Darren Harper: Martial Arts, Rehabilitation and Wellness for Reach for Health

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world one story at a time. Ti Hi, I'm Tony Mantur.
Welcome to Why Not Me? Embracing Autism and Mental Health Worldwide.
Joining us today is Darren Harper, as course leader at
Reach for Health Center in Daventry. He drives transformative rehabilitation
programs for individuals with chronic conditions, injuries, or disabilities. He
oversees tailored physical therapy and exercise initiatives to promote recovery
and long term wellness, targeting issues like strokes, heart disease,
and diabetes. His work emphasizes accessible, evidence based interventions fostering
physical and mental resilience through community focused sessions. He ensures
underserved group to receive personalized support, empowering them to regain
independence and improve their quality of life. His leadership helps
the charity deliver impactful, holistic care across England. He has
a wealth of information to give us today, So before
we dive into our episode, we'll be back with an
uninterrupted show right after a word from our sponsors.
Thanks for coming on, well pleasure, thank you for having me. Oh,
it's my.
Pleasure if you would give us a little background on
your journey to what you are doing today.
So about twenty years ago, I got involved in general
health and fitness. So I've always been to martial arts
once fifteen. I've always wanted to help people, so I
was learning kung fu and bits and pieces of the
age fifteen turned seventeen, I got interested in a film
called Twin Warriors, which at lee got into a bit
of Taichi. Taichi's very much realistic about wellness and wellbeing
and trying to help understand your body and more who
you are, which led me into becoming a personal trainer
and obviously a rehabilitation practitioner. In the UK and obviously
twenty years later, I'm still continue on the same field
and I love every many of doing it because there's
always different, it's unique, and every day is a blessing.
Is some sense of the amount people be able to
help and support. Yeah, and it's been basically developing from
there really now.
In anyone's journey, there's always challenges. Were there any challenges
you faced that you had to overcome that helped you
along the way?
Oh? So that, I mean my dyslexia was one level.
So obviously it's all having dyslexia learning about how to
perceive things in the right sort of level. Obviously my
thing was when I was younger, I'd read a paragraph
or a line, for example, and I'd probably adding extra words,
you know, to make it sound differently. That's part of
my dislexia. As you start to work with that, and
I think the martial arts helped me ahead of a lot,
because you're training the different parts of the brain to
become active, so you have underapted blobs and over overactivelobes.
In this case here it was about using my hands
more and my lex more, coordinating more, and they're developing
different sorts of structures. That's one level obviously of me
trying to understand how to slow things down from a
mental capacity, So working with the public, you know, writing
down notes or workout cards or rehabilitation notes some people.
Once you decided to focus on helping people, what was
your pathway to getting there? What were some of the
things that you had to do that taught you so
that you can actually do this.
Oh, so I became a gym instructor, first a level
two gym instructor, and then I became a level three
personal trainer, and I became what's called an activity I'm
a FURST, which is level three, and then became a
forminary specialist in level four over the course of twenty years.
Of the amount of experience you gain in rehabilitation, my
boss back then, obviously and also my teacher was a
physiotherapist and the back specialist, and he was covered different
areas of wellness and different areas of medical understanding the body.
And our location, which is called the Regal Health Center
now of Daventry, we are based on rehabilitation, so we've
always been into medical fitness and having him, you know,
as my guide and obviously a teacher at the same
time to be involved with the public, to learn how
to work medical additions to support the teachings I suppose
I've had from the courses that I did to make
it more realistic and more real and to get my
own experiences to understand what's what why. That was what
helped me a lot to understand how the body works
and obviously how things are the way they are.
For can you expand and give us a little more
information on how the reach for Health Center helps people
stay fit and healthy as they age completely.
Yeah, when we cover all areas of wellness and medical
conditions and all age ranges too for the age of
thirteen years plus. So some people might have like neuro
muscular system difficulties. They could have like arthritic joints, they
could have cardiac porn with like hearts and lungs. Maybe
they could be things like diabetes, it could be weight loss.
I mean, your name pretty much cover everything our clientele.
We do. Definitely work on bulls prevention. Priority is quite
a big factor as we know this day and edge
going forward. It's more recognized now because obviously the more
people more aware of how their structure life is so
we're trying to support that classes that we do here
or prog gun developments that we do for certain people,
depending because of what they're trying to go for.
With everything that you do, what's your day to day
look like?
Yeah, well at the center, so it would normally be
either consultations where we meet new people for the first
time and obviously we'd have a sit down chat about
a good half of hours now so to understand who
they are and what their primary condition is, like why
they've come here for. It could be like maybe high
look pressure, they could be our writs, it could be
anything you can think of. Then we can work on
comorbidis too as well, which would be secondary conditions and
obviously help support over bard. And then we also develop
on one to ones. So once that individuals had a consultation,
you know, for example at the Center, then we would
put them in for another two sessions as a want
to one to help create a program and a want
one based for them and to guide them through it
so they feel happy and they're confident what they're doing
when they come down for workout. Then we have options
to help people like to support that once one. Basically
they can need it or maybe like balance development, or
they're not feeling really confident they're doing with their program.
Or we also have what's called consistent scheme as well,
which is when people who will buck into come and
see us. It's completely free, but we'll be able to
support them in their setting upon machinery, which could be
like bicycles, maybe the cycles, theather cycles, you know, treadmills,
resistant machines, whatever they feel they're still not really happy
with do most of the program themselves, but need that
little bit of support sometimes a certain machine just to
get the confidence of what they're doing. And after that,
we have people have classes that we run't center as well.
We have a functional fitness class we run and that's
based on different sorts of apologies like cardiovascular lower path
circuit training, bit of tie G. Maybe it could be stretching, mobility,
and it could be force prevention. We cover that all
in that functional fitness course or class that we run,
which is ongoing throughout the year. It was called a
board prevention class, which is based on the Otago scheme
of training. We call it Strength and Balance. We have
three times a week we have a tai Chi class
we run Pulmary class working on loans and rehabilitation, and
pretty much we have a general like a gym structure,
you could say people can for regular workouts. You have
your regulars that come every day. Course it could maybe
come out Monday, Wednesday, Friday, or it could be depending
on what they want to come down. Yeah, it's quite
busy day, I'm li you. We have a lot go on.
Yes, that's a very busy day. Now you cover a
variety of things. With all the things that you do,
is they're a common thread that seems to just stand out.
Yeah, I definitely would say falls prevention, as in falls
is quite a big thing, and that would be due
to people from the ages sixty years plus from what
we see here. Of course at the center, it'll be
know logical like a lot of stroke victims we have here,
so like post look victims and obviously depending course on
the level of severity the stroke course, we will definitely
go and support them and help them and out there.
Say they're twelve weeks of rehabilitation from the services, they
obviously be discharged and they'll continue on with us, or
they'll come and seist before as they're going through the
discharge process and we'll give a bit of supporting guidance
to help them through their processes on their journey as well.
Yeah, that's great. Now, with all the people that you
deal with, do you have mental illness that will come
in to be a factor. As we know, if people
aren't feeling good about themselves, it can cause depression and anxiety.
How do you work with people that have those issues?
Yeah, so mental health is a really big thing. But
what we did at Censor because as you know, physical
development of the body is correspondence to mental wellness in
the first place. So how as a human being, how
we perceive things to be is a reflection of how
we feel of what's make is. So we physically reflect
that with verbal physical action. So when we're working with somebody,
say it could be a stroke of be someone's working
on saying proving their strength and their balance for their
particular condition. It's about trying to reinforce them to recognize
that there's a goal going forward that we want to
try and achieve. To give them like direction and give
them drive and to keep what the will going to
keep pushing to achieve that goal, but motivational, you know,
to try and keep supporting them and to show them
that what they can do is they keep pushing this direction,
keep working on this exerciseless movement, then they should be
able to see a difference in achieving that goal. Now
it plays a big part in what they do going
forward because it helps them feel more confident as well
and more more aware of what they can and can't do.
Have you had people come in that had the attitude,
while I'm here, but I really don't need to be here.
They're depressed, they've got anxiety, whatever they might have, you
can tell they're going through some emotional issues. Because of
the emotional issues, they're kind of self defeating. How do
you get around that? So you can turn that negativity
into positivity.
So normally it'd be showing them an exercise they haven't
done before, or let's say, take a stroke victim bless
them and obviously or a stroke person and they've obviously
had one of their limbs, say the left to right
limb up limb is non active, and they've got too
much not enough extension range in the hand, and just
by working on that limb or that particular part of
their body, allowing it to show a difference in what
it can and can't do, because sometimes they just need
some to show them something to give them a visual
perception on what's going on. Say, their hands in the
fish shape and for a long time they're not being
able to extend those fingers for any particular reason. To
by working with those fingers WITHAMP, trying to slowly expand
them at a pace they feel comfortable, so they can
actually see and feel the difference of that sensation and
we see the things that physically moving. It's a great
indication say okay, there's a possibility that we can get
more rubment going along to me here and we start
see progression. It's those sort of things to visually seeing
the change of what's going on. So probably i'd say
in this case experiencing a movement or expo as they
haven't done before and then seeing the change and saying, wow,
that can actually happen to me, are actually doing this
or like you know, as a possibility it might improve.
It's those sort of things that we find change from
my people's mindsets around to become a lot more confident
and more given to want to do more and see
more positivity in it.
You work with so many people there and have had
so many success stories. Do you have anything that just
stands out to you?
Oh, god, there's been so many. You can't think of
the top of my heads. Because we do so much
down here, we're so involved with people and obviously we
meet people in our diaries flampires, but to say, what
seven to eight members of stuff that work in rehabilitation,
and then we'll flurry between different people, depending of course
on our diary structure too. I would say the Center
SLF is big level that we've seen a really big
progression with because we've seen the change and the involvement
and how we involve at the center to support more capabilities.
Of course, that's one level. And people who have spinal
injuries for example, I mean here they'd like say, disabits
in walking, they're able to walk the end. We have
got some stories here and some amazing stories and they're
actually on our Instagram and on our Facebook as well,
and a lot of that was spinal difficulties, of course,
but they were just there are loads because of how
much we do we work with, how much we work
with as well, which is the main thing. Yeah, it's awesome, Yeah.
Yes, that is awesome that you have that kind of success.
Can you tell us your areas that you cover.
We're based in Daventry, which is obviously in the Midlands
in the phantom share in the UK, so we can
cover anyone's welcome to come down. We have the villages
supporting the town bourse and obviously we have not fantom
shared generally anyone from people like from Kettering and even
like Worlish here about forty five minutes away from Daventry.
Will popular Ze has and I've come for regular sessions
and it all depends on the financial structure of the
individual coming down. You know what they what they're happy doing?
Really sure that makes perfect sense. Are you integrated with
other programs or systems similar to yourself or are you
a standalone entity.
We're with charity, but we have different connections with different people,
but they're their own individual charities I believe as well,
so we just support each other. So we could signpost
them to us and vice versa as well to help
support wors necessary. It all depends on what that person
needs and what that other charity with a beneficial for
them to that individual so they can support them by
them here and vice versa for us as well, yeah,
that's great.
What do you think is important that the listeners hear
about what you're doing and how it's helping the community
that you're in.
I would say the key, Well, what we do is rehabilitation,
but rehabilitation comes in many different ways. It comes through
physical actions, it comes through mental wellness and emotional well
being as well. I would say, find out what makes
you happy and try and pursue that. And that's what
I would say as a goal if you're going through
rehabilitation yourself, try and find out what you to ubiditate on,
whether it's physical, where it's nemal on, whether it's mental
or emotional, and try and keep active to the best
you can, because physical activity will make such a big
difference to lifestyle and overwellness as well.
Yes, I totally agree. Staying active is very very important.
As you're working with these people helping them towards their goals,
you must take great pride in seeing how their demeanor
change is over a period of time.
Yeah, definitely, because they're because they're growing and they're progressing.
Because every time you go through an experience where you've
had a condition, you change. Don't have to adjust and
adapt to yourself mentally is where it's emotionally how you
feel about going on. So as they start to see
progression or start to change themselves, they're starting to feel
better about themselves generally, and it helps them to kind
of see a difference and they're changing their persona like
you said, across there to see that they can make
a difference going forward and they can start to feel better.
They are able to do more things, whether it's more
activities or we call them ADLs that we which are
activity a day living. So a lot of people have
the in which we obviously do of course, like wash
sheet cleaning or you know what a big the bee.
When these bits get easier to do at homeline, that's
where you're starting to see a big progression with your capabilities.
You know, go into like family events, maybe your social
events when they feel easier to do and there's less stress,
less tension within as individually than it. It's a big
way a way of our shoulders of course, because we
can do more things and we can enjoy more about
what's going on. So yeah, we do see a big
difference in people completely because they're seeing more achievements without
realizing it, which is really good.
What kind of program do you set up for these people?
It can be once or twice a week, three times
a week, or I guess as many times as they need.
After that is set up, how long does it last
once they get to a certain level, Does it end
or do you extend it and tweak it so that
they can continue it.
Yeah, so that's a great question. Actually, So what we
would normally do is when we'd create that program from
day one at the consulsation kind of chat, we've seen
where we want to go going forward, So they would
have that program roughly say between four to six weeks,
and then when we read the program and do a
whole brand new program, and this will continue every six
day weeks roughly as well, because then we always want
to keep seeing progression. We want to keep supporting everyone
and stop the I won't say the wardom, that's the
wrong word. But if people need to see change something
as much as they can do obviously to the point
they can in a balanced sense, they're not seeing it
too quickly, but knowing that they can recognize that it
will take a bit longer to see the changing this
and this and this where it's range erode s, devendment
whatever it could be. What we also do is, although
they've got programs written out for themselves which they will
follow through either individuals, we'll want to one scheme like
ourselves too, is that we will go and speak to
the member for that person and we'll say, on a
regular basis on how ever thing's going, how are you
finding it? Is this getting too easy? Fancy will change
adds some new rooms into your program, and we'll start
to tweak in and things, you know, all to support
them in their development, because the average human being start
to get strong enough to that two weeks generally anyway
they're doing the same thing twice a week, three times
a week, you'll see a big progression quite quickly. If
they're keeping that clarity of coming down at least here
and then working at home as well doing bits and
pieces too. So yeah, we do try and keep adding
things into the program maybe every week to two weeks,
like a little exercise or repetition change here and then,
just to kind of keep it working and to keep
them driven as well, so they keep pushing forward, you know,
to want to keep doing more and adding more to
their programs and to better themselves. Going forward.
Yeah, that makes perfect sense. If you keep doing the
same exercise, your muscles will get used to that same exercise. Yeah,
so you have to tweak the exercises so they can
continue to grow.
Yeah, completely right, and that happens so quickly as well.
It's always good doing the same exercise, but change the
apology behind it, like the method scheme has in changed
your rep coount, change your resistance, change the structure of
how you do it too. So say you're doing a
pet debt machine just for example, and you're doing say
reps of fifteen repetitions on say I know, ten kilograms
for example, and you fill it working off with the
first two or three sets, then you know you're in
a good position. But let's say you go ahead two
or three weeks later and that's got a lot easier,
which you put it the bunny way too. Then you
can even increase the repetitions, or you can decrease, depending
on what you're trying to achieve long term going forward,
and add more resistance to it, or create a superset
of bets. When you obviously have that pet that machine
and another chest exercise machine and you came back to
it again, there's lots of options you've got as far
as like trying to spice the program, you could say,
and make it more unique.
Once you get a person to the range of motion
that they're hoping to get to, you want to tweak it.
You want to make it better for them to increase
their mobility. What would your plan be to change it
out without adding a lot more weight so they can
still achieve mobility, and while they're doing that, they add
a little muscle tone to it as well.
Do you want to keep toning the flexible? Technically? I
spose though ultimately it's repetitions because the more reps you do,
the more you work in the joint. So take the
hinge beIN the elbow joint for example. You know do
you bicep kills? So if you do a bicep kill
with no weight, flat palm or fist and hand, depending
what you feel comfortable. Over time, slow you go, the
more the muscles are going to start to work for
longer period time through contraction an e lempthy so they're
going to essentially contract longer as well as contentually contract two.
Now that itself is going to start to make the
muscle stretch the longer and become literally more mobile through
period of time because the resistance is not there, but
the control is, and the repetition will create the toning
effect of the muscle fibers allow the capsule within the
joint to become more mobile and more active as well.
So I would say to keep that level of flexibility, range, emotion,
and toning within a certain joint, either go very slowly
with no resistance with the hand movement, or start to
do a bit more repetitions, like high reps of ten
to fifty repetitions, then do the other arm for example,
and then repeat two or three sets. That way, there's
no resistance as searched with gravity of weight, but there
is the hand going up and down, back and forth.
Have you seen people that have been challenged mentally? And
when I say that it's more self esteem rather than
mental illn list, Yet it still affects people mentally if
they don't feel like they can do something. Have you
seen their attitude and just mental awareness change after you
set them up with a program and then they finally
believe that it's working for themselves.
Yeah, So from a motive function point view, when you
move in the partner the body for example. So let's
say they were able to do it first, and obviously
then they only get so far up, for example, and
they get a bit of like they can still move it,
but they're not going as far range as they would
like to go. I suppose you could say, so what
we would do in that sense, we would assist by
putting a little bit of support behind the hand to
support the hand, can we up and back down? Just
for example, It would give them the confidence to know
that they can do it themselves. They just needed a
bit of a push, becauld say here to help engage
that motor function, because it takes about a thousand repetitions
roughly for a stroke victim to obviously be able to
gain sensory development and motor function to a stronger leveworl course,
But it's about knowing that person, about knowing what they
can and can't do, and giving them that confidence too.
But yeah, if your most normons are slightly out of
action because they're underactive, which is what happens actually have
a stroke on a particular part of the body because
it's not being used for a period of time, and
it's because it's underactive. Because it's not being able to
be moved around due to the strokeer Curne. If it's
a different mental condition as well, and let's say it's
to do with not so much a physical condition, but
say it's not logical and it's not allowing the transitional movement,
then by doing support system movements is a great way
of training those most normals to say, okay, that's actually
a good movement to do. It's more natural for me.
It just takes a while for me to get used
to it, because all you're doing effectively is when you
move the body. The muscles move, but the only move
because the brain says to move them. So the brain
says a signal to the individual muscle that it then
moves the muscle. When the muscle then moves on the
tendant punning, it actually moves the joint at the same time.
So the joint is the last part to move. It's
really more like brain to muscle and obviously then to joint.
You could say, so all we're trying to trying to
reconnect the opposite way around and go really went to brain.
So we're going to actually move the hands. For example,
here the device to kill and it's going to start
to come to the shoulder, and then the neurological system
is goingnet used that sigma gun over and over again
from repetition and they'll start to create strongest in And that's
the best way to support anywhere really form like a
you know, a motor functional development anyway.
So being in your area as long as you have
you get a lot of referrals from doctors and nurses, hospitals,
people within the business that know what you do and
know that you're the ones to send them to.
We do not so much hospitals. We have referrals from
the GPS and the practice around our surrounding areas too,
and what have other people who assigned posts to us
some different areas in this field, you could say quite
physiotherapists or diabetic nurses, maybe anyone who feels like we
can support them, we will do. But from the hostels
not so much. Unfortunately, we have more GP referrals or
the public themselves who've been with us for years and years,
you know, for different reasons. They might have came across
for medical referl themselves and then explains their of family,
they're coming down here to improve their health, their wellness
and fitness and so forth, and it could be a
connection that way, So it could be word of mouth
as well. But we do have a lot of specialists
you know obviously hdps that obviously do refoth people to
us as well. Yeah, that's great.
Now, is there anything that I haven't asked or we
haven't covered that you think is important that we do cover?
I would say we've covered most of it too. Fair
always say is that if you think about generally for rehabilitation,
that just be mindful that it covers not just physical
but like we said before, it covers that mental wellness
and that emotional wellness. Your emotional wellness is the biggest
part to who we are and how we feel and
how we express ourselves is ultimately about what we want
to be as an individual person, and expression is the key,
is all. I would say, The expressions the key to
develop ourselves as humans. If you get stressed related issues,
that on a very emotional point of view is because
the mental mind is not comprehending what's going on, and
that reflects physically in different sorts of ways. So I
would say, be passionate and trust your feelings. What I'd say,
try and be resting, but fis a sensor and reabitation.
You pretty much covered most things.
Yeah, I think it's a really good thing that you
brought up the emotional part. It affects the mind in
so many different ways. When it affects the mind, it
also affects the body. With all that going on, then
they can easily talk themselves into a very bad mindset.
How do you get that negativity out of their mind
so they can start focusing on the positive things that
they need to do in order to have a better future.
Yeah, I think that's a really good question actually about
changing the perceptions, isn't it? So man can allow them
to speaking more aware of the other angu whge they're
not seeing from. If you imagine, like not that we
see things from a narrow minding point of view, but
when you're one directional and a what you can see
is this, it's very hard to the extern around it.
So if you can see things from a bird's eye
point of view, you know, let's say you're seeing it
from above that person so so and so is feeding
this way because of this particular reason, because of circumstances
around that person. Phrase you, what's happened now we can
see from a birdtap point of view the things that
were created in the first place to create that situation. Now,
for that person to feel low or heavy, and let's
say it's down to not being happy with a program
they've got, or the way a family member was. You know,
it could be anything of physical, mental feing, or verbal
that's made it fell off balance. If we can explain
to them or show them another angle what's going on
and say, okay, you're seeing from this point view, but
try seeing from this angle because of this reason and why,
because we have to explain to people from a mental
perception what's going on, so they understand, Okay, logically that
makes sense why something is the way it is. Well,
if you can break that logic down to show whatever
angle it starts to open their mind more, their perception
will change and then we can more waiting to accept
another angle. Because when you're emotionally feeling low, as much
as you want to change those feelings and emotions, and
we all do, and we want to happy and positive
and balance the best we can. Until you have that
direction or guidance or verbal, physical activity or interaction, it's
not going to change. You need to have some to
show you another angle, another perception, what's summing hits. And
as an outsider, it can be easier to do that
because you're seeing from a whole different angle too, you know.
And we do have it down here quite a lot
when people very like given and very like focused on
one thing particular because I think that's going to help
them heal them, And it will, of course to a
certain extent, but it won't actually the whole goal. So
we have to lodgeically say to them, yes, you're going
to get this and this there, it's gonna be excellent,
But don't forget about this and this too as well,
because the whole supporting mechanism and building bridge you need
to have to create sink body as well, because you're
just trying to create something differently from a different angle. Yeah,
but bird's eye points of view, if you could do
your bird's a view angle, it makes a difference to
how we see things to be.
Yeah, absolutely, well, this has been great, great conversation, great information.
I really appreciate you taking the time to join us today.
We thank you so much for having me. It's been
great to meet you as well, and so much about
you as well. Tony, so thank you.
Oh it's been my pleasure. Thanks again. Thanks for taking
time out of your busy schedule to listen to our
show today. We hope you enjoyed it as much as
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