Physiotherapy students from the University of Winchester reach out to locals at hand strength event
Physiotherapy students at the University of Winchester recently joined forces with their counterparts studying marketing to run a successful event promoting the importance of grip strength.
Volunteers who were visiting Winchester’s Sport and Leisure Park had their strength tested using the hand grip dynamometer. They squeezed as hard as possible to register a score of force in kg.
The data gathered by the students were then compared against age matched controls. Those whose scores were below-par – about a dozen of them in total – received advice on using home-based exercises to help improve their grip. They learned that grip strength is a key indicator of overall health, balance and mortality.
A 'fantastic opportunity'
The students were supervised by specialist sports and musculoskeletal physiotherapist Liam Newton, who manages the Winchester Health Clinic – which is run by the University of Winchester.
Liam said: ‘Our grip strength event was a huge success with more than 50 people engaging with the event. It was also a fantastic opportunity to increase the brand awareness of our clinic.'
Liam added: ‘The success of the event was due to the hard work put in by our marketing placement student Paulina Dziekonska, who worked tirelessly behind the scenes, as well as the clinical input of our current physiotherapy students who were on hand to answer questions from the public.’
For more information about Winchester Health Clinic, click
Last April, Liam supervised four University of Winchester students who offered London Marathon runners sports massages and general guidance on recovery. They had been recruited by the charity Parkinson’s UK. To see PhysioUpdate's article, click
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