heads up!

stroke & neurological physiotherapy

Contact us  01306 888171

Exercise

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Life during lockdown is certainly a massive change from our normal life. Maybe you would normally attend an exercise class, go to the gym or for a swim as a way to keep fit and active. It may be that you also have a specific programme of exercises recommended by your physiotherapist to work on at home.

As therapists we often see that patient’s general fitness, muscle strength and endurance can diminish over the winter months as we are generally not as active. Therefore, it is even more important during lockdown to keep as active as possible and work on those home exercises and maybe that regular walk.

Motivating yourself to exercise regularly is for many people an ongoing challenge.

Here are a few top tips to help you to keep motivated. Through lockdown …and beyond!

  1. If it is a daily exercise programme try and do this at the same time every day so that it becomes part of your daily routine. If it’s a programme several times a week, allocate a day and time and add in to your calendar for the week ahead and try to stick to it.
  2. Break it up into bitesize chunks. Some people prefer to do their full programme in one go. For others this is too much so you could break it up into 2-3 10-minute sessions. Do what works best for you but try to keep to the same routine.
  3. Record your exercise for a while on a chart or tick it off on your calendar until it is established part of your daily/weekly routine.
  4. Reflect on how you feel when you have completed your exercises. How did your body feel? How was your mood? Did you enjoy the sense of achievement?
  5. Set goals for yourself. If you can link doing exercise to achieving what is important to you it can boost you to keep going. Discuss your goals with your physiotherapist.
  6. Anything is better than nothing. If for whatever reason (and this happens!) you don’t do so well one day, don’t beat yourself up. Get back on track as soon as you can. Start afresh the next day.

You can do it!

And remember that at Heads Up we are here to guide, support, and encourage you to achieve your goals.

We also have a new online exercise group for patients that have been assessed by us. It is a weekly class in standing and sitting aimed at improving general mobility, strength and balance.

Please speak to your physiotherapist or give us a call on 01306 888171 if this interests you and you would like to find out more. We would love you to join us.

 

 

 

Hands-on neurological physiotherapy at heads up!

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We offer individual and specialised neurological physiotherapy treatment. Helping each patient work towards improving their movement and confidence, following a stroke or neurological condition such as Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis, vestibular dysfunction and adults who were born with cerebral palsy.

We have worked with many people who have had a stroke, both recently or a long time ago. In the weeks and months following a stroke, recovery can be accelerated and optimised by specific hands-on treatment.

Our physiotherapists have many years’ experience, activating and re-aligning muscles and joints by physically moving the patient’s body. We work together to improve movement quality and although everybody is different, if we work hard it is invariably possible to make a positive impact.

headsup! have practices in the London and Kent areas. We are always happy to discuss individual requirements and explore suitability for treatment over the telephone. If you would like to talk to one of the team, just get in touch on 01306 888171.

Cerebral palsy and specialist neuro physiotherapy

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Cerebral palsy is an umbrella term to describe neurological damage that happens before birth or in the first few years of life. There are an enormous variety of ways in which people are affected. The range of difficulties with which people with cerebral palsy live is dependent upon many different and inter-related factors. The location and extent of any damage is extremely influential.

Movement experiences in childhood and adolescence will shape how people move and balance. This is true in everybody, not just people with cerebral palsy. Control of movement may be challenging for people with cerebral palsy and there is often difficulty generating appropriate force in certain muscles. For example, people with diplegia, which affects mainly the legs, often have stiffness and weakness so that an over-reliance on the arms for support and mobility develops to compensate.

Weakness in the legs can also be associated with an exaggerated use of the muscles in the lower back to produce stability in the body. This, over time, may lead to back ache and at heads up! we often see people with discomfort or pain in their back secondary to problems controlling their legs.

Understanding the particular issues each individual has is an important place to start. Dealing with the problem is best done by addressing the cause and making the body as stable and strong as it can be. Cerebral palsy is often a complex condition, working with professionals who have appropriate expertise and experience to identify cause and effect is vital to achieve and address the challenges of the condition effectively.

At heads up! we treat a number of patients with cerebral palsy. We provide support, advice and create tailor-made neurological physiotherapy treatment programmes to minimise abnormal patterns of movement to re-align and activate appropriate muscles.

Get in touch to talk to a physiotherapist and find out how we can help you, a family member or friend and keep in touch with our latest news by following us on Twitter.

Treating cerebral palsy in adulthood

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It is often the case that children living with cerebral palsy receive regular medical reviews, physiotherapy treatment and equipment. But in adulthood, similar services are not usually available or forthcoming.

In our experience at heads up! adults with cerebral palsy come and see us when they find that they can’t get around as easily as they used to. They feel that their body is stiffening up and they may be loosing confidence in their ability to get around.

Cerebral palsy co-exists with the ageing process. It is natural to become somewhat less flexible and sometimes not as strong. Unfortunately fitness is not something that can be stored. It is vital to keep moving in ways to build strength and mobility as we get older. As neurological physiotherapists we are used to looking at the many different ways people move and function in their everyday lives. We are familiar with the issues that people with cerebral palsy deal with on a daily basis.

At heads up! we have experience of working with cerebral palsy with an enormous range of challenges and over many years. We treat people in their teens and well into their seventies. Our goal is to work with every individual with cerebral palsy and help them to move as freely and confidently as they can.

Get in touch to talk to a physiotherapist and find out how we can help you, a family member or friend and keep in touch with our latest news by following us on Twitter.

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