What To Expect With Physiotherapy At Home

We deliver a home visit physiotherapy service, based in Lichfield and serving anywhere within a 20 minute drive including Sutton Coldfield, Tamworth, Rugeley, Cannock and Walsall. All of our physios are mobile and visit their patients at home. This page gives information about what physiotherapy patients can expect when having a session with one of our mobile physiotherapists that will come out to them.

The Physiotherapy Initial Assessment

After booking an appointment one of our mobile physiotherapists will visit you in your home, nursing home, place of work or even gym. Making a booking is very easy and can be done by email, phone or using our contact form. When getting in touch to make a booking it is really helpful for our physios if you are able to give us some key details such as: the nature of your problem, how long it has been going on for and your postcode so that we can check if you are in our travel area. By giving us this key information our physiotherapist will be better able to be prepared to help you when they visit you at home. Our mobile physiotherapist comes equipped with any equipment needed including a plinth (portable massage table/bed) and the session can take place in any private area in your house in which your situation can be discussed and the plinth/table can be set up.(Most living rooms are easily adequate for this).

If your problem is of a musculoskeletal nature (e.g. back pain or a sports injury) then an initial assessment session is 1hr long (with follow up physiotherapy sessions 30 minutes) and consists of a subjective assessment, physical assessment, diagnosis and treatment. If you have a neurological condition such as Multiple Sclerosis, are recovering from a joint replacement or need help with recovering mobility then each physiotherapy session (including the initial assessment) is 1hr long. The physiotherapy assessment itself usually breaks down into the following components:

A Subjective Assessment – This is a detailed discussion of your condition and medical history and is necessary to make sure that your physiotherapist has a full and clear picture of what the problem is and how you can best be helped. As physiotherapists we can confidently state that this is the most important aspect of the session as it gives you a chance to tell us what is wrong and what you want to work on.

Physical Assessment – Now your physio conducts a full physical assessment, looking at posture, alignment, strength and neurological issues. This section identifies what is happening and what the main problems are and enables your physiotherapist to test various things.

Diagnosis – Your physiotherapist will then give a clear diagnosis and explanation of the treatment plan – please feel free to ask questions – it is important to us that you understand your condition/injury and how it can be best treated. Our physios try their best to make sure that any diagnosis is clearly expalined using non-technical language.

Treatment – If you have a musculoskeletal problem then this should take approximately 15 – 20 minutes after which treatment will begin – this may involve deep tissue massage, stretching, joint mobilisation or spinal manipulation. If you have a neurological condition e.g. recovering from a stroke, or need help with mobility then treatment takes the form of assisted exercises and the development of a detailed and personalised exercise programme.

Hands on Assessment & Clothing: Please be aware that in order to assess posture , alignment, body positioning and strength your physiotherapist will need to place their hands on you in the relevant areas. Here at ThreeSpires Physiotherapy we understand that this can be difficult for some clients. If at any stage you feel uncomfortable please let your therapist know and they will change their treatment approach. Furthermore you will need to wear clothing that allows your therapist to see as much of the affected area as possible.  For the lower limbs wear shorts, for back problems your physiotherapist may need you to remove your top.

Exercises and Self-management - At the end of the session your physiotherapist will explain how you can self-manage your condition/injury, give detailed exercises and book any further sessions required.

Follow-Up Sessions: How many further treatment sessions you will require will depend upon the nature of your condition and your physiotherapist will discuss this with you.

Onward Referral – Sometimes patients require referral on to other medical professionals such as GPs as their condition will not benefit from physiotherapy – in this case this your physiotherapist will explain the reasons for this and will (with your permission) send a letter explaining the results of the assessment to your GP.

FAQs For Physiotherapy At Home

A. Where is your home visit physiotherapy service available?: our mobile physios are able to provide physiotherapy at home in Sutton Coldfield, Lichfield, Tamworth, Cannock and Rugeley. We also go the majority of Walsall and Burton on Trent. If you want to check whether our home visit physios can get out to you, just send us an email and let us know your postcode and we can check for you.

B. How soon can your physio see me at home? we try our very best to get a physiotherapist out to you as soon as possible and in general we are able to see all patients within a week. If you or your relative is still in hospital, once you have a discharge date if you get in touch we can arrange for one of our physios to visit you at home soon after you get home. Simply put the more notice you guve us the better we can match your needs.

C. Do your physios work with older people? yes, of course and in fact our mobile physios have an enormous amount fo experience of working with older people. We have a comprehensive article on this topic Physiotherapy For The Elderly At Home. As community physios we pride ourselves on being able to work with patients of all ages and especially older patients. 

D. Have you any evidence that your home visit physiotherapy service has been able to help anyone ? Yes, of course, we have a large number of testimonials available here on our website or you can visit our Google or Facebook pages. Our physiotherapists pride themselves on the number of positive testimonials that they get from patients and their relatives.

E. How many sessions will I need of physiotherapy at home? This is a very difficult question to answer and you would need an assessment at home with one of our mobile home visit physiotherapists. In this assessment they will look at how your issue has affected you, your age, previous fitness levels and medical conditions and they will be able to guide you on how often you will need to be seen.

F. Can my relative attend the sessions? yes, absolutely they can and in fact we are very keen for relatives to be involved in physiotherapy sessions. 

So if you think you or someone you know might benefit from physiotherapy at home please get in touch. We are based in Lichfield and provide physiotherapy at home anywhere within a 20 minute drive including areas such as Sutton Coldfield, Tamworth, Rugeley, Cannock and Walsall. We offer a wide range of services including neurological physiotherapy, post-operative rehabilitation, help with improving mobility and paediatric physiotherapy.

If you would like to book an appointment or just want more information: call us on 0788 428 1623 email us at enquiries@threespiresphysiotherapy.co.uk or alternatively use the contact form. Updated 07/03/2024