After an initial phone consultation, I carry out an assessment in your home or care setting. This consists of a subjective (talking) assessment for me to learn about the history of your condition, as well as what’s important to you. This is followed by an objective (physical) assessment where I look at the movement in your neck, trunk, arms and legs, your muscle strength and any difficulties with tight muscles or joints. Finally, a functional assessment helps build the picture of how your physical impairments are affecting the way you function, such as your ability to maintain your sitting or standing balance, to stand up from a chair, walk indoors and outdoors or get around in your community.

Following the assessment I will recommend an initial treatment plan and give guidance around the short and longer term goals that you want to achieve - how realistic these goals are and a guidance around goal attainment timescales. Outside of our face-to-face sessions I am likely to prescribe a home exercise programme to encourage daily physical activity - the intensity of practice you put in is key to optimising physical and functional recovery.