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Original poster

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

199 replies

StrawberryMarble · 22/08/2022 09:11

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.

OP posts:
Pollydon · 22/08/2022 11:18

When I lived in the UK my gp prescribed me 12 weeks subsidised gym membership. For mental health issues and high blood pressure.

Awoooga · 22/08/2022 11:18

This reply has been withdrawn

This message has been withdrawn at the poster's request

dribblewibble · 22/08/2022 11:19

No sideeffects or adverse effects for most people.

There are for some.

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

General health
SpinCityBlues · 22/08/2022 11:19

dribblewibble · 22/08/2022 11:03

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.

If @Cheeriyo is right - and I dearly hope she is - this approach may free up resources for more specialist care for people like us. Trouble is, it still doesn't stop the budget tussles between primary and secondary care.

lljkk · 22/08/2022 11:21

Most people will not follow the advice, just as they don't follow most medical advice or take their medication as directed. I guess that means I'm indifferent.

As for cycling, omg, who wants to become a hate target? Even less likely advice to be followed.

HippyDippieTrees · 22/08/2022 11:22

@CanDo92 can you not see how someone would feel awkward going to a group of middle class people who run and you're not like them. We're a very classist society and feeling like we fit in somewhere gets us there and keeps us there.

SureStart centres were similar, they got taken over by mc mums and the wc mums and teenage mums felt like they didn't belong there so stopped going/wouldn't go.

Iliveonahill · 22/08/2022 11:25

HippyDippieTrees · 22/08/2022 10:54

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

I’m working class. I do it.

CanDo92 · 22/08/2022 11:25

HippyDippieTrees · 22/08/2022 11:22

@CanDo92 can you not see how someone would feel awkward going to a group of middle class people who run and you're not like them. We're a very classist society and feeling like we fit in somewhere gets us there and keeps us there.

SureStart centres were similar, they got taken over by mc mums and the wc mums and teenage mums felt like they didn't belong there so stopped going/wouldn't go.

I don’t see how you can have any idea what class other people are on a Park Run. Everyone just turns up in some sort of running gear, and runs.

It sounds as though you have a bit of a chip on your shoulder, but really, just go along. No-one’s judging anyone there, and most people don’t even seem to speak to anyone, they just arrive, run, then wander off at the end.

ComtesseDeSpair · 22/08/2022 11:29

HippyDippieTrees · 22/08/2022 11:22

@CanDo92 can you not see how someone would feel awkward going to a group of middle class people who run and you're not like them. We're a very classist society and feeling like we fit in somewhere gets us there and keeps us there.

SureStart centres were similar, they got taken over by mc mums and the wc mums and teenage mums felt like they didn't belong there so stopped going/wouldn't go.

How would anyone know what class anyone else at Parkrun was? The Parkruns I go to are very mixed in terms of age and ability, it certainly isn’t all slim, fit well-groomed people in the latest expensive trainers running 4-minute kms. The parks used for both are within a few hundred metres of several large council estates and if you own a pair of leggings, a tshirt and some comfortable shoes then you can participate. Unlike formal centres there’s no need to give your name or address or any other information you might be judged by and there’s no obligation to engage with anyone else at all if you don’t want to. I can’t think how I’d go about deciding who was middle class.

TheOrigRights · 22/08/2022 11:30

I know someone who was strongly encouraged to do some exercise before being prescribed ADs.
I know she has time and capacity to do some exercise, but she chooses not to.
She wanted to go straight for the medicine option rather than see whether getting out and about for a short period of time would help her.
She felt fobbed off.

HippyDippieTrees · 22/08/2022 11:33

I don't have a chip on my shoulder. No need to get personal or defensive.

I have worked in the community as a community worker a youth worker and now as a social worker. I have a wealth of experience in social connectedness and Parkrun isn't accessible to a lot of people mostly due to a feeling that they won't fit in. It's very easy to say that no one will notice what they will be wearing if you have never experienced being poor and feeling like you don't belong.

HikingHeidi · 22/08/2022 11:38

I'm working class and have just started walking / jogging at the back of park run. I love it

Someone always has to find a reason to complain, don't they? If you're so sure that Park Run isn't for WC people then maybe start up a new group that is.

Dont sit back and let the gap widen....

CanDo92 · 22/08/2022 11:42

HippyDippieTrees · 22/08/2022 11:33

I don't have a chip on my shoulder. No need to get personal or defensive.

I have worked in the community as a community worker a youth worker and now as a social worker. I have a wealth of experience in social connectedness and Parkrun isn't accessible to a lot of people mostly due to a feeling that they won't fit in. It's very easy to say that no one will notice what they will be wearing if you have never experienced being poor and feeling like you don't belong.

But this is a distortion of reality. There is literally nothing about park run that is exclusionary to anyone based on their class.

Have you actually been to one yourself to understand how they work?

ComtesseDeSpair · 22/08/2022 11:44

HippyDippieTrees · 22/08/2022 11:33

I don't have a chip on my shoulder. No need to get personal or defensive.

I have worked in the community as a community worker a youth worker and now as a social worker. I have a wealth of experience in social connectedness and Parkrun isn't accessible to a lot of people mostly due to a feeling that they won't fit in. It's very easy to say that no one will notice what they will be wearing if you have never experienced being poor and feeling like you don't belong.

So perhaps you can encourage them to reevaluate their prejudices and give it a go, rather than base their feelings on assumptions. Rather than being noticed if you were wearing an old T-shirt and leggings from Tesco, at most Parkruns you would be the outlier and only noticed for what you were wearing if it was obviously state of the art and expensive - mainly because people would assume you were a serious competitive runner and were going to be leading the pack. I own decent top end running shoes because I’m a serious runner, but the rest of my gear is years old and inexpensive to begin with, just as is that of most of my friends who run.

LIZS · 22/08/2022 11:46

Social Prescribing has been a treatment for years and reduces the number of regulars who need a gp appointment essentially for company and a chat. It is not just a walk (which in itself has physical and mental health benefits) but building up more responsibility for own wellbeing and helping patients make social connections.

HikingHeidi · 22/08/2022 11:47

@CanDo92 bizarre isn't it.

MintJulia · 22/08/2022 11:49

About time. It sounds perfectly sensible to me. What would help more would be a 'walk leader' or even someone at the local parkrun to walk with newbies and get them chatting.

NotMeNoNo · 22/08/2022 11:51

It's a great idea. Presumably it won't pe prescribed to people physically incapable of doing it but to the much larger group who could and would benefit.

Part of the prescription would need to be a connection to a group/mentor/partner/bike scheme for some people whose confidence was low. The social connection will be as good as the exercise.

It is a real issue that some people can't afford suitable exercise clothing, see #noweartorun campagain. But again that would be part of the enabling/prescribing.

HikingHeidi · 22/08/2022 11:51

I live in a deprived ex mining town. If Park Run wasn't for the WC - nobody would show up to the one I attend.

Some people seem to be so comfortable being at the bottom, that they don't want to help themselves mentally or physically.

And those in jobs where they can give someone insight, advice and encouragement but don't (like PP) is a huge part of the problem. Quite frankly shouldn't be working with people at all....

MintJulia · 22/08/2022 11:53

How is ParkRun middle class? What a daft thing to say. It's free, and once you're all sweating, there is no difference even in clothes. Some people really just are looking for an excuse and a negative take.

HikingHeidi · 22/08/2022 11:53

My running kit is from Primark and charity shops...

LIZS · 22/08/2022 11:53

There are local group walks, partly council funded, with leaders, different lengths, some specifically aimed at those with mh issues or for those rehabilitating from injuries and operations, which can be signposted as part of Social Prescribing. Also subsidised gym membership, Weight Watchers, mentors etc.

MarshaBradyo · 22/08/2022 11:54

gogohmm · 22/08/2022 10:31

Our gp has a walking group, it's "prescribed" to get people moving but also stop loneliness

I haven’t fully rtft but this stood out as a good set up

Loneliness can impact health too, as well as people moving more

KangarooKenny · 22/08/2022 11:55

A lot of people would be helped by going for a walk.

CanDo92 · 22/08/2022 11:58

HikingHeidi · 22/08/2022 11:47

@CanDo92 bizarre isn't it.

Absolutely. Blaming Park run for some people’s bigoted opinion of the middle classes is wrong in several different ways.

The idea that it’s the friendly, helpful, open-to-all organisation that is being exclusive rather than the chippy refuseniks is a 180 degree reversal of where the problem really lies.

I hope she’s not encouraging them to blame everyone else for their own problems in other areas.