Stroke & Neurological Rehabilitation in Northampton
Home visits in Northampton after a stroke, and for Parkinson's, brain injury and other neurological conditions, with a physiotherapist who has spent most of her career in specialist neuro-rehabilitation.
Vidhi Sharma
Specialist Neurological Physiotherapist
- Registration: HCPC PH111536, CSP Member
- Specialisms: specialist neurological and stroke rehabilitation, falls prevention, elderly rehabilitation, and post-operative and orthopaedic rehabilitation
- Phone: 07858 700 126
- Please mention Mobile Physiotherapist.co.uk when you call
- Email: vidhi.d3@gmail.com
Stroke & Neurological Rehabilitation at home in Northampton
Recovery after a stroke does not stop when the hospital or the early supported discharge team signs you off. The brain keeps rewiring for months and years, but only in response to practice, and the practice that matters most happens in your own home: your stairs, your kitchen, your bathroom, your street. People in Northampton usually get in touch when NHS rehabilitation has come to an end and there is still a long way to go, or when a family member can see that progress has stalled.
Vidhi is a specialist neurological physiotherapist. Her senior roles have been in specialist neuro-rehabilitation, including Grafton Manor's neurobehavioural unit and PJ Care, working with stroke, brain injury, Parkinson's, Huntington's disease and spinal cord injury, and she has completed Bobath training, LSVT BIG for Parkinson's, functional electrical stimulation and stroke rehabilitation courses. That is a different training from general physiotherapy, and after a stroke it shows in the detail: how a foot is placed, how weight is shifted, how a weak arm is brought back into use rather than left to hang.
What stroke rehabilitation at home covers
Walking and balance
Getting from furniture-walking to walking properly, reducing the fear of falling, and building the distance and confidence to get outside again.
Arm and hand recovery
A weak or neglected arm needs specific, repeated practice to come back. Vidhi builds that into everyday tasks and can use FES where it helps.
Spasticity and positioning
Managing stiffness and tone, protecting the shoulder, and advising on positioning in bed and in the chair so that secondary problems do not set in.
Transfers, stairs and the bathroom
Getting in and out of bed, on and off the toilet and up the stairs safely, with the right equipment where it is genuinely needed and without it where it is not.
Fatigue and pacing
Post-stroke fatigue is real and shapes how rehabilitation has to be planned. Little and often, built around your best time of day.
Support for family and carers
Showing the people around you how to help safely, so that practice happens between visits and nobody hurts their back doing it.
What the first visit involves
- A conversation about the stroke, what rehabilitation you have already had, and what you and your family most want to get back
- Assessment of sitting and standing balance, walking, the affected arm and hand, and how you manage transfers in your own home
- A look at the layout, the stairs, the bed and the bathroom, and at any equipment you have been given
- A small number of specific things to practise between visits, matched to your energy and set up so that a family member can help
- A clear, honest picture of what realistic recovery looks like from here, and a plan for getting there
Treatment and how long it takes
Neurological rehabilitation is repetition with purpose: the right movement, practised often enough, in the situations where you actually need it. Sessions combine hands-on facilitation of movement, task practice such as walking, stairs and reaching, strength and balance work, and management of tone and positioning. The programme changes as you do, and the goals are yours: the garden, the shops, a grandchild, sleeping upstairs again.
Recovery after a stroke is measured in months, and the pace varies enormously from person to person. Most people are seen weekly at first, then less often as a home routine takes hold. Vidhi reviews progress against your own goals rather than a generic timetable, and will say honestly when a goal needs adjusting.
Not a stroke? Other neurological conditions
Vidhi also works with Parkinson's, including the LSVT BIG programme, multiple sclerosis, brain and spinal cord injury, Huntington's disease and other long-term neurological conditions. The neurological rehabilitation page for Northampton covers those in more detail; it is the same service and the same physiotherapist.
Home visits across Northampton
Vidhi visits homes right across Northampton, including Kingsthorpe, Duston, Abington, Weston Favell, Far Cotton, Hardingstone, Wootton, Moulton and the town centre. If you have been treated at Northampton General Hospital, or you are waiting on a fracture clinic, orthopaedic or neurology appointment, Vidhi works alongside that care rather than instead of it, and will say plainly if she thinks you need a medical review first.
Frequently asked questions
It has been a long time since my stroke. Is it too late?
No. The fastest change happens in the first months, but people continue to improve for years with the right practice, and 'plateau' very often means that the practice stopped rather than that recovery did. Vidhi assesses where you are now, not when the stroke was.
NHS rehabilitation has finished. Is this the same thing?
It is the same kind of physiotherapy, delivered at home for as long as it is useful, rather than for a fixed number of weeks. Many people come to Vidhi at exactly this point. She will also work alongside NHS or community teams where they are still involved.
Can you help with my arm, or only walking?
Both. Walking often gets the attention because it is the most visible, but a neglected arm and hand can recover far more than people are led to expect, provided the practice is specific and frequent. Vidhi uses functional electrical stimulation where it helps.
What about Parkinson's?
Vidhi is trained in LSVT BIG, the evidence-based programme for Parkinson's, and works with people at every stage of the condition on walking, balance, freezing and getting up from chairs and bed.
How much does it cost?
The phone enquiry is free. Current visit rates are on Vidhi's prices page, and she will confirm the cost before anything is booked so there are no surprises.
Do you visit at home across Northampton?
Yes. Every appointment is a home visit across Northampton and the surrounding villages, which for stroke rehabilitation is the whole point: the practice happens where you live.