Iona Fit

04/04/2026

Happy Easter everyone!

This is my new friend Trudy who I met whilst teaching on the Marshes in East London.

She says walkies are a very important part of her training regime as well a great way to socialise and meet new people.

Stay fit and strong everyone and I'll see you on the other side of Bank Holiday for more updates! 🙂🐣🐾🌻

06/02/2026

Going deeper into Parkinsons and learning how boxing and dancing are key areas for rehab and reducing symptoms.

And according to American Association of Sports Medicine and Science published guidelines: Exercise is medicine for Parkinsons!

Blog:

I'll start with my latest qualification; Becoming an Exercise Pro in Parkinsons. At the end of 2025 I completed two courses in Parkinsons with Reach Your Peak Online run by Maria Lewis and Rachel Rutley to formally specialise in this area of neurological rehabilitation.It's such a fascinating subjec...

28/01/2026

These guys meet twice a week in New River Sports Centre for a gym workout as part of stroke rehab!

I cover when their regular instructor is away and throw in some padwork and 1:1 instruction. Boxing is excellent for neuro rehab. They are such an inspiring group!

The first lady featured in the clip, Hilary, manages these sessions as well as weekly educational workshops at Winkfield Centre.

If you’d like to donate to help keep it going!
https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/northlondon

If you’re interested in joining the group:
https://differentstrokes.co.uk/groups/stroke-support-exercise-group-london/

I work with RMR Rehabilitation to provide Adaptive Personal Training sessions for individuals with neurological conditions, spinal injury, amputee and other complex needs including pre / post operation or injury.
https://www.rmr-rehabilitation.co.uk

And you can book me for Online PT, coaching or regular PT here:
www.ionafit.com
www.instagram.com/ionafit
www.instagram.com/iona_groove

11/08/2025

I take my boxing gloves and pads with me everywhere I go! 🥊🥊

One-minute, short bursts of high-intensity interval training for 19 minutes may be more effective for improving fitness among people six months or more after a stroke than traditional, 20-30 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise sessions, according to research published today in Stroke, the peer-re...

24/07/2025

Settled into our new summer locay with the beautiful old trees in Milfields Park Clapton providing shade from rain or sun, 5 mins from the Marsh spot we were in. We’ll head back there in October.

08/07/2025

So many times I've been challenged by a Stroke Rehab client why we're doing cardio! It's something you instinctively know is good for recovery after training people for several years but you can't always put it into words.

The main basis of stroke rehab is regaining movement which involves a lot of strength training repetitions. But of course it's also about cardio-vascular and aerobic exercise. This article from Arni covers many reasons why it's of benefit to near-rehab.

Cardiovascular exercise is defined as any type of exercise that gets your heart rate up and keeps it up for a prolonged period of time. It isn’t difficult to do and there are lots of options. Walking…

13/06/2025

Lea Valley next to the ice rink:

Thursdays 9-10am
Saturdays 10-11am

Register to join: https://ourparks.org.uk/user

Free for the community! Check out your local area for classes near you.

01/06/2025

Interesting!

Would you like to know about AI stroke rehab? Of course you would! Here is a meta-analysis just published in 'Brain Disorders'
Volume 18, June 2025.

It showed that:

• AI-assisted stroke rehabilitation shows promising outcomes in terms of functional and motoric outcomes.
• Combination of VR and rehabilitation robots give the best result.
• AI-assisted stroke rehabilitation is more feasible, personalized, cost-effective than the conventional methods.
• AI-assisted stroke rehabilitation encourages home-based care and improves treatment adherence.

This is looking like the future', isn't it? If you'd like to know more about the meta-analysis, here's a synopsis:

Stroke is the primary contributor to disability worldwide, causing a high economic burden due to its morbidity. Due to the application of artificial intelligence (AI), stroke rehabilitation has been revolutionized, resulting in significant improvement. Implementing AI also enables home-based care, thus helping stroke patients who generally have ambulatory difficulties.

This research was a systematic review from Pubmed, ScienceDirect, and ProQuest, including randomized controlled trials (RCT) published from 2009 to 2024. Meta-analysis included seven studies discussing the functional and motoric outcomes of AI-assisted stroke rehabilitation.

Six studies included post-stroke patients within 3 to 6 months after the stroke occurred. AI models used were varied, ranging from end-effector or exoskeleton robots to a combination of both and virtual reality (VR). Overall, the included studies had a low risk of bias. Standard mean differences (SMDs) of the Barthel Index and Motricity Index were 0.16 and 0.60. No significant difference between AI-assisted stroke rehabilitation and conventional stroke rehabilitation for both outcomes. Non-inferiority trials showed that the AI-assisted method was not inferior to the conventional method of stroke rehabilitation.

Considering its feasibility, personalization, and flexible rehabilitation program, AI-assisted was non-inferior to the conventional method. A comprehensive guideline is needed to facilitate its usage in clinical practice.

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Stefanus-Putra/publication/390997903_Functional_and_Motoric_Outcome_of_AI-Assisted_Stroke_Rehabilitation_A_Meta-analysis_of_Randomized_Controlled_Trials/links/68105ac2d1054b0207e5366a/Functional-and-Motoric-Outcome-of-AI-Assisted-Stroke-Rehabilitation-A-Meta-analysis-of-Randomized-Controlled-Trials.pdf

www.arni.uk.com
If you like this post then please share it with others. Each time that you share a post, you can directly help other people – as who knows which people in the world might find us and gain, either directly from the charity or simply by being able to use some info for their knowledge, or copy an ‘innovative and useful’ move/trick of the trade that might help them manage after stroke.
Every time you share, you could directly help someone – as knowledge is power 😉

23/05/2025

Am chuffed to bits to be covering Kensington Gardens weekly stretch class 6:30-7:30pm next to the Physical Energy Statue.

Dates:
21 May
28 May
4 June
11 June

Beautiful time of the year to go to Royal Parks and West End! ☀️🌳👑

I have so much to share for a good stretch session with my background in dance and rehabilitation. Exercises are universal for all body shapes and levels of flexibility. It’s a routine you can take away with you and use alongside your workouts in future. Come join!

Unbelievably it’s FREE! All you have to do is register on the Out Parks website, search for Kensington Gardens.

https://ourparks.org.uk/borough/stretch-session-104971

www.ionafit.com

12/05/2025

Free community fitness classes with Our Parks UK

https://ourparks.org.uk/borough/walthamstow-marshes

https://www.ionafit.com
https://ourparks.org.uk

24/04/2025

Evening wind down ☺️

15/04/2025

If you're based in West London, look out for this. Neurotech company Reneural is partnering with The Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Brunel University of London (where Dr Balchin used to work)... in a VR stroke rehab project.

Reneural has been awarded funding through the New Hospital Programme by NHS England to further develop its digital health solution for stroke rehabilitation. The collaboration brings together leading experts across healthcare and academia.

The project will establish a clinician dashboard that enables physiotherapists and occupational therapists to remotely interact with patients, treat them, and monitor stroke rehabilitation.

Reneural’s VR rehabilitation system will aim to enhance therapy efficiency and improve accessibility for stroke survivors, particularly those facing upper-limb mobility challenges.

The project will support stroke rehabilitation by enhancing patient-therapist interaction through the personalisation of therapy to improve patient outcomes, and improving treatment accessibility through the use of remote therapy to improve healthcare accessibility.

Once the design and development are complete, if the digital health solution is adopted, the project will benefit both hospital-based and community therapy teams, including the Stroke Early Supported Discharge (ESD) team at Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust.

Victor Harabari, CEO of Reneural, said: “This partnership represents a significant step forward in our mission to transform neurorehabilitation. By combining our expertise with that of Hillingdon Hospitals and Brunel University of London, we are excited to develop innovative solutions that aligns with NHS long term plan and enhance patient care.”


www.arni.uk.com