Welcome to the Allied Health Professionals section of the website.

This website is designed to give you access to information about the rehabilitation of patients being treated by Manchester’s Specialist Limb Reconstruction Unit at Manchester Royal Infirmary.

Most of our patients will have a circular frame. Patients undergoing limb reconstruction surgery often require intensive physiotherapy to maximise function, prevent stiffness and maintain muscle strength and endurance. Their rehabilitation is as important as their surgery. If muscle strength and endurance can be maintained before, during and after frame treatment, the patient’s musculature in the affected limb and elsewhere will be able to cope with the demands of independent mobilisation. Although some frames will span joints and this will prevent any movement of that particular joint, the rest of the limb and body needs to be mobilised and optimised for when the frame is removed.

It is important that we encourage patients to live as normal a life as possible, including exercise, work, sexual activity and especially weight bearing. Patients need help to adapt at home and at work.

As patients come for treatment from the whole NorthWest region, it is important that physiotherapists who see them locally are aware of the aims, objectives and routines of treatment.

The physiotherapists at CMFT will be able to provide advice to patients under our care, and we anticipate that protocols will be published on our website soon for different types of frame. We have videos demonstrating routine exercises for our patients, which can be used to help patients to avoid disuse atrophy and optimise their function during and after frame treatment.