A growing trend has been physiotherapy offered in home also known as mobile physiotherapy. Physiotherapy can help people with acute injuries as well as longstanding more chronic conditions all with the goal of improving quality of life and physical wellbeing. Traditionally, physiotherapists offer rehabilitation in clinic, hospital, and rehabilitation centers, however more recently physiotherapists are offering physiotherapy in the home. If you’re curious about what a day in the life is like for physiotherapists we will take you along on a typical day of one of our physiotherapists!
Early morning: wake up around 7:00 AM. After waking, time is taken to mentally and physically prepare for the day ahead. After a morning coffee and slow quiet moments, I head to my basement gym and hop on the spin bike for a 30 minute cycle. I then will add in either an upper body, lower body, or core workout and end off with a stretch. I will then shower and make myself breakfast. Over breakfast, I review my charts and intake forms for new patients. I will map out where each of my patients are and take many thanks to our receptionist for booking within my catchment area. All of the physiotherapists cover a different area of the city therefore there is not much travel time between patients. I will then pack up my treatment bag where I will include all of my acupuncture and dry needles, sharps container, gloves, hand sanitizer, exercise bands, exercise balls, hot/cold packs, tape, muscle stimulation units, other therapeutic tools I may need for the day, and my mode of payment, my trusted square.
Appointment 1:
By 8:30 AM, I’m on my way to my first patient of the day and arrive to them for their 9:00 AM appointment. The great thing about mobile physiotherapy is that I’m not confined to a clinic or office. I get to travel to different homes, which adds variety and keeps the workday interesting. My first appointment is with a middle-aged man who has been struggling with chronic lower back pain. He works from home and spends most of his day sitting in front of a computer, which has led to poor posture and muscular imbalances. Upon arriving at his home, I take a moment to assess the space I’ll be working in. It’s important to ensure that the area is clean and spacious enough for exercises and movement assessments. I introduce myself, and we start by discussing his symptoms in more detail. He explains that he’s been having difficulty with simple activities like bending down to tie his shoes or standing for long periods of time.
After conducting an assessment that includes range-of-motion testing, palpation of the spine and muscles, and a few basic movement patterns, I design a personalized treatment plan. Today, I focus on correcting posture and strengthening the muscles that have weakened over time. I demonstrate a series of stretches and exercises that he can do in the comfort of his own home, using simple props like a chair or a wall for support. I also take the opportunity to educate him on how to improve his workstation setup, offering ergonomic advice to prevent further strain on his back. After our session, I provide him with a few at-home exercises and schedule a follow-up appointment for the following week. I always make sure that my patients feel comfortable with the exercises and confident in their ability to do them on their own a bonus is that I can actually run through a set of exercises where my patients will actually perform them on a daily basis. I collect payment. The session was an hour in total. Off I go to the next one.
Appointment 2:
It’s 10:00 AM and I’m on my way to my second patient. I arrive by 10:30 AM. This patient is a senior patient at a senior home who is recovering from a stroke, they have been home from hospital for a few months and have requested our services to continue on the rehabilitation they received in the hospital. When I arrive at her home, I’m greeted by her daughter, who is helping care for her mother. We chat briefly about the progress since our last session, and I quickly assess the patient’s mobility and strength. She has made significant progress, but she still struggles with walking without a walking aid and balance. I decide to focus on improving her walking technique and building strength in her lower body muscles. The session involves several therapeutic exercises, balance training, and gait training. I use tools like resistance bands, a walker, and even a set of stairs to simulate real-life scenarios and encourage functional movements. I also provide guidance to her daughter on how to assist with exercises and mobility support, ensuring that the family is actively involved in the rehabilitation process.
One of the benefits of being a mobile physiotherapist is the ability to tailor my treatment plan to the patient’s specific needs and environment. In this case, we’re practicing walking and standing in the patient’s own home, which helps her feel more comfortable and confident. Each patient’s home presents unique challenges and advantages, and it’s my job to adapt the therapy accordingly, which is the part that brings such a variety and joy. After our session, I make sure to review her progress and provide some modifications for future exercises. Before I leave, I remind her daughter to continue with the exercises at home and to let me know if there are any changes in the patient’s condition. We book our next session and I collect payment.
Appointment 3:
It is now 11:30 AM and I take time to chart on my laptop connecting to a hotspot. I also take time to eat my lunch and ensure I am drinking enough water. I will often stop at a gas station if I need to use the washroom. In the afternoon, I’m off to see a younger patient, a woman in her early 30s who has been experiencing shoulder tension due to stress, overuse and poor posture. She is a new client so before I head in for her 12:30 PM appointment I quickly review the intake form. Her goal is to get back to playing baseball this season as she had to quit early last year due to the pain. This appointment is a bit different from the others, as I’ll focus more on manual therapy, such as soft tissue massage and joint mobilizations, to relieve muscle tightness and increase range of motion. The patient is a busy professional who works long hours and spends much of the day hunched over a desk. After discussing her symptoms and performing an assessment, I use my hands-on techniques to release tightness in her upper back and shoulders. I also provide education on posture correction and stress management techniques, as tension is often exacerbated by mental and emotional factors. After the session, I make sure she feels relaxed and pain-free, and I provide some stretches and relaxation techniques she can do throughout the day to prevent further discomfort. I make sure to book her in for next week and collect payment.
Appointment 4:
I travel to the last appointment of the day, which is at 2:00 pm. This patient recently had a total knee replacement 12 days ago and was discharged on day 6. This is my first time seeing them. After a total hip or knee replacement in Manitoba there are a total of 4 in-home or mobile physiotherapy sessions covered by Manitoba health! I meet this 60 year old gentleman in his home, which is a condo. His main concerns are performing the stairs to get to his second level suite. He lives alone and has overall been managing well, however wants input whether he is performing his exercises properly and his goal is to walk without a cane by our next session. His ROM is doing great and he is almost at a functional 90 degree bend after surgery! I review all exercises with him and provide him with progressions since he is doing so well. We review his walking and we added stretches to help translate to improved walking. He can walk short distances within his suite without a cane and that is what I recommended for him until our next session, only to use the cane for longer outings. We reviewed using the cane on the stairs, he still uses a step to pattern, however there is minimal pain. I rebook him for next week and no need to collect payment since it will be billed to MB health by our receptionist.
It is now just after 3:00 PM and my day is winding down. I decide to drive home and complete my paperwork at home. I finish the last two chart notes and send over all of my exercise programs to my patients. It is 4:00 PM and my day is complete and I end it with a nice sunny walk outside.
A day in the life of a mobile physiotherapist is very rewarding. The opportunity to provide one-on-one care in the comfort of a patient’s home allows for a level of personalization that is hard to achieve in a clinic setting as well as the variety of patients you see in a day makes for the day to fly by and keep things interesting. Mobile physiotherapy is about more than just treating a condition—it’s about building relationships, understanding the individual needs of each patient, and helping them regain control over their health and well-being.
If you are interested in working as a mobile physiotherapist as a career or to supplement the other additional work you are already doing, it is a great way to change things up and an extremely fulfilling career.