Physiotherapy Exercise Diary. Physiotherapy Department Information for Patients

Transcription

1 Physiotherapy Exercise Diary Physiotherapy Department Information for Patients i

2 Why should you exercise? Exercise (e.g. walking) aims to increase your general level of fitness. The more you practice walking, the further and longer you should be able to walk before you need to stop. By increasing your fitness level you should also find it easier to do day-to-day activities. How should you exercise? Walking is the best exercise whilst in hospital. First, your physiotherapist will assess how long you can walk for without stopping. They will also advise you on the best pace to walk. You should be aiming to walk at a pace that you can maintain, ideally so you can still hold a conversation. You will get breathless as this is a normal response to exercise. The aim is to increase the time you can continuously walk for, thereby increasing your fitness. Your physiotherapist will provide you with a stop watch (if needed) to time your walks. You should be aiming to do 2-3 exercise walks each day (as well as walks to the bathroom etc.) 2

3 How should you record your walking? Use the table overleaf to record your walking. Your physiotherapist will also explain how to use the Borg Breathlessness Score, which you can use to show how hard you are breathing whilst you are walking. The Borg score is printed on page 6. Also record how many rests/stops you had whilst walking, you should aim to reduce the number of rests you need as your fitness improves. Remember, getting out of breath is a normal response to exercise. How should you record your walking? STOP If you get chest pains or tightness If you feel dizzy or nauseous If you feel clammy or cold If your joints or muscles hurt If you feel very tired Please inform a member of staff if you experience any of the above symptoms. 3

4 Record your walking here Date Total walking time (minutes) Borg Scale Score (how hard was it?) Number of Rests 4

5 Record your walking here Date Total walking time (minutes) Borg Scale Score (how hard was it?) Number of Rests 5

6 How to measure breathlessness The Modified Borg Breathlessness Score It is important to measure how breathless you feel during and after exercise. A good way to do this is on a scale of 0 to 10, where 0 = no breathlessness at all, and 10 = maximum breathlessness. This is called the Modified Borg Scale. By noting how breathless you feel, it will make it easy to see how you are improving. Borg Breathlessness Score 0 Nothing 0.5 Very, very slight 1 Very slight 2 Slight 3 Moderate 4 Somewhat severe 5 Severe 6 7 Very severe 8 9 Very, very severe 10 Maximum 6

7 Strengthening exercises The following leg exercises aim to increase the strength of your leg muscles. This will also help to improve your overall fitness and help you to walk further. Your physiotherapist will tell you which exercises you should do. Only attempt these exercises if you have been told to do so by your physiotherapist. You can record the exercises that you have done on the table on page 10. If you have any further questions please ask your physiotherapist. 7

8 Strengthening exercises (continued) 1. Sit on a chair. Put a around your ankle. kg weight Pull your toes up, tighten your thigh muscle and straighten your knee. Hold for Repeat seconds. times. 2. Lying on your back with your legs straight. Bend your ankles and push your knees down firmly against the bed, Hold for seconds. Repeat times. 8

9 Strengthening exercises (continued) 3. Sitting with your arms crossed. Stand up then sit down slowly on a chair. Repeat times. 9

10 Record your strengthening exercises here Date Exercise Number of Reps 10

11 If you have any questions, write them down here to remind you what to ask when you speak to your Physiotherapist. 11

12 Physiotherapy. Edition 2. December Review: December 2019 (Jackson) PHY Today s research is tomorrow s care We all benefit from research. Leicester s Hospitals is a research active Trust so you may find that research is happening when you visit the hospital or your clinic. If you are interested in finding out how you can become involved in a clinical trial or to find out more about taking part in research, please speak to your clinician or GP, or call If you would like this information in another language or format, please contact the service equality manager on