Caroline Hooper. Chartered Physiotherapist

03/09/2026

A great reminder that you don’t have to do long sessions of exercise/ activity to reap its health benefits. “Exercise snacks” could be the way to go.

https://www.facebook.com/share/18KcxiLxMW/?mibextid=wwXIfr

🤔 NO TIME TO EXERCISE? “EXERCISE SNACKS” MAY BE A GREAT OPTION ⏱️💪

For many people, lack of time is one of the major barriers to regular exercise. But exercise does not necessarily have to be performed in one long, continuous session.

📈 A meta-analysis of 21 studies found that exercise snacks—brief bouts of exercise performed several times throughout the day—clearly improved VO₂max and power.

These findings highlight a simple but clinically relevant message for physiotherapy:

👉 Short bouts of exercise, performed several times throughout the day, still add up.

For physiotherapists, this concept may provide a practical way to incorporate physical activity into everyday routines, particularly when available exercise time is limited. Rather than viewing a lack of time as a reason to avoid exercise altogether, small, repeated opportunities for movement may represent a feasible strategy for increasing physical activity.

⏱️ Little time. Several times a day. It still counts.

Meng L. et al (2026)

Disclaimer:
👉 Sharing a study is NOT an endorsement.
👉 Clinicians should read the original research themselves, consider its methodology and limitations, and critically interpret the findings before applying them to clinical practice.

31/08/2026

It may be a Bank Holiday but it didn’t put us off our Fitness Class this morning as we moved and remembered Dolly Parton together through her music 🎶 🦋

13/08/2026

Some great tips on how to make daily exercise a habit - just like brushing your teeth!

https://youtu.be/Oa-HsG4MAHQ?si=YVswfJ7ginzCErQv

A great time to plug that I now run face to face fitness classes for all abilities in Verwood on Mondays & Thursdays. A great way to help you schedule 2 of your sessions a week 💃🕺

➡️ Click here to get FREE Physio At-Home Workouts for 50+: https://...

02/08/2026

Exciting News!!

I have a new class starting from this week in VERWOOD

Thursday 9am

In addition to to my existing classes
VERWOOD Monday 10am and 5pm
And
Zoom weds 6pm

DM me for more details about any of these classes (UK only)

And
More information via my website
https://www.caroline-hooper-physiotherapist.uk/services-1

01/08/2026

How fabulous is this - even at age 90 simple leg strength strengthening exercises can significantly increase strength and function in just 8 weeks!

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Dbd7qy4MPNY/?igsh=MXZ1NWhtcDZ6NHNvag==

30/07/2026

How long does our body take to heal?

A big part of my role as a physiotherapist is helping explain to people how long our tissues take to heal plus how to help the process.
Most of us have completely unrealistic expectations when it comes to recovery, and also what can be done to help.

A major role of physiotherapists and other health professionals is to educate and explain, we can help with pain relief, prevent complications and support rehabilitation. Unfortunately we cannot simply fix or cure with a massage, tissue adjustment, or machine. It takes teamwork: your body, your therapist and very importantly what you do.

TISSUE HEALING⁣
⁣Great post by Dr. Stacie Barber | Physio + Strength + Mobility:
"🤕When an individual sustains an injury, one of the first questions asked is, “How long will it take until I am back to normal?” The difficult part of injuries is that there are certain components of them we are unable to control, such as our age, the type of tissue that was injured, blood supply to a specific tissue, and the extent of damage that was done.⁣
⁣
🙌However, what we can control is enhancing our understanding of tissue healing, and how to optimize healing times by avoiding factors that could slow the normal healing process.⁣
⁣

As our bodies go through the healing process we go through 3 key phases of recovery, here is a quick breakdown:

1️⃣ Inflammatory Phase (0-7 days): The body’s immediate response to injury: swelling, redness, & sometimes pain.

2️⃣ Proliferative Phase (7-21 days): New tissue begins to form. Movement & direct tissue loading is key during these next two phases.

3️⃣ Remodeling Phase (3 weeks to 12 months): The new tissue strengthens & matures. Gradual return to full activity is important to prevent re-injury. 🏋️‍♀️

⁣
‼️It’s important to note that different tissues heal at different rates! And more importantly, the severity of the injury also impacts the length of recovery. You’ll notice that the range of healing times is quite large! So please - respect that you may recover faster or slower than your friend with the “same injury”.

There are so many factors that go into recovery - but a good understand of tissue healing timelines is definitely the place to start for both clinicians & patients."

27/07/2026

Do you have or know anyone with Parkinson’s ?
My Physiotherapist colleague has recently been diagnosed with young onset Parkinson’s and is bravely using his experiences and researched knowledge to share with others on his instagram account “Clinician in motion”:

662 Followers, 349 Following, 31 Posts - See Instagram photos and videos from ClinicianInMotion ()

24/07/2026

Dance 💃 🕺

Let’s further explore how the arts can help our health. My last post touched on the proven physiological and psychological effects of music. How about dance?

Just a 5 minute dance break can have multiple benefits on our mental and physical health plus our brain function.
That’s on average 2 music tracks / pick your favourite music, enjoy and feel the rhythm & allow your body to move. The effects are greatest with others (social benefi), but you could put on a dance video or go it alone.

Thats 2 lots of medicine together: music and moment…

From improved concentration to higher creativity, dancing offers a range of brain-boosting benefits. And you don't need to spend hours on the dance floor to feel the effects.

12/07/2026

How are the arts connected to Physiotherapy?

you might ask. Well, when it comes to movement there is a strong connection with the creative aspects of our brain. I have a focus on motor imagery & also as many exercise professionals do use music to help people enjoy and feel motivated in my classes.

This fabulous book explains how the arts have a strong effect on our health, and a whole chapter is dedicated on “Arts for movement”. How cool is that!!

Our bodies synchronise with rhythms and music through a system of entrainment. “We listen to music with our muscles”, and our nervous stem, breathing and heart rate couple with the beat 🎶…

I and other exercise professionals have likely intuitively been using music in this way. Certain rhythms for fitness & others for relaxation & breathing. I now have an appreciation the science and art of why & how to select tracks to support the aims of my sessions, of course ensuring that music is something my participants enjoy.

03/07/2026

The NHS are releasing a new rewards-based scheme to help encourage people to get more active by walking more

The "marathon a month" scheme, developed with former Olympic medallist Sir Brendan Foster, will launch early next year.