News

VON’s SMART (Seniors Maintaining Active Roles Together)® program is now available at all of our Adult Day Programs (ADPs) in Nova Scotia, helping seniors to build strength, balance and mobility.

SMART trainers Monique Natividad and Melanie Seamone combined available SMART workouts to create a routine for use across all sites. The pair then provided in-person training days regionally, as well as on-site visits, to future SMART class leaders.

Each ADP in the province now as one to three SMART leaders, providing daily classes. Monthly statistics have shown that almost all clients choose to participate in the classes in some way, whether tapping their toes to the music or performing the whole routine.

“We are putting on great music, and we have some really fun exercises, and we just want to see people moving,” says Monique. “Some people will follow the routine to a T, and they're getting a great workout. Others are getting other benefits, and they're doing the very best they can to participate.”

SMART classes offer a number of benefits, including potential fall prevention and increased confidence after a fall. According to the Government of Canada, falls cause 89 percent of injury-related hospitalizations, and adults 65 and older are at increased risk for falls due to factors such as decreased mobility and balance, visual impairment and muscle weakness. Individual fall prevention strategies include getting proper sleep, eating well, staying hydrated and performing balance and strength exercises.

“In the fall cycle, somebody has a fall and then, as they're recovering, they're scared to fall again,” says Monique. “So, they stop doing some of the things they would have done every day to keep them active, which makes them weaker, and more prone to falling again.” One of the components of the SMART exercise class is balance, a key aspect of fall prevention. Exercises mimic everyday actions, such as reaching up to grab something from a shelf or getting in and out of the bathtub.

The classes also include cognitive exercises that see participants respond to questions while performing balance exercises. “There is a benefit to bringing your mind elsewhere while your body is balancing,” says Monique. “We might talk about colours one day, or count backwards. We add a bit of excitement through cognitive exercises.”

Although there were exercise components at the ADPs prior to the introduction of SMART, the program has standardized the exercise and fall prevention strategies used across the province. 

“We have a lot of clients who come to us with aches and pains, and they'll tell us after a class, I didn't really want to exercise, but my knee is actually feeling better,” says Monique. “And many participants are also more apt to eat healthy and do some exercises at home.”

One client even added an extra day to his ADP visits because of the new SMART routine. “The fitness routine is very well planned and organized,” he says. “I need to motivate myself to do more activity and the SMART fitness program is helping me do that.”