Falls prevention physiotherapy at home in Merton

Worried about falls, or finding the climb up Wimbledon Hill or a walk across the common harder than it used to be? A Chartered Physiotherapist, registered with the HCPC, visits older adults at home across Merton, from Wimbledon and Raynes Park to Morden and Mitcham. We work on strength, balance and stamina to help you stay part of local life: a walk by the river in Morden Hall Park, a browse round the stalls at Merton Abbey Mills, or a matinee at the New Wimbledon Theatre. Every programme starts with a falls risk assessment at home.

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Homes in Merton

Around Wimbledon, South Wimbledon, Colliers Wood and Raynes Park, many people live in Victorian and Edwardian terraced houses, often with steep stairs, a step down to a narrow back garden, or a flat converted on the upper floor. Wimbledon Village and the roads off Copse Hill have larger houses spread over several floors. Morden grew up in the 1920s and 1930s around the tube, with streets of semis and part of the St Helier cottage estate, while Mitcham and Pollards Hill mix older terraces with council built estates, some of which, like High Path and Eastfields, are being rebuilt into new flats with lifts. Having a physiotherapist who comes to your home lets us plan around your own layout. Every visit starts with how you get around your own home, and we practise the stairs and steps you actually use, at a pace that is safe for you.

Where we visit in Merton

We offer physiotherapy home visits across the borough, including Wimbledon, Wimbledon Village, Wimbledon Park, South Wimbledon, Merton Park, Raynes Park, Cottenham Park, Copse Hill, Motspur Park, Colliers Wood, Morden, Lower Morden, St Helier, Mitcham and Pollards Hill. That covers postcodes SW19, SW20, SM4 and CR4, and parts of SW16 and KT3. There is no travel charge anywhere in London.

Coming home from hospital

Many Merton residents are treated at St George's Hospital in Tooting or St Helier Hospital in Carshalton, with some outpatient care at the Nelson Health Centre near Merton Park, and are then supported by NHS community teams. SteadyMotion is an independent private service, separate from the NHS, so we can work alongside your NHS care, while you wait for it, or after it ends. After a fall, a broken hip, or a hip or knee replacement, we work on your walking aid, strength, balance and the stairs at home. Read more in our guide to home physiotherapy for older adults.

Getting out and about again

Merton has some lovely walking. Wimbledon Common is one of the largest open spaces in the capital, with Cannizaro Park and its gardens just off it. Down in the valley, the Wandle Trail follows the river from Morden Hall Park, a National Trust site with its old snuff mill and riverside paths, past Deen City Farm to Merton Abbey Mills and its weekend market. Mitcham has its Fair Green, Mitcham Common and the Cricket Green. Wimbledon and Colliers Wood libraries run groups during the week. Canons Leisure Centre in Mitcham, Morden Leisure Centre and Wimbledon Leisure Centre all have pools. Merton is served by tube, train and tram: the Northern line at Colliers Wood, South Wimbledon and Morden, the District line at Wimbledon and Wimbledon Park, trams through Merton Park, Morden Road, Phipps Bridge and Mitcham, and trains from Wimbledon and Raynes Park. The hill between Wimbledon town and the Village is steep, so walking up and back down is something we often practise, along with escalators, ticket barriers and tram platforms, step by step, on the routes you actually use, to help you get around with more confidence.

What a programme can look like

These are examples, not real clients. Every programme is planned around the person and what they want to get back to.

Example: up the hill to the Village. Starting point: someone who lives near Wimbledon station and used to walk up to the Village to meet friends for coffee, but since a fall now takes the bus both ways. What we work on: leg strength and stamina for the climb, and control and balance for the walk back down. The goal: walking up to the Village again, with a planned rest on the way.

Example: Morden Hall Park and the Wandle. Starting point: someone in Morden who had a knee replacement and misses the walk along the river paths and over the little bridges in the park. What we work on: knee movement, walking on gravel and grass, and steps up and down onto bridges. The goal: a full loop of the park again.

Example: the Northern line from Colliers Wood. Starting point: someone who came home after a broken hip and wants to get back to visiting friends in town by tube, but feels unsure on the escalators and in busy carriages. What we work on: stamina for the walk to the station, standing balance in a moving space, and stepping on and off escalators. The goal: tube journeys into town, at quieter times to start.

Example: a Saturday at Merton Abbey Mills. Starting point: someone in Mitcham who has become unsteady and avoids the market because of the crowds and the uneven ground near the stalls. What we work on: balance on uneven surfaces, turning and stopping in a crowd, and the tram ride there from Mitcham. The goal: a regular weekend visit to the market.

Other areas we visit

We also visit older adults at home in nearby Wandsworth, Lambeth, Croydon, Sutton and Kingston upon Thames, and across the rest of London, with no travel charge.