Physiotherapy for Elderly Patients at Home

As a home visit physiotherapy service we have a large amount of experience in dealing with patients who are elderly and may be infirm, confused, very anxious or suffering from dementia. We understand the difficulties these problems bring and our mobile physiotherapists will be able to work around these issues with compassion and empathy in order to ensure that these patients have the very best possible quality of life and physical function.

Our home visit physiotherapy service is based in Lichfield and our mobile physios visit areas such as Sutton Coldfield, Tamworth, Rugeley, Walsall and Cannock. Our physiotherapists are able to visit patients in either a care or nursing home, sheltered accommodation or own home, thus reducing the difficult of trying to get to a physical clinic which can often be impossible for very elderly patients. Our physiotherapy service has experience of working with elderly patients with a wide variety of conditions and ailments including Alzheimer's, dementia, reduced mobility, Polio, stroke and severe osteoarthritis.

Our physiotherapists are able to adjust their techniques, language and overall approach in order to maximise the benefits of physiotherapy for each individual patient. We can also create tailored and simple to follow exercise programs that patients can complete independently and safely at home.

How can ThreeSpires Physiotherapy help my elderly relative?

A physiotherapist will come out to wherever you wish (including care home) at a time and day of your choosing. You simply need to give us a call on 0788 428 1623 to book an initial assessment and treatment session.

Due to the complexity of the problems that elderly patients face, difficulties with communication, the lengthy assessment process and the need for ongoing re-assessment as patients improve, treatment sessions are 1hr for all sessions including follow ups. It is our experience that this extended period of time allows for a much greater benefit and response to therapy and is especially beneficial for older patients who may fatigue quickly and may need longer rest periods in sessions.

A full subjective assessment (discussion) will be conducted by the physiotherapist of their condition, current mobility and any goals for the future. This can be conducted via a relative in order to make it easier and more comfortable for the patient. 

A comprehensive physical examination of their overall physical condition is then completed. This will include factors such as mobility, strength, balance and posture and again is conducted in a way that makes it easy to follow for any patients who may be confused.

Treatment options during the session may include, balance work, strengthening exercises, falls prevention, mobilising practice and gait re-education. All exercises that are likely to be prescribed will be practised so that the patient feels comfortable and understands what is required and why.

Self management is a key part of physiotherapy and the physiotherapist will design an exercise program that will be both safe and easy to complete independently at home.

Why Is Physiotherapy At Home Beneficial For The Elderly?

As home visit physiotherapists our experience is that having physiotherapy at home offers many benefits for elderly patients and that often trying to attend a physiotherapy clinic in person is counter productive for these patients. Below I have tried to list the main reasons we as physios think having physiotherapy at home is better for the elderly:

1. Finding it difficult to leave the home: many of our elderly patients are struggling with their mobility and they are using a zimmer frame or a walker to get around. For these patients getting to a physiotherapy clinic represents a huge challenge and a barrier to accessing physiotherapy. In this case our home visit physiotherapy service offers the ideal solution and our mobile physios are able to visit these elderly patients at home and enable them to access physiotherapy.

2. Pain: often elderly patients find walking or going any distance painful due to arthritic joints or possibly they are recovering from an operation such as a hip replacement. These patients often find getting to and from a physiotherapy clinic very painful and by the time they get back they are worse than before. Having one of our mobile physiotherapists visit them at home takes away this difficulty and still allows these patients to access physiotherapy. 

3. Fatigue: many of our older patients get tired very easily and find that travelling or getting out of the house to a physiotherapy clinic is very fatiguing. Often if these patients make it to a physiotherapy clinic they are too tired to do anything constructive with the physiotherapist and when they get back home they are completely done in. Our home visit physiotherapy service takes away this problem and allows these patients to slowly build up their fitness under the supervision of a physiotherapist.

4. Understanding the home environment: as physiotherapists it is hugely useful for us to know and be able to see the home set up that our elderly patients are living in. Being able to actually visit an elderly patient at home and see what they have to do, what support they have and the home environment itself is immensely useful and allows us to consider factors such as trip hazards, equipment they may need, how to integrate exercises into their daily routine and what exercises are actually safe for them to do.

 

Frequently Asked Questions For Physiotherapy & Elderly Patients

As community physiotherapists who visit their patients at home we get a lot of questions about working with elderly patients. I have tried to cover the majority below:

1. Which areas do your physios visit? Our physiotherapists are able to visit Lichfield, Sutton Coldfield, Tamworth, Cannock, Walsall, Rugeley and Burton. if your relative is not in these areas it is still worth getting in touch to see if we can help.

2. Are your physiotherapists able to visit care homes? Yes, our physiotherapists regularly visit care homes to help with elderly residents and our physiotherapy service has a large amount of experience of working with elderly patients in care homes.

3. Can relatives attend sessions? Yes, of course! Our physiotherapists are always happy to have relatives attending physiotherapy sessions. In our experience as community physiotherapists visiting our patients at home, having family involvement and support is key to making progress.

4. Are your physios able to see patients with dementia? Yes, our physiotherapists are highly experienced at working with patients with dementia and in fact we have a whole article on the topic of physiotherapy for people living with dementia Physiotherapy for People Living with Dementia

5. How long are the physiotherapy sessions for the elderly? All our sessions for our elderly patients are 1hr in length, this may seem a long time but our experience shows that this allows for a more relaxed approach for the sessions at home. Having 1hr for each physiotherapy session allows our patients to take rests between exercises and discuss the things that are bothering or frustrating them.

6. How quickly can you see my elderly relative at home? As a community physiotherapy service we beleive strongly that patients should be seen as quickly as possible. In general our physios are able to visit their patients at home within a week for an initial assessment.

So if you have an elderly relative that you think might benefit from physiotherapy and would like home visit physiotherapy, then get in touch to arrange an appointment. We are a home visit physiotherapy service based in Lichfield and serving anywhere within a 20 minute drive including areas such as Burntwood, Cannock, Tamworth, Sutton Coldfield, Walsall, Rugeley and Abbots Bromley.  You can call us on 0788 428 1623 email us at enquiries@threespiresphysiotherapy.co.uk or alternatively use the contact form updated 14/03/2024