Arthritis, falls, balance, staying independent
Older adults and balance
Arthritic hips and knees, balance that has gone, confidence lost after a fall, and the strength to keep doing the garden and the stairs. Gentle, measured, with a weekday morning group and a concession fee.
The best treatment for most arthritis is a stronger muscle around the joint, and the best treatment for a fear of falling is a body that has practised not falling. Both are trainable at any age.
The assessment for an older patient covers the painful joint, strength, balance, walking, medication, bone health and the home: which stairs, which chair, which bath. Treatment is then hands-on where it helps and strengthening where it always helps, at a pace that suits, in the clinic gym with the bars and the step, or at home in the first weeks if getting here is the problem.
Jane's Steady group on Tuesday and Thursday mornings is a physiotherapist-led strength and balance class of eight, built on the evidence that it halves falls, and it is where most of our over-65 patients carry on after their one-to-one sessions finish. Walking sticks and frames are assessed and fitted properly, not guessed from a catalogue.
What is included
- Joint, strength, balance, walking and home assessed
- Hands-on treatment and a strengthening plan
- Home visits in the first weeks if needed
- Steady strength-and-balance group, eight people
- Walking aids assessed and fitted
- Concession follow-up fee for over 65s
What it costs
Initial assessment £68, concession follow-ups £46 for over 65s. The Steady group runs Tuesday and Thursday mornings, £16 a session. There is no VAT on physiotherapy. All fees are on the fees page; the full list of what we treat is on the conditions page.
Questions about over 65s
I have been told it is wear and tear. Can physio help?
Yes. Osteoarthritis does not go away, but the pain and stiffness of it respond to strengthening the muscles around the joint, and the evidence for that is as good as the evidence for anything in physiotherapy. We also know when a joint needs the surgeon, and we say so.
Book an assessment.
Forty-five minutes with a physiotherapist: history, assessment, a diagnosis in plain words and treatment on the day. £68, no GP referral needed, most insurers recognised. Acute injuries seen within 48 hours.