Walking Confidence & Gait Rehabilitation in Sheffield
Home physiotherapy across Sheffield to walk normally and confidently again, indoors and out, with the right walking aid or none at all.
When walking changes
The way we walk can change after surgery, a fracture, an illness, a fall or a long period of doing less. Steps get shorter, one leg does more work than the other, and confidence goes, particularly outdoors. Gait retraining is the part of physiotherapy that puts that right, and it is one of Hamoodi's specialist areas.
Home visits are well suited to it, because walking practice can happen on the routes you actually use: your hallway, your garden path, your street, and in Sheffield, almost always a slope.
What gait retraining involves
- Watching how you walk to see what has changed and why, whether that is weakness, stiffness, pain, balance or fear.
- Strength and balance work for the specific muscles that are letting you down.
- Practising the walk itself including step length, turning, kerbs, slopes and changing speed.
- Your walking aid checked and set to the right height, used in the correct hand, and reduced when you are ready.
- Walking outside on real routes, building up distance and confidence a little at a time.
Walking aids
A walking aid that is set at the wrong height, or used in the wrong hand, can make walking harder rather than easier. A stick is usually held on the opposite side to the weaker or painful leg, and the handle should sit at about wrist height when your arm hangs by your side. Hamoodi checks this at the first visit, and helps you step down from a frame to a stick, or from a stick to nothing, when it is safe.
Who it helps
After a hip or knee replacement
Losing the limp and walking normally again. See physio after a hip replacement.
After a fracture
Getting back to normal walking after a broken hip, ankle or leg.
After illness or a hospital stay
Rebuilding stamina and walking distance.
Fear of falling
Walking more confidently, indoors and out. See falls prevention.
Why Hamoodi
Hamoodi is a Senior Physiotherapist with an MSc in Physiotherapy and NHS experience at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals, Barnsley Hospital and Rotherham Doncaster & South Humber NHS. His specialist work has been in post-operative orthopaedics and trauma rehabilitation, on hospital wards and in outpatient clinics, so he knows the pathways people come home from and what the hospital team will usually have told you.
Every appointment is a home visit. There is no GP referral needed, and the first step is a free phone call to check that home physiotherapy is the right thing for you before anything is booked. Hamoodi also speaks Arabic, which some families find makes a real difference.
Your physiotherapist in Sheffield
Hamoodi Othman
Senior Physiotherapist
- MSc Physiotherapy, BSc Sports Therapy, HCPC Registered (PH131379)
- Gait retraining and functional mobility
- Home visits across Sheffield and the surrounding South Yorkshire areas
Call Hamoodi on 07821 402 634
Please mention Mobile Physiotherapist.co.uk when you call.
Home visits across Sheffield
Hamoodi visits homes right across Sheffield, including Hillsborough, Crookes, Walkley, Broomhill, Fulwood, Ranmoor, Ecclesall, Nether Edge, Sharrow, Woodseats, Dore, Totley, Heeley, Gleadless, Handsworth, Firth Park, Chapeltown and Stocksbridge. See the Sheffield page for everything Hamoodi offers locally.
Helpful guides
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a walking stick?
Not always. Sometimes the right exercises remove the need for one, and sometimes a stick makes walking safer and lets you do more. Hamoodi will give you a straight answer.
Which hand should I hold my stick in?
Usually the hand on the opposite side to the weaker or painful leg, but it is worth checking in person.
Can we practise walking outside?
Yes. Once it is safe, practising on your own street and local routes is one of the most useful parts of the programme.
How far should I be walking?
It depends on where you are starting from. The aim is to build up gradually, and Hamoodi will set a realistic starting point and progress it.
I shuffle when I walk. Can that improve?
Often, yes. Shuffling is commonly linked to weakness, stiffness or low confidence, all of which can be worked on. If it has come on suddenly, see your GP.
Do you cover all of Sheffield?
Yes. Every appointment is a home visit across the city and its suburbs.