How to Exercise Safely at Home During Physiotherapy

Follow your individual plan

Exercises that suit one condition may aggravate another. Use the movements, repetitions and resistance recommended after your assessment rather than copying a routine designed for someone else.

If you have recently had surgery, follow the surgeon's precautions and weight-bearing instructions. Do not progress simply because an exercise looks easy online.

Prepare a safe exercise space

Choose a clear, well-lit area with enough room to move. Keep a stable chair or worktop nearby for support during standing exercises, and wear footwear that grips the floor.

• Remove loose rugs, electrical cables and low furniture from the exercise area
• Keep a phone within reach if you are exercising alone
• Use a firm chair without wheels for support
• Keep water nearby and avoid exercising when unusually tired or unwell
• Ask a family member to supervise if balance is reduced

Use symptoms to guide the session

Some effort, muscle fatigue or mild stiffness can be expected. Pain that becomes sharp, keeps increasing, changes the way you move or remains noticeably worse after the session suggests that the exercise or dosage needs review.

Record the exercise, repetitions and response. This gives your physiotherapist useful information for the next progression instead of relying on memory.

Know when to stop

Stop exercising and seek urgent medical advice for chest pain, severe breathlessness, fainting, sudden weakness, a new severe headache or sudden loss of balance. Contact your medical team promptly for a hot, swollen calf, worsening wound changes after surgery, or symptoms specifically listed in your discharge instructions.

Consistency is more useful than catching up

If you miss a session, return to the normal plan rather than doubling the next one. A short routine completed regularly is usually more manageable than occasional long, exhausting sessions.