Meet Jeff

Jeff began working with Physio Matters in September 2024. Initially, he travelled to the clinic, but the cost and unreliability of taxis became a barrier. We adapted our approach to deliver therapy within his nursing home environment.

At the time, the cause of his bilateral hand dysfunction was still unclear. Our initial assessment revealed:

• Significant stiffness and weakness, especially in the right arm and hand
• Compensatory use of upper chest and neck muscles

Our therapy focused on:

• ‘Waking up’ the nervous system — improving communication between sensory and motor neurons
• Regaining active range of movement
• Unlearning compensatory patterns
• Strengthening weakened muscles
• Improving upper limb reflexes
• Enhancing grip strength, dexterity, and fine motor control
• Reducing tone in wrist extensors
• Improving coordination across multiple joints (shoulder girdle, shoulder, elbow, wrist, fingers)

Jeff received a diagnosis of widespread osteoarthritis in his fingers joints and nerve injuries affecting his motor and sensory function in both arms.

Initially progress was slow and required persistence. It took approximately six months to break patterns of high tone in his wrist extensors and begin restoring more typical nervous system function. At the end of October, just one month into treatment, Jeff stated “If I don’t see any improvement by the new year, I’ll likely give up.”

Fortunately, he didn’t. After 9–10 months of therapy, Jeff achieved a major milestone: he was able to pick up his camera again. We celebrated with a photography session in his local park, using familiar equipment from previous sessions.

To achieve this goal, Jeff had to work on the following:

• Strengthening his shoulder and rotator cuff to stabilise the camera
• Isolating shoulder, elbow, and wrist movements for accurate positioning
• Improving dexterity to adjust camera settings
• Increasing finger and thumb strength to grip and operate the shutter

Jeff continues to build strength and confidence. He is exploring ways to re-engage with his photography community and looks forward to sharing his work once again.