A London football league has been set up for people who are experiencing or recovering from mental illness. The Positive Mental Attitude (PMA) Football League was started by an occupational therapist who had noticed that participating in football games was helping her patients. Being a part of the League has helped people in a range of ways, including increasing people's confidence and self‐esteem by interacting with other people in the community. Players also experience physical benefits, such as increasing overall general fitness, losing weight and stopping smoking.
IntroductionFew studies have examined the comprehensive impact of adaptive exercise interventions across multiple functional domains (i.e., physical and cognitive health) in adults with developmental disabilities (DD).MethodsThe present study examined the effects of a 10-wk (2 sessions per week, 1 h per session) adapted Zumba® intervention on the Six-Minute Walk Test (6MWT), Timed Up and Go (TUG), Clinical Test of Sensory Interaction on Balance, body composition, and executive function in 44 adults with DD age 20.8–69.2 yr. In addition to examining overall differences between control and intervention conditions, the effects of different Zumba® tempos (normal/low) were examined. A crossover design with a 3-month wash-out period was used such that participants in the intervention also served as controls. The participants were quasi-randomized into one of two Zumba® conditions: low-tempo Zumba® (0.75 normal speed; n = 23) and normal-tempo Zumba® (n = 21).ResultsA significant condition–time interaction was observed for the 6MWT and TUG; participants in the low and normal-tempo Zumba® conditions significantly increased the distance walked for the 6MWT and reduced the total time for the TUG. No improvement was observed during the control condition for these measures. There were no significant condition–time interactions for the other outcomes.ConclusionsThese findings have implications on the efficacy and implementation of virtual Zumba® programs to increase abilities related to independent performance of activities of daily living in adults with disabilities.
The Positive Mental Attitude Sports Foundation Trust (PMASFT) is a community interest company that uses sport as a therapeutic tool to support the recovery and social inclusion of people living with enduring mental health issues. Many of the people that have been part of the initiative have a dual diagnosis. Through community football and multi‐sports mental health leagues, the PMASFT seeks to engage participants in meaningful activity, build their confidence, support the development of life skills and healthy living, improve physical health and promote education, training and employment opportunities. The PMASFT also provides accredited courses, including mental health sports coaching and refereeing courses, and courses on how to set up a mental health sports club. Participants are encouraged to get involved in the running of their club. Through this approach the PMASFT develops a sustainable working partnership with health and social care organisations, local authorities and other community services. This paper describes how the PMASFT came into being and highlights some of its achievements.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.