WE’RE OPEN

Spring is finally here, and we hope this email update finds you all well and enjoying the lighter days!

It’s been nearly 10 months since we reopened the practice with our strict COVID-safe measures in place. As healthcare providers we have been able to remain open during lockdowns 2 and 3, with all of the team receiving early COVID vaccinations to help keep everyone safe.

Since July it’s been fantastic to help so many new clients as well as welcoming back existing clients for Physiotherapy, 1:1 Clinical Pilates, Women’s Health and Mummy MOT appointments.

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WHAT’S NEW

As COVID restrictions meant we were unable to safely offer our Physio-led Pilates group classes in person, we took these online via live Zoom.

However, uptake of group classes has remained reduced by 85% (while the demand for our Physiotherapy appointments has increased), so like many other businesses we’ve had to adapt.

After much deliberation (and a few tears), we decided to divide our main studio space in half to create a spacious third Treatment room and a beautiful 1:1 Pilates studio with a Reformer.

These essential changes mean we’re able to safely help more clients. However, the unavoidable loss of our large studio space does mean our classes will now stay on-line for the foreseeable future.

OUR PILATES REFORMER

The addition of our Pilates Reformer has also been a huge asset to the Practice, both for 1:1 Clinical Pilates and Physio Rehab.

Although it can maybe look intimidating at first, the Reformer is suitable for ALL, including beginners and its resistance can easily be adapted to help with mobility, function, strength and flexibility.

The reformer can form part of your 1:1 Pilates session if you wish, though we also still love our matwork and small equipment too!

“I am in the early stages of being instructed with regards to using the Reformer for Pilates but already I thoroughly enjoy it.

After a session I feel energized, and my body is invigorated. It is a wonderful form of exercise for both mind and body.”

Christine, Goring-by-sea – April 2021

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SPP’s PHYSIO TEAM

The past few months has also seen some changes to our team of Physios.

We’re thrilled to welcome Becky Sutton, Senior MSK Physio and hand therapist, and wish Paul and Louise all the very best as they now focus solely on their practices in East Sussex.

Chloe, Julie, Eleanor, Claire and Becky are all busy seeing Physio, 1:1 clients and teaching online.

As Senior Physiotherapists, they all are trained in APPI Pilates as well as having their own specialities including Rheumatology, Orthopaedics, Sports and Running Injuries, Back pain, Postural, Stress and Muscle Tension issues, Menopausal issues, Tendinopathies, Hypermobility, Chronic pain, Women’s Health, Mummy MOT postnatal check-ups and such much more…

UPDATE ON NICKY

Thank you for all who have asked after Physio Nicky Sykes who moved back up to Yorkshire in August after several years at SPP. We are happy to share Nicky has settled nicely into village life, is loving being nearer her family and has started up her own Physio/Pilates Practice.

Sending lots of SPP love up to Yorkshire – we miss you Nicky, though we are a tad jealous of that stunning countryside!

SAFETY FIRST

All the team here at Sussex Physio Pilates are excited to be back in the practice and ready to see you. However, (unsurprisingly), due to COVID-19 there are some changes to booking and attending an appointment.

Safety is our top priority - Yours, ours, loved ones and our wider community.

Following guidance from our professional bodies (CSP and Physio First) we’ve worked hard in getting the right policies and protocols in place to make our Physiotherapy practice ‘COVID safe.’ These protocols include COVID screening questionnaires, PPE, diary gaps in between appointments and a lot of additional cleaning for us!

BOOKING AN APPOINTMENT

1) Call or email us as usual.

We will then ask you if you are looking for a virtual (video or phone) appointment or a face-to-face clinic appointment.

2) If you’re looking for a virtual appointment we will book you straight in and send you an appointment confirmation email.

3) If you’re looking for a face-to-face appointment we book your appointment in two parts:

a) A telephone (or video) assessment part of the appointment so your Physiotherapist can understand your issue and check whether a face to face appointment is the right choice for you. (See the ‘virtual or face-to-face’ bit below). We will also use this time to start your appointment, take history notes etc so your time in the practice is not longer than needed. The email confirmation of this appointment contains a link to a COVID symptom screening online form which must be completed before any clinic visit.

b) A face-2-face clinic part of the appointment (which can be changed to virtual if you and your Physio decide). The email confirmation of this appointment contains a link to a ‘consent to treatment’ online form which must be completed before the appointment.

VIRTUAL OR FACE-TO-FACE? - weighing up benefits and risks

As health care professionals we have a duty of care to assess health risks with you. We are confident our procedures (screening, PPE, cleaning, social distancing) are the very best they can be, however, we must accept that the moment we leave the safety of our homes, the risk of contracting COVID-19 increases.

Therefore this is why your initial appointment will start with a phone (or video) call from your Physiotherapist who will ask you questions to assess the needs/benefits to you attending an appointment at the practice and questions to determine if you are at high or moderate risk from COVID-19.

VIRTUAL APPOINTMENTS

We will continue to offer our video appointments for the foreseeable future. It may be that you (or you and your Physio) have decided the risks to you leaving your house for a clinic appointment outweigh the benefits of you attending in person (eg. you may have a serious heart condition and are looking for exercises and a management plan for knee arthritis.)

Or it maybe it’s just easier for you to talk to us from the comfort of your own home.

A LOT can be achieved over a virtual appointment and there are many ways of assessing, guiding self-treatment and giving key advice in the management of issues.

FACE-TO-FACE CLINIC APPOINTMENTS

It’s a Physio appointment, but not as you know it…….

We’re living in a different time (maybe a different planet) at the moment, so our clinic appointments are looking a little different. For a start we will be wearing full PPE, the practice will be a lot quieter with no overlapping of client appointments and the studio has been turned into a treatment room! As per our professional body guidelines, we will keep a 2m distance from you when possible during the appointment and wear a visor during close contact hands-on treatment.

Rest assured, we are still the same under our PPE and our skills haven’t changed (in fact we’ve all been brushing up on our learning!)

Please follow our Facebook page for updates and a forthcoming video ‘Attending an appointment at the practice’.

Virtually or in the clinic, we look forward to seeing you soon!

UPDATE - see the bottom of the page…

I'm sure you'll agree the last few weeks have been stressful and challenging for us all. We made the very difficult, but right decision on Friday 20th March to close the Practice doors and have attempted to keep our virtual doors open by offering online appointments, plus the prospect of online live classes.

Unfortunately, the interest in these online offerings hasn't been enough to allow the business to continue to operate at this time.

We have therefore made the very hard decision to temporarily suspend all services of Sussex Physio Pilates, in order to allow the business to 'hibernate' during this challenging time, and so be able to re-open when it is safe to do so.

If you have an online appointment booked we will call you before we officially close on Tuesday evening (14th April).
If you have registered your interest in our Live classes, I'm afraid these will not be going ahead. 

Thank you to everyone who has shown us their support in so many different ways the past few weeks.
Thanks also to our amazing team of Physios who have made themselves available.  

This is a very sad day for us, but unfortunately a necessary one.
We have missed seeing all of our lovely clients and the buzz of the practice, but we WILL reopen and look forward to welcoming you all back very soon.

Until then, please stay safe, and HUGE thanks as always to all our key worker clients who are working around the clock for us all.
We will continue to #clapforcarers (and bang our saucepans) on a Thursday evening from our doorstep.

Stuart

UPDATE - Sussex Physio Pilates will be opening from the 1st July 2020 for priority face to face appointments and virtual appointments!

Further details to follow shortly…

TeleHealth - On-line Video or Telephone Appointments
Many appointments are suitable for a remote (telehealth) video or telephone appointment with your Physio. 
We are pleased to offer the option of either a telephone or an on-line video appointment - similar to Zoom & Skype, but using an easy system where you just click on a link within an email without having to download any software on your computer.

This approach can work brilliantly! 
Much of what we do as Physiotherapists is hands-off, helping you, to help yourself. 
We can work out what exercises, advice, self-treatment (eg. self-massage using massage/tennis balls or a foam roller), support, resources and specific approach you need by taking a detailed history, asking you questions, listening to what you say, looking at your posture and watching you move. 
For Pilates appointments, the only difference is our mats are a little further away! If you're in doubt, give us a call. 

ALL of our Physio team are eager to still be available to help you. 
Payment is to be made by phone with a card or via your internet banking before the appointment takes place. 

COVID-19 Update - 20th March 2020 

We are CLOSING our doors tonight, but STILL WORKING and providing a Physiotherapy and Pilates service for you

Firstly, Thank You
A HUGE thank you to everyone who has shown us support these past few days in this unprecedented concerning time.
We have always said how wonderful are clients are, but your kind words this week have literally brought us to tears. 
So from the whole team - thank you, you are AMAZING. 


Why We Are Stopping Face To Face Appointments and Classes
We have been monitoring and acting on the ever-changing guidelines issued by Public Health England, the Government and our governing body, the CSP.

As Physiotherapists (Allied Health Professionals) who were trained within the NHS, we are well aware of infection control procedures and feel it is now the right, responsible and educated action to temporarily stop all our group classes and face to face appointments, in order to protect you, our team and the community.
As you can appreciate, we have not made this decision lightly, and there have been many tears at the practice this week.

PLEASE STAY SAFE
As you are aware, the virus can be incubated for up to 14 days without us being aware. We, therefore, urge all our clients to join us in practising good social distancing and minimising the loss of life, as well as the pressure on our NHS colleagues. (Many of whom are our clients - so from all of us, thank you so much for what you are doing right now).


What We Are Doing For You
CLASSES:
If you have paid for a course, you may be aware that a couple of pre-paid weeks remain of the courses. 
To cover this, the team have been busy this week recording several shorter (more manageable from home) classes of around 30min, for you. 

Stuart will be working tirelessly to get these onto a password-protected site to which you will be given unlimited access. 
These videos will likely include a beginners routine (Chloe), relaxation and meditation (Julie), pelvic health/mums class (Claire), stretch (Eleanor), intermediate challenge (Nicky) and our Platinum Pilates/ standing focus (Claire).

We will be emailing the login details and password to everyone that has paid for a course around the middle part of next week. (Please check your junk mail if you don't receive it, or email Stuart)
HOWEVER, if you haven't paid for a course, but would like access to these, you can gain access by paying a one-off amount of £25. 
Please contact Stuart to pay with a card over the phone or bank transfer (usual contact details, below).


Physiotherapy, 1:1 & 1:2 Pilates, Women's Health, Pinc Cancer Rehab, Sports Massage  & Mummy MOT appointments:
If you have an appointment booked, Stuart or Claire will be contacting you directly early next week to discuss your options and needs.

TeleHealth - On-line Video or Telephone Appointments
Many appointments are suitable for a remote (telehealth) video or telephone appointment with your Physio. 
We are pleased to offer the option of either a telephone or an online video appointment - similar to Skype, but using an easy system where you just click on a link within an email without having to download any software on your computer.

This approach can work brilliantly! 
Much of what we do as Physiotherapists is hands-off, helping you, to help yourself. 
We can work out what exercises, advice, self-treatment (eg. self-massage using massage/tennis balls or a foam roller), support, resources and specific approach you need by taking a detailed history, asking you questions, listening to what you say, looking at your posture and watching you move. 
For Pilates appointments, the only difference is our mats are a little further away! If you're in doubt, give us a call. 

Thank you to all those of you who have already said yes to a telehealth appointment - we're just sorting the diary and will contact you directly, early next week to confirm a set day/time.


And Finally - We Will Open Again Soon!
Your on-going support is appreciated beyond words. 
As many of you know, we are a husband and wife small business with an amazing team of Physios. We're in for a challenging time financially, but we are all standing together (but not within 2m), supporting you and ready to continue to deliver your care - be it in a slightly different way. 

This is a stressful time for us all, so please get in contact with us if we can help you - our phone number and email are unchanged.
We will open and be back to 'business as usual as soon as it is safe to do so.

With kindest regards, thanks and well wishes.

Claire, Stuart and the Physio Team

6 Exercises for Strength and Balance

Physios say these simple exercises can help improve co-ordination and balance. Get on your feet and try them daily – or at least twice a week!

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If you would like to book an assessment for Falls Prevention or for any other joint or muscle issue you may have, please don't hesitate to contact us on: 01903 256 500

Keeping you Informed and Safe

Updated - 15th March 2020

We're all aware that the Coronavirus (COVID-19) situation continues to develop around the world and we would like to take this opportunity to let all of our clients know that we are currently still open as normal, but have reviewed our infection control protocol and are putting new measures in place to limit the risk of any viral spread.

What we ask you to do:
- Please DON'T attend if you have symptoms of coronavirus infection (COVID-19), however mild, or have been in close contact with someone who has the symptoms.
- Please DO wash your hands on arrival at the practice (preferable to hand sanitiser as this is now out of stock everywhere!)
- Please DO bring your own mat, head pad (folded towel) if you wish.

What we will be doing:
- We have increased our regular cleaning and disinfection regime at Sussex Physio Pilates. (Our Physios are trained in the NHS and are well aware of infection control procedures).
- We have removed traditional hand towels from the toilet and have replaced them with a paper towel dispenser.
PLEASE place all used paper towels in the bin below the dispenser, not the toilet!

- In the Class Studio we have introduced paper covers over each head pad, which we ask to be disposed of in the bin outside the Studio. All Clinical Pilates equipment and mats will be sprayed with disinfectant at the end of each class.

- In the Treatment Rooms we no longer have fabric covers on the treatment couches, and we will use extra paper couch roll. The couches will be wiped down with disinfectant after each appointment. 

The extra cleaning between clients and classes takes time, and we thank- you for your patience.

We really appreciate your understanding and support during this very unprecedented time.
We want to keep our business as safe as possible for all our clients and our Physio team.

If you have any concerns please ask to speak to Stuart, who will be more than happy to answer any of your questions.

CLASSIC PRACTICE (Christmas Video)

1 – 4 Point Kneeling

CAT – Moving CAT – Downward Dog or Childs Pose – Swimming (4)

Hip Flexor Stretch (high kneeling) with side stretch

2 – SIDE LYING
Leg lifts – Side Kick – Arm Openings

3 – SUPINE

Shoulder Bridge (1,2,) Hip Twist 2

Optional double table top with over ball:

Hip Twists (knee fall outs) – Scissors

Double Leg stretch 1-3 (arm circles and leg stretch)

Hamstring stretches with band or Downward Dog

Glutes release with spikey balls

RELAXATION

This beautifully relaxed 35-minute class taken by Claire Yuill, is for you to do at home over the Christmas break.

Sussex Physio Pilates is 5 years old this week and we would like to say Thank You to all of our clients and followers.

We have had the most bonkers journey over the last 5 years. At the start, from Claire putting on her first Pilates class and wondering if anyone would turn up. Oh, and they did, and many of them are still coming to class today, to the opening of our fantastic new practice at the start of 2016.

The team has grown from just Claire, to an amazing team of 5 Physio’s, Nicky, Heather, Eleanor & Julie. We also have Belle, our brilliant evening receptionist, practice manager Stuart and therapy dog Pippa.

We’ve also gone from just 2 Pilates classes a week back in 2013, to 16 now, ranging from daytime over 50s, mummy class on a Wednesday and busy evening Pilates 4 Posture classes. We have also extended our service offering to include, Physiotherapy, Sports Massage, 1:1 Pilates, The Mummy MOT and Women’s Pelvic Health Assessments.

As a way of celebrating our 5th Birthday and thanking you all for the support over the last 5 years, we will giveaway one prize everyday this week (Monday - Friday) to one lucky winner each day.

We will be giving away over £100 worth prizes over the week and each day it will be randomly chosen from the one of the following:

• 1 x Set of 2 Weighted Balls 0.5kg

• 1 x Set of 2 Spikey Balls

• 1 x Yellow Resistance Band

• 1 x Set of 2 Soft Pilates Balls

• 1 x 50 min Sports Massage

Everyday we will pick one lucky person to be the winner of that days prize.

To be in with a chance of winning one of these amazing prizes, you must do the following:

1. LIKE our Facebook Page

2. LOVE the giveaway post for that day

3. SHARE the giveaway post for that day

The winner of each days draw will be posted here at 8pm each evening, so keep looking back to see if you are one of the lucky ones.

Good luck to you all and thank you for your support!

Also as a thank you to you all - any Physiotherapy or Sports Massage appointments booked this week (appointment must be booked for now to the end of October 2018) will get a 5% discount.
Please use code Facebook5.

Evidence shows that being physically active has enormous benefits for your physical and mental health.

But many people find it hard to do as much as they would like.

This can be for any number of reasons, including pain, fear, fatigue, a lack of time or motivation.

With this in mind, the Love Activity, Hate Exercise campaign aims to help you overcome these barriers through expert advice and guidance from your physiotherapist.

It features practical tips for getting started and useful condition-specific insights.

All of it is designed to help you discover new activities that get you moving and enjoying the benefits of an active lifestyle.

For more information on how to get active again, please contact us on: 01903 256 500.