ALICANTE, 11 (EUROPA PRESS)
The doctors of the Health Center of l’Alfàs del Pi (Alicante) will start prescribing physical activity to their patients since March with the aim of improving their general state of health and well-being. The project was announced by the Department of Health, on Tuesday, after the agreement reached with the Medical Coordination of the public health center.
In this way, l’Alfàs del Pi will become the first municipality in the province to prescribe physical exercise “as a medicine” to patients with a diagnosis of physical inactivity, unwanted loneliness and / or social isolation, said the session.
The project arises after the meetings held between the Councilor for Health, Marisa Cortés, and Mar Pérez, medical coordinator of the Health Center of l’Alfàs, and Isabel Sáez, health promotion and prevention physician of the Department of Public Health of the Department from the Marina Baixa.
The prescription of physical activity will begin in March at the Health Center of l’Alfàs and, from April, at the auxiliary office of l’Albir. The City Council will make available to health professionals different physical activity and health promotion programs so that they can prescribe them to their patients.
NORDIC WALKING
Specifically, the practice of Nordic Walking – Nordic walking – is proposed, a form of walking that includes not only the action of the legs but also the upper part of the body. This sport is suitable for all types of audiences, from people who have never done physical exercise to seniors or people with back problems, osteoporosis or chronic diseases.
Likewise, the healthy workshops that take place in the Hogar del Pensionista and the Social Center of l’Albir, which include sessions of gross and fine motor skills, memory and cognitive activation exercises, literacy, stretching and breathing exercises, art therapy and even music or craft workshops. A wide range of activities designed to exercise attention, memory and motor skills, stay active and foster social relationships.
Finally, the municipal sports maintenance programs that are developed in the municipal sports center of l’Alfàs, in which aspects such as cardiovascular resistance, muscle toning, joint mobility and coordination are worked on.
“The ultimate goal is to improve the health and quality of life of people through the practice of physical exercise, a project that is especially aimed at sedentary adults or at risk of unwanted loneliness or social isolation,” said Marisa Cortés, after thanking the involvement of the Alfasino Health Center.
As a locality attached to the Spanish Network of Healthy Cities, the Network of Friendly Cities with the Elderly, Xarxa Salud and the IV Health Plan of the Valencian Community, l’Alfàs will be “the only municipality in the province of Alicante in participate in the preparation of the guide of prescription of health assets of the Ministry of Health, and this means starting to prescribe, with medical prescription and in collaboration with the Health Center, physical activity to citizenship, “said the councilor .
2030 WITH INVERTED PYRAMID
L’Alfàs del Pi will have an inverse population pyramid in 2030. Therefore, the Alfasino council has made a firm commitment to incorporate the health of citizens as a cross-cutting issue in all municipal actions and policies, reflecting a firm commitment in terms of well-being, good practices, sustainability and health.
Marisa Cortés explained that l’Alfàs has been working on projects and strategies related to health and sustainability for many years, which now take on a new dimension thanks to the grant of 5 million euros of ERDF funds that the municipality has received to develop a Sustainable and Integrated Urban Development Strategy (EDUSI), framed in the Spanish Multi-Regional Operational Program 2014-2020.
The project will involve a total investment of 10 million euros and is structured in three main lines of action: new technologies, sustainability and integration, with health as its backbone.
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