In Madrid, the Unoentrecienmil Foundation helps sick children recover through sport

The INDIGO Foundation supports the Unoentrecienmil Foundation and its innovative “Aceleradora” programme, launched in 2023 at La Paz University Hospital in Madrid. The programme aims to improve the daily lives of children with cancer through adapted physical activity. Supervised by physiotherapists, this scientific project places movement, energy and physical recovery at the heart of the care pathway for young patients.

Since 2023, 130 children from the paediatric oncology department at La Paz Hospital in Madrid have benefited from the Unoentrecienmil Foundation’s Aceleradora programme, designed to help them maintain their physical abilities during treatment and progressively regain strength, mobility and self-confidence.

Under the supervision of specialists, the children take part in personalised sessions combining mobility exercises, muscle strengthening, recreational activities and breathing exercises, all tailored to their health condition and individual pace.

The results observed are particularly encouraging: children participating in the programme spend up to 17% less time in hospital, while also improving their endurance, respiratory capacity and quality of life during illness.

The support provided by the INDIGO Foundation contributes in particular to the development of digital tools and the therapeutic monitoring of the adapted sports programme, with the aim of offering children and their families increasingly personalised support. This scientific initiative, based on data analysis and sharing, also helps advance research into the benefits of physical activity in the treatment of paediatric cancers.

On 12 May, teams from INDIGO Spain and the INDIGO Foundation visited La Paz Hospital, where they had the opportunity to meet with Elena Huarte-Mendicoa, Director of the Unoentrecienmil Foundation, as well as Alex Pérez and the physiotherapists who support the children on a daily basis, Belén Puente and Javier Blanco.

To learn more about the programme, watch the video (in Spanish): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tJ2Uv64wdk