Falls prevention physiotherapy at home in Waltham Forest

Worried about falls, or finding the market, the forest paths or the walk to the station harder than they used to be? A Chartered Physiotherapist, registered with the HCPC, visits older adults at home across Waltham Forest, from Walthamstow and Leyton to Leytonstone and Chingford. We work on strength, balance and stamina to help you keep doing what you love locally: browsing Walthamstow Market, a visit to the William Morris Gallery and Lloyd Park, or a walk in Epping Forest. Every programme starts with a falls risk assessment at home.

Book your free 15 minute call

Homes in Waltham Forest

Walthamstow and Leyton are mostly streets of Edwardian and 1920s terraced houses, many now split into upstairs and downstairs flats. Around Markhouse Road, St James Street and Highams Park you will find Warner homes, yellow brick terraces built as pairs of flats and long rented out by the Warner Estate. Further north, Chingford has more homes from between the wars and after, a mix of terraces and semi detached houses, and closer to the town centres there are low rise blocks and flats above shops. An upstairs flat often means a staircase from the front door with nothing to hold halfway, while a house brings a front step, an inside staircase and a back garden. 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, with a physiotherapist who comes to your home and sees the real thing.

Where we visit in Waltham Forest

We offer physiotherapy home visits across the borough, including Walthamstow, Walthamstow Village, Chapel End, Higham Hill, Wood Street, Highams Park, Hale End, Chingford, Chingford Mount, South Chingford, Leyton, Lea Bridge, Leytonstone and Whipps Cross. That covers postcodes E4, E10 and E17, and parts of E11, E15 and IG8. There is no travel charge anywhere in London.

Coming home from hospital

Most people in Waltham Forest are treated at Whipps Cross Hospital in Leytonstone, 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

Walthamstow Market runs for about a kilometre along the High Street from Tuesday to Saturday, and for many people getting back to it is the first goal. Others want to visit the William Morris Gallery on Forest Road and the gardens of Lloyd Park behind it, the Vestry House Museum and St Mary's Church in Walthamstow Village, or the libraries in Walthamstow, Leytonstone, Leyton and Chingford. Some want to swim or exercise again at the Waltham Forest Feel Good Centre, Leyton Leisure Centre or Chingford Leisure Centre. Waltham Forest has a lot of green and water to enjoy: Walthamstow Wetlands and the Walthamstow Marshes along the River Lea, the boating lake at Hollow Ponds near Whipps Cross, and Epping Forest from Chingford Plain, past Queen Elizabeth's Hunting Lodge. Pole Hill is the highest point in Chingford, with views across London, so hills and uneven forest paths are worth practising. For travel around Waltham Forest there is the Victoria line from Walthamstow Central and Blackhorse Road, the Central line at Leyton and Leytonstone, the Overground to Chingford through Wood Street and Highams Park, and Walthamstow bus station. We practise the walk to the stop or the station, the kerbs and the slopes, step by step, on the routes you actually use, to help you get out 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: back to Walthamstow Market. Starting point: someone who walked the length of the market every week but stopped after a fall, because the crowds and the distance now feel too much. What we work on: stamina, walking speed, balance when people pass close by, and carrying shopping, building up the distance a section at a time. The goal: the full market walk again.

Example: a walk round Hollow Ponds. Starting point: someone who has become generally unsteady and stopped walking round the lake at Hollow Ponds, worried about roots, mud and uneven ground. What we work on: balance on soft and uneven surfaces, stepping over obstacles, the right footwear, and using a walking pole or stick. The goal: a regular walk by the water again.

Example: Epping Forest from Chingford. Starting point: someone who used to walk in the forest from Chingford Plain with family but no longer trusts their legs on the slopes. What we work on: leg strength for hills, balance walking uphill and downhill, stamina, and planning rests. The goal: a forest walk with the family again.

Example: home from Whipps Cross after a knee replacement. Starting point: someone home after a knee replacement, living in an upstairs flat in a Walthamstow terrace with a single flight of stairs from the front door. What we work on: knee movement, the stairs with a rail, using the walking aid safely, and the first short walks to the shops on Hoe Street. The goal: getting in and out of the flat and to the local shops independently.

Other areas we visit

We also visit older adults at home in nearby Enfield, Haringey, Hackney, Newham and Redbridge, and across the rest of London, with no travel charge.

Questions about home visits in Waltham Forest

Yes. We practise on your own staircase, look at the handrail, lighting and what you carry, and build the leg strength and balance you need to go up and down more safely.
Yes. We start with strength and balance work at home, then practise on slopes and uneven paths with you, building up the distance a step at a time.
Yes, once you are well enough to exercise at home. We are private and separate from the NHS, so we can see you alongside any NHS care.
Yes. Most people we see are over 65. Family members can book the free call on their behalf.
The same as anywhere in London, with no travel charge. Current prices are on our Home Visits page.

Talk it through first

A free 15 minute phone call with our physiotherapist, at a time that suits you, to talk through what is happening and whether a home visit is right. No obligation to book a visit.

Family members and carers are welcome to book on someone’s behalf.