Exercise videos for Plymouth patients

Staff in the Physiotherapy Department at Derriford Hospital have set up a YouTube channel, with multiple exercise videos to help support their patients.

The idea of the exercise videos and exercise sheets came after a satisfaction survey indicated that patients needed these to help remind them of what they should be doing. This idea now allows patients to play the videos as many times as they wish, in the comfort of their own home and ensures that they adhere to the exercises prescribed and therefore this optimises recovery.

Richard Mckee, Senior Outpatient Physio said: “Setting up the channel took a bit of trial and error and a few false starts. Eventually, we ironed out all of the issues and started to post exercise videos online, under the title of ‘Plymouthnhsphysio’.

“We went live almost two years ago, and we have slowly built from there. We now have over 80 videos on our channel that our patients can access for free. From post op shoulder exercises to common exercises for pregnancy related back pain, and many things in between. I am very proud of how all of the department have helped in this new development, by coming up with ideas and volunteering as models in their spare time.

“It is important to understand that this resource is not designed as a replacement for physiotherapy assessment and treatment. We have set it up as many people have given us feedback to say that they find videos easier to follow compared to written sheets alone.”

To watch the videos online, please visit http://www.youtube.com/user/PLYMOUTHNHSPHYSIO or http://bit.ly/physioexercisesheets2015 to access the exercise sheets.