On the 1st December 2002 my husband, Ian, had a stroke three weeks before his 62nd birthday. His right side and speech were badly affected, but mobility improved quite quickly. However, without constant physio over the years (some NHS and some private) his mobility deteriorated until 2010, when after a bad fall and two long spells in hospital, he could no longer get around the house without a wheelchair, or ride his mobility scooter, or get into and out of the passenger seat of the car. I had looked after him alone for almost 8 years, but now had to …
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Freddie Wheeler came to heads up! six months after his stroke, having been told that he would never walk again. After two years of great effort on his part, working with heads up!, community physiotherapists and a personal trainer, he completed a one mile sponsored walk! He describes the walk below. “The idea of signing up to walk a mile in aid of Macmillan Nurses was conceived by Carrie, my wife, as a good way of setting an achievable target for me to work towards. She was supported in this notion by my heads up! neurological physiotherapist and my personal …
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Following a motorbike accident resulting in a spinal cord injury in February 2001 and a month in hospital, I contacted heads up! to see if they could help with my rehabilitation. They could, and having specialist physio close to home helped to sway my doctors into agreeing to my early discharge with a back brace and two crutches. After my initial assessment with heads up! I attended the clinic 3 times a week and explained my goals from the outset. I wanted to lose the crutches, learn to walk and drive so that I could return to work and …
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There is hope after stroke, and I cannot recommend heads up! highly enough. Following a massive stroke I was in hospital rehab for six months. When I left the hospital I could hardly walk and had no movement in my left arm. With the help of the experts at heads up!, I am now walking almost normally, I am back at work and I am driving my car again (which is something I thought may not be possible again). I’m doing a lot of home cooking, which is incredible in itself, because at one stage I couldn’t even butter a …
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“I have had cerebral palsy since birth and am 72. I arrived at heads up! barely able to walk and desperate as I had always been able to walk after a fashion. I was given no false promises by Anna Hamer but left after the assessment and first treatment feeling that at last I had met with someone who knew what they were talking about. The exercises I was given were clearly designed to address my difficult problem. After a further couple of sessions and conscientious exercising, there was a very noticeable improvement, while I was not yet ready to …
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My name is Tom Sampson and I suffered a massive stroke on 5th December 2007. After two separate spells of hospitalisation I was released to go home, on leaving the the West Kent neuro-rehab unit in Sevenoaks, my partner Sandie contacted ‘heads up!’ so that I could continue my recovery. On 22nd May 2008 I was assessed at the ‘heads up!’ clinic in Sevenoaks by Miranda. She tested me thoroughly and came up with a routine for me, a weekly neuro-physio session to keep me as supple as possible and controlling the stiffness in my limbs and joints. When I …
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My mother suffered a left basal ganglia stroke at the end of February 2009 which affected her right hand side. Initially her movement was very difficult to control, making it a tough challenge for her to walk, or use her right arm and hand, and in particular her arm was ‘restless’ and uncontrollable. heads up! were contacted by my daughter’s partner, who is a neurological physiotherapist and Bobath tutor herself. She arranged for Vicky, one of heads up! neurological physiotherapist with specialist experience and training to visit my mother on a weekly basis. At first she was unable to write, …
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Back in 2008 I was very fortunate to be treated by heads up! at their Roehampton clinic whilst I was recovering from a very rare neurological illness, Opsocionus Myclonus Ataxia Syndrome. When my treatment was completed around Easter 2008 I promised to write and let them know how I was getting on. The completion of my treatment coincided with my transfer to a new construction project where I went back to full duties. I found this very difficult at first trying to work a full day plus travel time but I was lucky to work with some understanding people whom …
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Edwyn Collins is a musician who played in the band Orange Juice in the 1980′s and then had a world-wide hit in 1995 with ‘A Girl Like You’. He had two serious strokes early in 2005 and started neurological physiotherapy treatment with heads up! in August of that year. He is a very determined person and, helped by the huge support given by his wife Grace Maxwell, he has made great progress in his treatment. In September 2007, heads up! spoke to Grace. Below is a transcript of her words. “Edwyn had a brain haemorrhage in February 2005 followed in …
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"As a neurological physiotherapy practice, we help people with neurological problems to live easier and more enjoyable lives by improving their quality of movement."
Almost everything people do depends on being able to move. Much of the enjoyment and satisfaction we get from our lives comes from activities which require some amount of movement. Our treatment is hands on and designed to help with movement difficulties and for those who have lost confidence in walking.
Hopefully, you'll find many of your questions answered on this website. However, if there's anything else you want to know, please call Sally Watt, our Practice Manager, on (01306) 888171 or email her.
Please also contact her if you would like to arrange an appointment with one of our physiotherapists.
We look forward to welcoming you to heads up! in the near future.