An innovative approach to exercise physiology is having solid success at a Kogarah health clinic, where a focus on improving neurological function is the focus.
Chronic Care Allied Health, which as been operating since December 2021, helps people with disabilities get back on their feet with confidence.
Director and Principal exercise physiologist, Amjad Saleh, 31, says about 50 per cent of people who come to the clinic have neurological conditions.
Passionate about improving established techniques in boosting muscle function, he says treating "exercise as medicine" can have significant effects on mobility.
"There is lots research that shows you can improve autoimmune inflammatory response from further damage to the nervous system," Mr Saleh said.
"It used to be taught that exercise can make neurological symptoms worse because you have to be careful with fatigue, but as treatment builds up over time, muscles can get fitter."
He says most of those people he helps have trouble using their limbs.
"They can't walk, so simple exercises like flipping a coin, bouncing a ball, rolling from their back to their side, can improve muscle function," he said.
Mr Saleh noticed improvements to his own health after getting injured playing sport.
"I used to play lots of rugby league and would try to rehabilitate myself," he said. "For people with disabilities, exercise also makes a massive difference to independence. We know it releases serotonin but I've seen people's mental health improve. It's incredibly rewarding to see the progress."
Mortdale's Christine Williams, who has multiple sclerosis, a chronic neurological disease (MS), regularly attends the clinic to "train" her muscles.
In MS, the body's immune system mistakenly attacks and damages myelin (fatty material) around the nerves. As it breaks, patches of nerves become exposed and scarred, which render the nerves unable to communicate messages properly and at risk of subsequent degeneration. This results in a loss of motor function.
"With neurological diseases many people just want to maintain what you can do rather than looking at improving what you can do," Mrs Williams said. "This isn't just about accepting your limitations.
"I'm able to be harnessed from my wheelchair and transferred to a machine that helps me walk. There aren't many services like this in the area. It's very creative."
To mark the health service's opening of its larger premises, it also received a donated $10,000 walking frame to help children with cerebral palsy and developmental delay disabilities.
