B&SI

Flex Health was established in 2015 by two physiotherapists who had a passion to change the face of physiotherapy on a national scale.

Flex Health was established in 2015 by two physiotherapists who had a passion to change the face of physiotherapy on a national scale. Rehabilitation and physiotherapy have evolved and changed dramatically over the last ten years due to advances in understanding complex conditions, seeing incredible examples of patients making significant recoveries.

To date, innovation within Physiotherapy has never been better. Using leading processes developed in elite and professional sport, Flex Health, led by Alex and Matt, have developed their own assessment and treatment process resulting in a cutting-edge philosophy which has led to the success of countless rehabilitation outcomes. Below are a handful of Flex Health case studies:

CASE STUDY ONE – LIAM CRITCHETT:

Liam from Scarborough, UK, searched nationally for a provider of physiotherapy to support his ambition of walking again. Liam suffered a spinal tumour aged 14 which left him reliant on a wheelchair due to significantly reduced strength in his lower back and legs plus reduced sensation from the knees to the feet. Over the last three years, Liam has worked tirelessly with the Flex team to regain his independence. Liam now mobilises with the use of a stick for balance and support and walks comfortably indoors with no support. Through his determined efforts he gained support from the RST foundation who are supporting Liam in his journey. “Before starting at Flex, I toured the country to try and find the most suitable rehabilitation centre for myself. After my first assessment I knew Flex was the place for me. I started at Flex in a wheelchair and needed a lot of assistance, couldn’t walk and had extremely poor posture. I am now able to walk unaided; this is something that I was unsure would ever be possible. I would highly recommend Flex to any spinal patient who is wanting to enhance their lives.”

CASE STUDY TWO – MOSE MASOE:

Mose, from New Zealand, suffered a career-ending injury during a professional Rugby League match for Hull KR, defending his try line. Mose tackled an opposing player and his neck moved from cervical extension into cervical flexion, resulting in a severe spinal injury. Mose was transferred to Pinderfields Spinal Injury unit, Wakefield, for intensive rehabilitation. During his rehabilitation period at Pinderfields, Mose reached out to Flex Health to continue his recovery after seeing excellent news stories of similar spinal injury successes. Mose arrived at Flex in a wheelchair and his first goal was to independently stand from sitting. Mose achieved this goal within two weeks and progressed to independently walking within 4 months. During his successful rehabilitation period, Mose gained international news coverage for his life changing results. “I always thought maybe after 12 months I’ll probably be walking with one stick, and that’s what I had in my head. But I just attacked it like any other injury I’ve ever had. You have to put in the time in rehab, and the small steps will get you there. One of the biggest things I wanted to do was just to hold my son and nurture him like any other dad, and I’m able to do that now. I’m just happy I can be that dad for him. Flex Health has given me this opportunity again”.

CASE STUDY THREE - JAKE GAMMOND:

Jake suffered a severe traumatic brain injury whilst living abroad. His frontal lobe injury resulted in an inability to walk, affecting his fatigue levels, co-ordination and balance, and motivation. To date, Jake has worked incredibly hard on his motivation and fatigue levels. As a result of his injury, Jake struggles to keep himself motivated, therefore we have had to keep his sessions engaging, fun and creative using technology and developing one to one personal relationships with his team. Not only does Jake struggle with fatigue and motivation when trying to walk, he has difficulty identifying foot placement due to his inability to co-ordinate his lower limbs. Jake has battled to give himself the best opportunity to walk and has transitioned from being in a wheelchair to taking his first independent steps with a frame.

PAEDIATRIC AND YOUNG ADULT CLIENTS

We established a dedicated paediatric and young adult service at Flex Health in September 2020 and it has gone from strength to strength. We are passionate about providing the very best assessments and treatments for these clients either at our purpose-built facilities or in their own homes or school settings, focussing on producing the best outcomes possible for the child’s short- and long-term needs. We have clinicians who are highly trained in paediatrics and have extensive experience working with children, using a reassuring, fun, enthusiastic and confidence building approach. We treat a wide variety of paediatric musculoskeletal, neurological and developmental conditions including cerebral palsy, Down’s syndrome, adolescent spinal conditions, torticollis, autism, and recovery following brain tumours. Many of our clients attend following recommendations from other parents, but we also treat a growing number through case management companies. “Lisa has been working with my client, a 15-year-old young lady with Cerebral Palsy, for the past 4 months, and in that time she has built a positive therapeutic relationship with her, making the sessions fun whilst being able to carry out much needed physiotherapy intervention […] We have been incredibly impressed with her level of engagement and the changes that have been noted to the client.” Nicola Ewell, Senior Case Manager, Tania Brown

CASE STUDY FOUR – ROUX OWEN:

Roux initially attended Flex Health just after his first birthday.

He had been diagnosed with a brain tumour (the size of two oranges) at four weeks of age after attending various medical appointments and A&E with swelling in his left eye. He eventually underwent six long surgeries at Leeds General Infirmary to remove the tumour then six further surgeries to help control the hydrocephalus. By his first birthday, Roux had only spent half his life at home due to long stints in hospital where he was often wired up to various monitors or laid avoiding his incision sites, preventing many changes of position. Roux therefore first presented at Flex with developmental delay. After an initial thorough assessment with the lead paediatric physiotherapist, followed by discussing and agreeing on Roux’s short- and long-term goals, Roux’s parents Amy and Antony decided to bring Roux to Flex twice a week, with a treatment plan designed to produce the best possible outcome for him. Following a few sessions of physiotherapy, Roux started to show excellent signs of progress. He continues to take huge steps in his recovery. As soon has he comes through the door he stretches his arms out for his physio to take him into the paediatric room where he adores throwing balls all around the room whilst giggling loudly and saying all his favourite words. He happily has his stretches performed for the tightness in his left lower limb before he’s desperate to walk with slight assistance into the gym where he takes great delight in going ‘on a bear hunt’, jumping on the crash mat and completing dinosaur-themed obstacle courses.

CASE STUDY FIVE – LOUIE AND AVA:

Louie and Ava are nine-year-old twins who have been attending Flex Health for the past 16 months. Louie has quadriplegic cerebral palsy and Ava diplegic cerebral palsy. Following lockdown in 2020 where NHS treatment and time spent in school reduced, Louie and Ava’s parents noticed a gradual decline in the twins’ flexibility and mobility. They decided to bring them for an assessment at Flex to see if we could offer them any extra help. Louie presented at his initial appointment with severe contractures of his upper and lower limb muscle groups. He was extremely nervous, had very limited transitions, was unable to sit unassisted plus had very poor mobility and function. Ava was very anxious and showed a big lack of confidence. She had much reduced flexibility of her calves and achilles tendons plus poor lower limb strength, balance and walking ability. Louie and Ava have both made amazing progress at Flex and their parents are over the moon. Louie adores going in the Flex gym and has all the team laughing and joking with him. He can now sit unaided for long periods whilst doing upper limb activities and walks well between two therapists or independently in his adapted walker. Ava has shown improvement week after week and smashed all of her goals so far. She can now stand unassisted whilst throwing and catching balls plus walks confidently with two sticks or increasingly more competent with no aids or assistance.

All clients in the above case studies have given permission to share their stories.

Tel: 01482 966 006 Email: admin@flex-health.co.uk Web: flex-health.co.uk