Three patients, counted in visits and pounds.

What they wanted

Helen's back went as she got out of the car at the supermarket; she could not straighten, and her first thought was the three weeks of bed rest her father had been prescribed in 1985. She wanted to be able to drive and to stop being frightened of it.

What we did

Grace put her on Ruth's table at ten the same morning. Visit one: examination, no red flags, gentle mobilising, heat, three movements to do every hour, and a firm instruction not to rest. The email that evening explained why. Visit two, four days later: much freer, exercises progressed, dry needling for the buttock muscle that was doing the guarding. Visit three at day eleven: scored 8/10 to 2/10, driving, walking the school run.

How it went

Discharged at visit three with a maintenance plan and a note of what would bring her back. She came back nine months later for a follow-up before a long-haul flight, on the pay-as-you-go price, and that was that.

What they wanted

Joanne could not turn over in bed or walk to school without pain at the front of her pelvis. Her midwife said it was common and would go after the birth; Joanne wanted the twelve weeks in between to be bearable.

What we did

Mei Lin saw her within 48 hours. Visit one, side-lying with pillows: gentle treatment of the pelvis and lower back, a pelvic belt fitted, a pillow arrangement for sleep and a way of getting out of the car. Visit two, twelve days later: pain easier, treatment progressed, stairs technique. A maintenance visit at 36 weeks. Then the postnatal check at six weeks, with the baby asleep in the buggy: pelvis, back, the scar, lifting and feeding positions, and a referral to a women's health physio for pelvic floor work, because that is not ours.

How it went

Walked to school from visit two, slept, and says the postnatal check was the most useful appointment of the pregnancy. Now on the Household membership with her mother, who does Steady.

What they wanted

Derek had caught his foot on the towpath and gone down on one knee. Nothing broken, but he had stopped using the stairs at home more than twice a day and had started planning his walks around benches. He wanted his confidence back and did not want to be told to slow down.

What we did

Karolina assessed him on the low table: stiff hips, weak calves, a timed balance test that was well below what it should be. Gentle treatment for the hips, then a printed plan of chair and standing exercises taped to his fridge and progressed at each of the three follow-ups over six weeks. She looked at his shoes and had a rug removed from the landing. Balance re-tested at week six.

How it went

Balance test up from 9 to 19 seconds on one leg, stairs as many times a day as he likes, and back on the towpath with a walking pole he chose himself. He does a Monthly membership visit now and came to Karolina's talk with three friends.