The ARNI Trust

Action for Rehabilitation from Neurological Injury

Over 150,000 people have a stroke in the UK every year. Some do not survive, but for those that do, their chances of getting better are mixed. The 2001 Census showed that over 30,000 of these survivors are under 30, and many of them will be very motivated to get better. However, there are few available sources of practical help to show them how to overcome their limitations and resume everyday life as much as possible. Outside of hospitals, there are few qualified people who can show them how to train around their injuries. They report that gyms can be daunting places to go to, and many believe they may not be treated well.

Action For Rehabilitation From Neurological Injury (ARNI) was formed in 2001 by Dr Tom Balchin, a stroke survivor himself. It is a national charity which carries out the important work of helping stroke survivors to overcome the effects of stroke, particularly by giving them the means to self-rehabilitate and grow individual coping strategies.Its aim is to fill the gap left after passive physiotherapy ends or is no longer appropriate. People typically state that they are 'stuck in limbo' after coming home from rehabilitation and are not able to work. The Charity’s work is based fully around the lines of strongest current clinical neurological evidence showing that neuroplastic change can be stimulated by intensive task-related practice.

It was established in Dec 2008 that the ARNI Team has assisted in the rehabilitation of over 1,000 people who have had strokes of some varying degree. Instructors are chosen from the ranks of qualified professional trainers, all of whom own their own businesses. The matching service works extremely well: the Trust currently has 30 dedicated Instructors around the UK working actively with a number of stroke survivors. The system is also currently being taught, on demand from (and sponsored by) the NHS Stroke Improvement services, to many hundreds of therapists and professional trainers in the 28 stroke Networks across the UK. This is part of the dedicated ARNI Exercise After Stroke course, accredited by Middlesex University. Any stroke survivor may apply to ARNI Central to look for stroke specific training from a nearby specialist.

Professor Michael Barnes, President of the World Federation of Neurorehabilitation, and supporter of the ARNI Trust, has stated that ‘…there is little doubt that after the short therapeutic inpatient time window ends, and further work in the Units cannot be sustained, professional help for stroke survivors in the community must come from outside of the physiotherapy remit. This is why ARNI holds much promise as we move forward towards an unbroken care-to-fitness pathway for stroke survivors in the UK’.

Contact details

Visit the website for more information www.arni.uk.com

To discuss joining an ARNI stroke rehabilitation group and receiving rehab from our instructors in the UK, please contact:
07712 211378
Or email Dr Tom Balchin (Director) at the address below:
tom@arni.uk.com
You can write to us at our mailing address:
The ARNI Trust,
PO Box 68,
Lingfield,
Surrey,
RH7 6QQ.