription" for walking?
(I also was actually prescribed antidepressants)

It's not saying everyone will be told to go for a walk, but it might free up valuable resources who can then help people such as yourself more speedily.

"Above all, do not lose your desire to walk. Everyday, I walk myself into a state of well-being & walk away from every illness. I have walked myself into my best thoughts, and I know of no thought so burdensome that one cannot walk away from it. But by sitting still, & the more one sits still, the closer one comes to feeling ill. Thus if one just keeps on walking, everything will be all right."
Soren Kierkegaard

@Badbadbunny interestingly , re baths, there’s some evidence that baths are as a good as exercise for lifting mood in people with depression! I love baths. www.newscientist.com/article/2183250-hot-baths-could-improve-depression-as-much-as-physical-exercise/

If you don't have time for a walk which will help your health improve, then your lifestyle is making you ill and you should take steps to change that.

Think this is a bit simplistic, a lot of people genuinely are working too hard or are struggling with varous negative issues, and have too little time/resources/brain capacity to be able to prioritise their health. Not every person is making lifestyle choices, for some people it is just a tough life.

This country is getting into a state of worsening standards of health, finances, access to services. It is not going to work to heap it onto the individual without understanding why some people don't already do these things. Some areas are just awful to walk around for starters. The people who most need to walk often live in the places least appealing to walk in.

Overall I agree with walking as a positive though, we went car free some years back and although it can be hard work at times the walking is very beneficial. I especially notice that when I walk in bad weather, rather than it being a negative I tend to arrive invigorated. Even getting wet is not such a problem as I thought it was! I am lucky to have decent health though.

If it’s prescribed then I presume there will be a formal record of it in your notes and it will be something which HCPs can engage with you about at follow up appointments or referrals to find out whether you’ve been “taking your prescription” e.g. following the advice, why not if not, whether you feel it’s helped, what you think might work better etc so that it becomes a holistic part of treatment and patients actually see it as such and better recognise it as medical advice rather than a vague recommendation to take some exercise.

I think, if I've understood my own GP's new system correctly, that patients will receive a call or a visit from one of the practices 'social prescribers' to talk about their needs, and make suggestions of local groups etc.

So it would be a more personalised service than a GP saying, 'you need to get more exercise'.

Many GP surgeries are working with their local parkrun.

I think it’s a great idea. There are so many apps now like 10,000 steps, heart points etc.

come to park run on a Saturday morning. Bring the kids and just walk 5k. You will be finished by 10am. It’s social, free, fresh air and addictive. Even volunteering would help a lot of people.

That's a great idea. I'd be up for that.

There's a group for men in South London that walks along the Thames Path every Sunday for exercise and to prevent loneliness and depression.

Park run is so middleclass, just because it's free it doesn't mean it's accessible to all.

@Tamworthian - very witty :)

I think it’s probably a good idea. A sedentary lifestyle is a risk factor for many conditions, and a general “do some light exercise” suggestion may be less effective than saying to someone “walk 5km three times a week.”

Are they going to prescribe the time off work for such activities or the money for a bike?

I think it's a brilliant idea. But you can't take a horse to water and make it drink.

Good luck to them prescribing me a walk since I can't.

Typical click bait nonsense that won't apply at the individual level to many people.

That’s not correct; it can work for some people but not for everyone. The NHS page gives some details on this;

www.nhs.uk/conditions/chronic-fatigue-syndrome-cfs/treatment/

I think if you already place this little value on your health and well-being that you believe it’s a doctor’s responsibility to make sure you can fit half an hour of walking into your schedule, you’re probably a lost cause and there aren’t likely to be many treatments which you would properly engage with anyway. Just as the doctor can’t come round to your house to make sure you remember to take your tablets, they aren’t responsible for structuring your day for you.

How is access class-based?

@HikingHeidi its helped mine massive as well. I think being a bit fitter to start with has made it easier. Trying to explain to my parents that I can and should manage a short walk when it flairs up, is an uphill struggle though!

There's literally nothing to complain about here. Anyone saying they don't have time to walk 5 mins is being obtuse and deliberately whingebagging 🤣

Go for a walk, you might complain less and become more tolerable!

You don’t prescribe a walk. It’s not a drug, and requires no training or experience to suggest one. There are no side effects and no adverse effects (other than having to walk back, which is blindingly obvious and any adult with capacity should be able to work that out). Of course there are health reasons why some people can’t walk on varying levels. If only we had health professionals with qualifications and experience on exercise and mobility. Perhaps they could prescribe exercise for people to help them move more efficiently?

How patronising for GPs. Perhaps we can just carry on with advising people to walk as we do now (which people clearly already know anyway) and look at the barriers to exercise on a public health basis, and let GPs get on with healthcare and prescribe actual prescription drugs?

@Toddlerteaplease Yeah I have the same issue with my parents!

Just last week I said "I'd rather be walking and in pain, than sitting and in pain"

Sitting makes me sad, walking makes me happy. It's so simple!