COLUMBUS, OH (April 24, 2023) – As golf swings into season, The Ohio Physical Therapy Association recently presented an education program to grow awareness about golf as a useful tool for therapy.
Mindy Derr, Founder of Wellness and Golf and Fore Hope, Inc. (now OhioHealth Fore Hope) is a “golf care” influencer and recently addressed the group on the power of golf as an excellent treatment modality for those with neurological conditions.
“The instrument of golf is a great motivator as it encourages movement, endurance, mobility, socialization and self-esteem,” Derr explained. “Outcomes of measure can be balance, flexibility, processing, and even mood.”
Derr lives with Multiple Sclerosis and knows the value of golf and the love of something to look forward to each day. She walks the talk and spreads the gospel of golf’s magical powers experienced through the thousands served over the years and now with her new program, Wellness and Golf.
Health and life conditions such as aging, brain injury, dementia, Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis, stroke, and other illnesses/injuries, can benefit from interaction with golf, even in the most remote clinical settings. Research shows that as we age, fall risk and disability chances increase. Isolation and loneliness are outcomes of these risk factors.
Derr’s key takeaways for the Ohio Physical Therapy Association audience included:
- put in practice with their patients, hands on golf putting sessions which promote spatial awareness, enhances balance and equilibrium, feel, movement, and target orientation;
- being aware of one’s ability versus disability is fostered through using golf as the treatment modality;
- patient experiences via the discipline of golf are unique as “golf care” disguises the therapy regiment.
Derr is available for consultation, therapeutic design of golf programs and public speaking. She shares her inspirational journey around the building of a nationally recognized golf therapy program through community trust, service of excellence, and resource collaboration.
For additional information, contact Derr at (614) 499-6287 or mindyderr.com.
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About Fore Hope
Fore Hope began in 1989 and recently celebrated the 34th anniversary. Derr founded Fore Hope for her father, Guy, after he became ill. OhioHealth adopted Fore Hope into their Neuroscience Center in 2017. Fore Hope was the first ever grassroots golf program to be an adjunct within a healthcare system. Fore Hope has served 10,000+ individuals with disabilities, injuries, or illness over the years and continues to serve through OhioHealth.