Mobile Physiotherapy Service At Your Home

Hello and welcome back again to the ThreeSpires Physiotherapy blog where we take a look at all things physiotherapy related. Mostly our physiotherapy blog has been looking at different conditions and pathologies and how physio relates to these and how it can help. I thought it might be good instead to have a look over the next few blog posts at a series of case studies showing how our physiotherapy service has helped a range of patients. Before doing this though I think it might be helpful for anyone looking at this site for the first time to look at the services that we offer and what kind of physiotherapy practice we are.

A Bit About Us:

We are a home visit physiotherapy service based in Lichfield (Staffordshire) that provides physiotherapy anywhere within a 20 minute drive. This means that our physios travel out to areas such as Sutton Coldfield, Tamworth, Rugeley, Cannock, Walsall and Burton. Our home visit physiotherapy service began in 2013 and over time we have now grown to 5 physiotherapists and 4 physiotherapy assistant (and we are currently in the process of recruiting another one) all of whom have a wide range of skills and experience which enables us to be able to treat and help patients with whatever condition or difficulty they have.

We always aim to deliver the very best home visit physiotherapy service to all patients and we have a range of specialisms of physiotherapy available including neurological physiotherapy, elderly mobility, falls reduction programmes, post-operative physiotherapy and back and neck pain relief.

Why Home Visit Physiotherapy?

One of the main questions that anyone looking at our service might have is: why is yours a home visit/ mobile physiotherapy service rather than running from a physical physiotherapy clinic? Well there are a number of reasons that we prefer to offer a home visit physiotherapy service where our physios come out to you and I have tried to detail some of the key ones below:

1. Saves Time

This is one of the most important and key benefits for many of our patients. Making the drive to and from a physiotherapy clinic can take more time than the physiotherapy session itself. Having a physiotherapist make a home visit eliminates that time difficulty and makes things easier for those with busy lives who struggle to find time in the week to see a physiotherapist.

 2. No Need to Leave the House

A large proportion of the patients our physios see have significant mobility problems and this is often the primary reason that they are seeing a mobile, home visit physiotherapist who will come out to them. There can be lots of reasons that they have lost mobility, such as a recent hip replacement or they may have had a stroke. In these cases our home visit physiotherapy service is ideal as it eliminates these difficulties and brings high quality physiotherapy to them.

3. They Live in a Care Home

We have many patients that reside in a care home and are unable to visit a traditional physical physiotherapy clinic and need a mobile physio that can come out and visit them at their care home. Without our mobile home visit physio service many of our patients would be unable to have any physiotherapy.

4. Post-Surgical Rehabilitation

After a major operation such as a hip replacement just getting to the bathroom is often difficult enough let alone making it to a physiotherapy clinic! In this case having a mobile physiotherapist come out to you at home is essential and will give you access to physiotherapy when you need it most.

5. Assessment and Rehab at Home

Being able to assess patients in their homes is in my opinion one of the main benefits of having physiotherapy at home as it gives your physio the ability to look at your home environment and see clearly how physiotherapy will fit in. It also enables the physiotherapist to work out if there are any factors at home that are influencing your problems.

Hopefully you now have a good idea of why we think that having physiotherapy at home is the best form of physiotherapy and why we have set up a mobile physiotherapy service where our physios come out to you. Next, we shall have a look at the actual mobile, at home physiotherapy services that we offer.

Which Areas Do Our Physios Visit?

Our physiotherapists have a free travel area (no travel charge) of 20 minutes drive from Lichfield. We would love to go further but without adding more on for travel it simply isn't practical. This means that our home visit physiotherapy service is available in the following areas: Sutton Coldfield, Lichfield, Tamworth, Cannock, Burntwood, Burton, Alrewas and Walsall. If you live outside of these areas and want one of our physios to come out to you then please get in touch and will be more than happy to supply a quote. 

Types of Physiotherapy at Home

Physiotherapy is a broad and wide ranging profession and physiotherapists are classified as autonomous professionals which more simply put means that physiotherapists can accept referrals from individuals themselves rather than needing a doctor/GP to make the referral. We offer a number of different types of physiotherapy at home which I have tried to describe below:

1. Musculoskeletal Physiotherapy

This is probably the type of physiotherapy that most people are familiar with when they think of what a physiotherapist does. Musculoskeletal physiotherapy helps people with problems such as back pain, knee injuries, trapped nerves, sciatica and golfer's elbow. For more detail about our musculoskeletal physiotherapy service see here: 

2. Neurological Physiotherapy

We offer physiotherapy specific to patients with neurological problems such as Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson's Cerebral Palsy and stroke. For these neurological conditions our physios have a large amount of experience of assisting patients with their rehab and recovery.

3. Elderly Mobility

As people age they have a tendency to lose strength and mobility and often have falls and our physiotherapy service offers help at improving mobility for older patients and reducing their risk of falls. Our physiotherapists visit their elderly patients at home or in their care home and provide physiotherapy and exercises aimed at improving strength, balance and mobility.

4. Orthopaedic/ Post-Operative Physiotherapy

Optimal recovery after orthopaedic operations such as a hip replacement relies heavily upon quick access to high quality physiotherapy is vital for achieving the best possible recovery. With this on mind we offer post-operative physiotherapy at home for patients recovering after a knee replacement or other orthopaedic procedure. Usually it is best to get in contact before the operation and have a chat about availability and when would be best for the physio to come out to your home and see you.

5. Falls Prevention

With an aging population, falls are becoming a significant problem. Here at ThreeSpires Physiotherapy our physiotherapists offer a highly successful and popular falls prevention program. Our physios are mobile and go out to the person’s place of residence and conduct an assessment there which looks at all the factors that go into causing a person to have a fall.

6. Care Home Physiotherapy

As our physios are mobile and go out to their patients, we are able to visit care and nursing homes to provide physiotherapy. Physiotherapy in the care or nursing home can be highly effective and eliminates the difficulty of getting the patient out to a physical physiotherapy clinic.

7. Medico-Legal & Case Managed Physiotherapy

We have a large amount of expertise in working with case managers to provide physiotherapy to patients after an accident. Our physiotherapists are able to complete a comprehensive assessment and provide a detailed report about the patient and their physiotherapy needs.

8. In-House Physiotherapy

We offer for both care homes and businesses an in-house physiotherapy service. This involves one of our physiotherapists being at the care home or business for a set number of hours per week and being integrated into the care home or business.

I think that you can see from all of the above that we offer a highly comprehensive at home physiotherapy service and that if you or a relative have a problem that needs physiotherapy then it is highly likely that one of our mobile physios will be able to help.

What To Expect

One important question we get, as physiotherapists that visit you, is: “what can I expect and do I need to prepare anything for the physio?” The answer to this is in general, you don’t need to prepare anything for the physiotherapist that will visit you and they will do it all. I have tried to detail what you might expect to happen at a typical physiotherapy session with one of our mobile physios:

After you have booked an appointment (this can be done by phone or email) one of our mobile physiotherapists will come out to you in your home, nursing home, place of work or even gym. Our physiotherapist will have with them any equipment they need such as a plinth (portable massage table/bed). The main thing needed initially is a private area in which you and the physio can talk about your situation.

If your problem is of a musculoskeletal nature (e.g. back pain or a sports injury) then they will almost certainly have a plinth/massage table with them but if it is to do with recovery from a stroke or operation this will not be needed. Initial assessments are 1hr in length and follow up physiotherapy sessions are either 1hr or 30 minutes depending upon the condition. The following shows the general process that will happen in any initial assessment:

At the beginning of the assessment your physio will discuss with you what is happening, what the problem is, what your goals are and look through your past medical history. They will then conduct a detailed physical assessment which looks at what is causing or what is the nature of the issue. After this we will try (if appropriate) to discuss a potential diagnosis of the problem, sometimes this is not needed (for example if you have had a stroke) but in this case the physio will instead discuss with you a treatment and management plan. Next the treatment part of the session takes place – If you have a musculoskeletal problem then this will involve deep tissue massage, stretching, joint mobilisation or spinal manipulation. If yours is a neurological condition e.g. recovering from a stroke, or you need help with improving your mobility then treatment takes the form of assisted exercises and the development of a detailed and personalised exercise programme. At the end of the session the physiotherapist will explain the best management plan for your issue and book any follow up sessions that are needed.

Testimonials

One question that we get asked as a community based physiotherapy service where our physios  go out to their patients is: “are you any good and how can we know if your physiotherapists get good results?”

This is a very reasonable and understandable question, especially if you are the relative and you are responsible for sourcing physiotherapy for someone. We have a large number of positive testimonials from patients and their relatives that are available on our website and we have both a Google and Facebook page that also have recommendations and reviews. I have put some of our testimonials below and also you can click on the links which will take you through to our Google and Facebook pages.

"Three Spires Physiotherapy has been a godsend to my mother. She had been admitted to hospital on several occasions, each time when discharged she was less able to move around - I don't think the consultants believed us when we said she had been mobile before entering hospital. On the last occasion she was. to all intents, returned to the home 'bedridden'.

After calling in Three Spires, first David and then Maria the transformation has been remarkable. She is 99, now making her own way to the dining room where she is feeding herself (she was sent home on a pureed food diet which was spoon fed to her). No one expected her to last more than a few weeks. She is no longer dependent on staff for her personal care and goes to the loo unaided. Maria has a unique blend of being kind but firm - mum loves her, We can't thank Three Spires enough and would certainly recommend them. Maria has also inspired staff at the care home to take an active part in aiding mum's general well being - encouraging them to get her to take part in activities and spend less time sitting alone in her room. A remarkable young woman." Jacqui (Lichfield)

"Kathryn has been coming into my husband weekly for a number of years. She works tirelessly to make sure he gets the best from his sessions. She is very professional, enthusiastic for my husband to succeed in his physio journey despite set backs we have endured on the way with my husbands health. She puts safety and care for the client at the forefront of everything. I think she is kind and patient with clients needs. I wouldn't hesitate in recommending this company for help on anyone's physio journey." Rachel (Cannock)

"I can recommend three spires physiotherapy and in particular Maria. She came when I was virtually bedbound. In the space of 2 to 3 months I progressed from a wheelchair to 2 sticks and I’m still improving. Maria is excellent. She not only gives you relevant exercises, but she is very personable and hard-working. Before Maria came, my mobility was extremely poor and I thought I would never walk again. She has changed everything." Diane Price (Aldridge)

"Dave carried out a one-off home visit to my 83-year old mum, out of area. He was exceptionally responsive and persistent in his attempts to make contact both before and after the appointment, collating information provided and offering honest, no-nonsense feedback, as requested. He paid particular attention to level of risk and gave worthwhile, practical advice. Many thanks!" Andrea S.

"Liz comes to see me every 2 weeks for 1 hour. We do seated exercises using weights resistance bands and several  stretching exercises then we stand and continue with stretching and walking. Liz is very friendly and supportive, she gives me the confidence and motivation to maintain and improve my physical ability." (Jeannette V.)

Hopefully the above testimonials show that our patients and their relatives appreciate our community physiotherapy service and that our physios work very hard to get the best results possible for all their patients.