A 62-year old man attended accident and emergency in June 2020 with dense right sided weakness, aphasia and confusion. Investigations revealed a left middle cerebral artery infarct, and he was admitted under the stroke team for ongoing inpatient rehabilitation. He was discharged home in September 2020 and received community stroke rehabilitation from physiotherapy, nursing, occupational therapy and speech and language therapy. He is now working towards a graded discharge from the Community Stroke and Neuro Rehab Team, after achieving his rehabilitation goals. In this case, the multidisciplinary team adopted different ways of working to accommodate the patients’ priorities while also negotiating the COVID-19 pandemic. This included taking a transdisciplinary approach to rehabilitation and considering alternative supported self-management strategies. This case highlighted several learning points, particularly the potential benefits of shared goal setting for patients with communication difficulties and transdisciplinary approaches to community stroke rehabilitation.

A disturbed mother's perception of her child's psychological state reflects her own symptomatology, and is often not in accord with teachers' perceptions of the same child.

Objectives: To explore how physiotherapists manage anxiety in patients with RRMS in community and outpatient settings. To identify further training and research to better develop physiotherapy practice. Design: A mixed-methods design, combining a cross-sectional survey and semi-structured interviews with UK-physiotherapists. Participants: Sixteen UK-registered physiotherapists: 11 in the survey, 5 in the interviews. Methods: To inform the qualitative study, a cross-sectional survey collected data from physiotherapists working in neurology to understand the impact and management of anxiety in people with MS (PwMS) during rehabilitation. Analysis used descriptive statistics and the findings formed the interview guide. Semi-structured interviews with specialist physiotherapists explored barriers and facilitators to managing anxiety, physiotherapy training needs and offered suggestions to develop physiotherapy research and practice. Themes were derived inductively. Results: The survey suggested how PwMS present with anxiety, its impact during rehabilitation, physiotherapy management practices, and physiotherapist skills and training needs. Five semi-structured interviews with specialist physiotherapists expanded on the survey findings and identified five main themes: Understanding the MS journey, modifying assessment and treatment, anxiety management toolbox, lagging behind Musculoskeletal Physiotherapy, and gaining knowledge and skills. Conclusion: Physiotherapists encounter anxiety in PwMS in community and outpatient rehabilitation and perceive they have a role in managing it as it presents. Facilitators included communication, listening skills and opportunities to develop strong therapeutic relationships. Poor training and support, lack of clinical guidelines and limited research evidence were considered barriers. Clinically relevant learning opportunities, interprofessional working, and greater support through clinical supervision is recommended to better develop physiotherapy practice.

Background Anxiety is common for people with Multiple Sclerosis (PwMS) and is higher in those with relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) and in community-based samples. Anxiety can impact self-efficacy, pain, fatigue, engagement in physical activity and treatment adherence, all of which influence the rehabilitation process. Little is known about how physiotherapists manage anxiety in PwMS and the challenges associated with anxiety throughout the rehabilitation process, in community and outpatient settings. Methods A mixed-methods design, combining a cross-sectional survey and semi-structured interviews with UK-physiotherapists, was used to answer the research question. To inform the qualitative study, a cross-sectional survey collected data from physiotherapists working in neurology to understand the impact and management of anxiety in people with MS (PwMS) during rehabilitation. Analysis used descriptive statistics and the findings formed the interview guide. Semi-structured interviews with specialist physiotherapists explored barriers and facilitators to managing anxiety in PwMS in community and outpatient settings, identified perceived physiotherapy training needs and offered suggestions to develop physiotherapy research and practice. Themes were derived inductively. Results The survey suggested how PwMS present with anxiety, its impact during rehabilitation, physiotherapy management practices, and physiotherapist skills and training needs. Five semi-structured interviews with specialist physiotherapists expanded on the survey findings and identified five main themes: Understanding the MS journey, modifying assessment and treatment, anxiety management toolbox, lagging behind Musculoskeletal Physiotherapy, and gaining knowledge and skills. Conclusion Physiotherapists encounter anxiety in PwMS in community and outpatient rehabilitation and perceive they have a role in managing it as it presents. Facilitators included communication, listening skills and opportunities to develop strong therapeutic relationships. Poor training and support, lack of clinical guidelines and limited research evidence were considered barriers. Clinically relevant learning opportunities, interprofessional working, and greater support through clinical supervision is recommended to better develop physiotherapy practice.