NKD Inspires: MovementX – Making lockdown mobile
A year ago, we were told to stay home, not mix and to lockdown. The world seemed to be on pause, with no indicator of when we’d be back to a mobile normality.
What happens when your whole business is based on providing a service inside of people’s homes?
MovementX is a US based business that provides physical therapy in the homes of their service users. Their customers range from those recovering from injuries, those suffering with neurological or spinal issues, to those who want their bodies working in peak performance while marathon training. Their mission is: ‘helping people move their best so they can live their best’. During the pandemic, the team at MovementX saw a significant drop in patients and employees. Suddenly, social interaction changed from being the core of their business, to the thing that people feared most.
Think on your feet
MovementX had to rapidly adapt their service and process to prioritise the health and safety of their employees and customers. They moved from ‘100% in-person, hands-on care to primarily telehealth and some social distanced sessions that are in-person, but where patient and therapist remain 6-10 feet away from each other.’ Where possible, with appropriate measures in place, ‘in-person’ sessions for their most critical patients were provided, but their other service users were not forgotten.
MovementX innovated their service for the rapidly changing and increasingly virtual world. They began providing new services for a population that had never before experienced a pandemic which changed the daily ins-and-outs of their lives.
MovementX launched a ‘virtual exercise series designed for the population most affected by this pandemic–our older adults.’ This innovation and shift in their services, something completely unplanned, maintained business whilst also achieving the vision of MovementX, ‘A world healed by movement.’ What’s more, 100% of the profits from this new series were donated to charities fighting the pandemic.
Results require resilience
MovementX’s story also highlights our changing needs as people during the last year. Overnight, our usual exercise of going to the gym or perhaps walking to work was scrapped. Whilst home workouts became the norm for many, those with limited options and mobility difficulties might have needed something more accessible. And that is what MovementX tapped into to provide for their customers, with the desire to create ‘A world where people with movement problems can get the movement solutions they need to live an active, healthy, and happy life.’
The lockdown proved to many of us how intrinsically linked our physical and mental health is. When our day-to-day movement was taken away, we had to find ways to work this into our new routines, which left our bodies and minds to pay the price. A stroll in the park is no longer just a ‘stroll’, but time dedicated to looking after our mental and physical wellbeing. But when mobility issues also affect you, it becomes more complex. MovementX’s innovation during the pandemic meant that people didn’t get left behind due to their lack of mobility, something we often take for granted. Innovation meant inclusivity for their customers, providing some normality in an increasingly unsure world.
MovementX plans to continue the digitisation of their services, continuing to lean ‘into the strength of our community to continue innovating and taking great care of each other.’ They have provided hope to its customers and employees, adapting their business to the unexpected “new normal” ahead of us.
The company’s who survived, and thrived through the recent pandemic did so because of strong and adaptable leadership, explore more with Ria’s blog