City of Salon: A sports initiative for a better quality of life
The city of Salon, in the South of France, is active in the field of health . The proof is with this new device entitled Physical and sports activities on prescription which makes it possible to accompany, thanks to professional sports coaches, people suffering from chronic pathologies.
The launch day for this action took place on March 22 in the city. Its goal ? Improve the state of health of these people by the movement to extend the project to other cities in France and reduce the number of “civilization” diseases, a scourge in the field of public health.
A carrier device
For more than three months, several departments of the town hall of the city of Salon will mobilize to make this system operational for the start of the 2015 school year. It is on the advice of the WHO (World Health Organization), which recommends “10,000 steps a day to improve one’s state of health”, that sports practice will be in the spotlight in this southern city, as announced by Dominique Labarre, municipal councilor in the hygiene and public health service.
Concretely, the prescription of these sports sessions passes into the hands of the general practitioner . He completes his usual drug treatment with ranges of physical activity because, it is clear, that sport is an essential ally. However, this practice must be supervised. This is why the city of Salon, after its “test session” which took place on March 30, now feels ready for the month of September.
An optimal organization
It took several key steps before the so-called “test” phase took place.
- Initially, seven sports educators were trained in order to apprehend the sick and their illnesses. To supervise, monitor and manage these people, it is necessary to build suitable training programs. These are specific coaching sessions that are offered with anticipation on an established pathology.
- A second stage follows: it is that of information to the general public. Diabetology, oncology and palliative care services as well as associations of obese and hypertensive people have come together with the aim of getting closer to municipal services to coordinate the actions to be taken.
- The third stage leads to a concrete operation: the doctor attached to the health department of the city of Salon, Eugénie d’Alessandro, volunteers to ensure the proper functioning of the operation by carrying out an entry consultation which will validate, by next, the positive action of sport on the state of health of patients.
Sport improves health
This experimental action is subsidized by the Regional Health Agency (ARS). It brings together the municipal services of health, sport and hygiene to combat overweight, obesity, depression, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and certain types of cancer. We can thus predict that the seriousness of the actors will sign a desire for concretization on the part of all the actors and participants.
Thus, for 14 hours a week, everyone will try their hand at gymnastics, simple or more active walking, muscle fitness, running, Pilates, dance as well as more playful collective games, and this due to three times a week in order to inscribe this healthy habit in the body.
Eventually, the system will expand until 2016 by offering these specific sessions in fitness clubs. The mayor of the city, Nicolas Isnard strongly believes in this device for the physical and mental balance of his fellow citizens.
Stephen Paul is the lead author and founder of My Health Sponsor. Holder of a diploma in health and well-being coaching with more than 200 articles in the field of health, he makes it a point of honor to offer advice based on reliable information, based on scientific research, and verified by health professionals.