Private physiotherapy/mobility therapy for the very elderly

[A580Hojas]

Hello, I've had various threads on here about my 91 year old mother.

She is becoming more and more immobile which is affecting her mental health.

This year she had a course of 6 weeks re-ablement therapy at home organised by her GP and on the NHS and she was considerably brighter and more optimistic during this time.

She can afford private physio, can anyone recommend how I go about finding a good service for her? She is north Hampshire.

Many thanks.

I think most towns have a private clinic offering chiropractic services, phisio and podiatry , so perhaps just Google to start with. Ask GP, or at the local sports centre. I have been going to a phisio in my local town and there are half a dozen or so based there. There is another clinic about half an hours drive away .

P.S local rates here are about £60 for a first visit and £40 for subsequent ones.

www.csp.org.uk/public-patient/find-physiotherapist/physio2u

www.physiofirst.org.uk/find-physio.html

Physiotherapy is a treatment for people who are suffering from mental and physical difficulties. If your mom's mobility is impaired, you should consult a professional physiotherapist as soon as possible and start physiotherapy treatment. Physiotherapy is a treatment method without side effects and the sooner the treatment is started, the higher the chance of recovery. After covid-19 I had difficulty walking and did physiotherapy for 6 months now I am fine

Will physio help your mum regain mobility? I ask because like your mum, my mum has become increasingly immobile as she gets older (she's 87). She had physio input from the Falls team about 12 months ago and she's carried on with the exercises they gave her, but her mobility continues to decline (I personally think she needs some kind of balance & some strengthening exercises, as well as the stretching ones she does. I would be happy to pay for some private input.

From my experience with my dad (Parkinsons, shoulder injuries, and extreme general weakness after a long hospital stay) I'd say look for someone who does both physio and Pilates, and with specialist training for older patients. The one we found did an excellent mix of strength and flexibility work, and was really good at adapting exercises to his disabilities.

He 'had' NHS physio after hospital discharge - inverted commas because it consisted of 1 visit at the start of the 6 weeks, at which they gave him a printed sheet of standard exercises; and a second visit at the end at which they said he wasn't going to improve any further (he hadn't improved at all) so they were signing him off.

The private service, with twice-weekly visits for 3 months, got him from unable to lift a spoon to able to wheel himself around the home, and from to being unable to move at all in a bed or chair to being able to stand (holding a frame) for a short time. Which may not sound spectacular, but considering his starting point it was amazing.

My MIL (mid 80s, sedentary) has benefitted from some private physio. She's been doing the exercises every other day and has been able to continue going on trips in her and FIL's motor home, which she was going to give up.

I am a big fan of good physios! The hardest thing with MIL was persuading her it wasn't too much of a Covid risk.