Following a unique physical therapy program spearheaded by one of Swift Current's own, some residents of a long-term-care facility in town received health benefits, a fun time, and a good one-two combo.

Boxing may be regarded as a brute-force sport, but it's having a different impact at The Meadows.

Participating in activities such as hitting punching bags and dodging pool noodles has seen members acquire a fun pastime in addition to the health benefits associated with physical activity.

Nick Habscheid, manager of Counterpunch Boxing Academy in Swift Current, was approached by recreational therapists at The Meadows to create the fun workout for residents.

"They had a blast," Habscheid said. "You could tell that they were getting more comfortable around me, a lot of the time they are maybe a little bit bored at The Meadows, but they gained a lot of interest from this, and I got a lot of great social connection from a lot of them."

hile some may perceive the sport as violent, the boxing instructor said that he hopes their outings at the old folks home can change that.

"We're just kind of trying to show that we do care about the rest of the community too. We care about all members [of the community], and how much this sport can benefit you, even if you just try to stay in it to keep in shape."

Nick said that in the future, he would like to see the boxing for the elderly program expand, hoping to get other boxing coaches across the province involved.

Sara Stuckings, a recreation therapist at The Meadows, attested to the health benefits that they gave residents.

"We've had a couple of residents who increased in their balanced by at least 14 per cent, and we saw increases in strength as well, so that was really amazing to see."

Being a recreational therapist, Stuckings said that the sport fit the requirements to be brought to The Meadows as well.

"We're always looking for different programs that we can bring in that we can focus on the different areas to help increase the resident's quality of life, so this is definitely a great one that helped hit the physical and social, emotional aspects, and just really increase their quality of life overall."

Stuckings said that they are looking to bring the program back to residents once more in the fall.