Musculoskeletal (MSk) Physiotherapy at Somerset NHS Foundation Trust joined SASP as a partner of Love to Pedal in 2022 and had successfully distributed sets of pedals to many patients who were less familiar with exercise, found it difficult to weight bear and were generally deconditioned. The partnership and opportunity worked very successfully which motivated one proactive Physiotherapist, Jo, to apply for Together Funding on behalf of the Trust, to own their own stock of pedals for patients to use to get them going again at home, before being re'cycled' to others.

Quote from Jo: ''Love to Pedal has provided a great niche to encourage activity within our service. It's filled a gap for those patients we had previously felt we may have 'run out of options' with in terms of support. These are not the patients who would access our gyms for their rehab but may just need gentle movement to better manage their symptoms. Exercising at home reduces the risks of infection exposure - something that continues to be a concern for vulnerable patients. For the service, this has also been a huge help as patients have been self-managing well, and don't take up as much clinical time, allowing us to work through our waiting lists more efficiently.''

Love to Pedal is available across all district hospital MSk teams in Somerset. If you are receiving their support and are interested in trying a set of pedals, please speak to your Physiotherapist regarding further details.

More details on The Together Fund here. Funding still available, please apply by 20th March 2023.