‘Don’t Quit, Do It’ Is The Message For People Recovering From Serious Injuries

Two Middlesbrough based disability sports teams are featuring in a national campaign to raise awareness of the benefits of sport in helping people recover from serious injuries.

The Middlesbrough Powerchair Football Club (MPFC) and the North East Bulls Wheelchair Rugby Club both feature in the Don’t Quit, Do It campaign by national law firm Irwin Mitchell which has a consulting office in the town and supports the NE Bulls and MPFC teams.

The ‘Don’t Quit, Do It’ campaign features a series of videos of people who have used sport to help overcome their injuries including wheelchair badminton, amputee cycling, rowing and horse-riding. As well as the two north east clubs the next phase of videos also features Portsmouth Amputee Football Club.

Specialist serious injury lawyers at Irwin Mitchell help people to access rehabilitation programmes to help them make progress in their recoveries so that they can live as independently as possible. There are 9.4m disabled people in the UK but only one in six takes part in sport regularly, and Irwin Mitchell hopes the campaign will also encourage more people to get involved*.

Experts at the law firm find that sport is often a good way to not only help with physical aspects of rehabilitation but can also help inspire people who find themselves coping with disabilities to get involved in new activities and learn to come to terms with their new situation.

The DQDI campaign includes inspirational videos featuring people who are using disability sport to help overcome their injuries with many of them having instructed Irwin Mitchell to help them with their rehabilitation programmes.

Stuart Henderson, Managing Partner of Personal Injury at Irwin Mitchell said:

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“We’ve seen first-hand the benefits that disability sport can have both physically in their rehabilitation and in boosting the morale of people who may be struggling to come to terms with their injuries.

“Don’t Quit, Do it, is about encouraging and inspiring people get involved in disability sport and to show that there is help and support out there for people who need it. This year is a massive year of sport with the European Championships and both the Olympics and Paralympics in Rio.

“Our research shows that specialist rehabilitation following serious injuries can have a massive positive effect on those involved, helping them to become more independent and often significantly reducing the burden on the NHS and benefits systems.” Stuart Henderson - Partner

Middlesbrough Powerchair Football Club enables people with physical disabilities from the region to have the opportunity to play football. The club is run entirely by volunteers and has weekly grass root sessions for beginners, intermediate sessions as well as advanced sessions for the team who play in the national league.

Carolyn Bean, Team Manager of the Middlesbrough Powerchair Football Club said: “The Don’t Quit, Do It campaign is truly inspiring for people who have a disability who can see that they too can get involved in sports and activities that they can enjoy. We know from the sessions we run that being able to meet others and get involved in team sports can help raise the morale of people with disabilities. The guys involved in the videos and posters for the campaign are thrilled to be featured and we hope it inspires others to take up their favourites sports.”

The NE Bulls Wheelchair Rugby Club was founded in 2002 by a group of like-minded people who wanted to play such an exciting game but there was no team in the area. It is a sport for people with a disability affecting all four limbs and is one the fastest growing and full contact disability sports.

Shaun Lacey from the club said: “We are grateful to Irwin Mitchell for their sponsorship of the club and for asking us to be a part of their Don’t Quit, Do It campaign. The phrase sums up our attitudes to both the sport and the club as there was no team in the region before we decided to set up the North East Bulls. We’ve gone from strength to strength and that is what the campaign is about. We hope it raises awareness of disability sport and the benefits for people involved.”

For more information on the campaign and videos visit www.irwinmitchell.com/personal/personal-injury-compensation/disability-sport