Jill Drew Physiotherapy

31/10/2026

As Breast Cancer Awareness Month draws to a close we discuss caring for your scars

After breast cancer surgery, a scar can sometimes feel tight, sensitive or uncomfortable. You may notice pulling when reaching, stretching or getting dressed.

Once the wound is fully healed and your breast care team agrees it is appropriate, gentle scar therapy may help to:

🌸 Ease tightness and discomfort.
🌸 Improve the movement of the skin and tissues around the scar.
🌸 Reduce sensitivity and make everyday movement more comfortable.

Scar therapy involves careful assessment, gentle treatment and advice about caring for the area at home. Your comfort and stage of healing guide the approach.

There is no expectation to feel a particular way about your scar. Support is about helping you feel more comfortable in your body.

At Jill Drew Physiotherapy, we offer individual assessment and scar therapy tailored to your needs, alongside your breast care team’s guidance.

To find out more, please get in touch.

📞 07792 570293 [email protected]
📍 Birdingbury, near Rugby, Southam and Leamington Spa

28/10/2026

💗 October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Physiotherapy can play an important role before, during and after breast cancer treatment — helping you move more comfortably and feel more confident in your body.

Support can include:

💗 Movement and mobility – helping restore shoulder and arm movement after surgery or treatment, making everyday activities more comfortable.

💪 Strength and physical activity – gradually rebuilding strength and stamina, with exercise tailored to your treatment, energy levels and goals.

🌸 Scar therapy – once wounds are fully healed and your breast care team agrees it is appropriate, gentle scar therapy may help ease tightness, sensitivity and discomfort around a scar.

🧘 Pilates – individually adapted exercises can support mobility, strength and confidence as part of a gradual return to activity, when appropriate for your stage of recovery.

🌱 Recovery and rehabilitation – personalised advice and support to help manage stiffness and physical difficulties, and work towards the activities that matter to you.

Everyone’s experience is different. Rehabilitation should move at your pace, alongside guidance from your breast care team.

At Jill Drew Physiotherapy, we offer a caring, individual approach. If you would like to discuss how physiotherapy, scar therapy or adapted Pilates might support you, please get in touch.

📞 07792 570293
📍 Birdingbury, near Rugby, Southam and Leamington Spa

Supporting you to keep moving every day.

28/10/2026

Such an important message! 💪 As a physiotherapist, I’m passionate about helping people stay strong and independent as they age. Walking is a great foundation, and adding strength and balance exercises helps us keep doing the things we enjoy—from gardening to getting out on a WALX walk! Small, consistent steps can make a real difference. 😊

Our Muscles: Use Them or Lose Them! Why maintaining muscle strength as we age is about so much more than keeping fit We often think about keeping our

25/10/2026

☀️🍂 Vitamin D – small vitamin, important job!

As the days have now become shorter, will you be getting enough?

We often talk about the importance of exercise, strength training and staying active as we get older.

But there’s another important part of looking after our muscles and bones that can be easily overlooked — vitamin D.

Vitamin D helps our bodies absorb calcium and phosphate, which are essential for maintaining healthy bones, teeth and muscles.

When levels are very low, it can contribute to muscle weakness, bone pain and, over time, problems with bone health.

☀️ Where do we get vitamin D?

Our main natural source is sunlight. When our skin is exposed to UVB rays, our bodies can produce vitamin D.

We can also obtain smaller amounts from foods such as:

🐟 Oily fish, including salmon, sardines and mackerel
🥚 Egg yolks
🍄 Some mushrooms
🥣 Fortified foods, including certain breakfast cereals and spreads

However, it’s difficult to obtain enough vitamin D from food alone.

🍂 Why does autumn matter?

Here in the UK, between October and early March, sunlight generally isn’t strong enough for our skin to make sufficient vitamin D.

That’s why the NHS recommends that everyone should consider taking a daily supplement containing 10 micrograms (400 IU) of vitamin D during autumn and winter.

Some people, including those who spend very little time outdoors, cover most of their skin or have darker skin, may need to consider supplementation throughout the year.

💊 Is more better?

Not necessarily!

Vitamin D is important, but taking excessive amounts can be harmful. For most adults, 10 micrograms daily is the recommended autumn and winter supplement amount, unless a healthcare professional advises otherwise.

💪 And what about movement?

Vitamin D is just one part of the picture.

Regular weight-bearing activity, strength exercises, a balanced diet and staying active all help support our bones, muscles and long-term independence.

So as we head into the darker months, it’s worth remembering:

Keep moving. Keep building strength. And don’t forget your vitamin D! 😊

Jill Drew Physiotherapy
📞 07792 570293
supporting you to keep moving every day

20/10/2026

🦴 5 things you might not know about osteoporosis

Today is World Osteoporosis Day — a reminder that looking after your bones matters at every age.

Osteoporosis makes bones more fragile and more likely to break. But did you know…?

1️⃣ You can’t always feel it.
Osteoporosis usually develops without symptoms. A fracture after a minor fall can be the first sign. Feeling well doesn’t necessarily mean your bones are strong.

2️⃣ Men get osteoporosis too.
Although it is more common in women, particularly after the menopause, men can also develop osteoporosis. Bone health deserves everyone’s attention.

3️⃣ Your bones need a workout too!
Bones are living tissue that respond to being challenged. Progressive resistance exercises — using weights, bands or your body weight — and suitable weight-bearing impact activity can help maintain or improve bone strength. The right level depends on your health, fitness and fracture history.

4️⃣ Better balance helps protect your bones.
Reducing your risk of falling is an important part of preventing fractures. Physiotherapy can help you work on balance, leg strength and steadiness, building confidence in everyday movement.

5️⃣ Osteoporosis doesn’t mean you should stop exercising.
Most people with osteoporosis can exercise safely. Adapted Pilates can form part of a programme supporting strength, posture and balance, alongside exercises specifically aimed at bone strength. Some movements may need adjusting, particularly following spinal fractures.

🌱 Think strong, steady and supported.

At Jill Drew Physiotherapy, we can help you find an appropriate starting point and build an exercise programme around your needs and goals.

If you’ve broken a bone after a minor fall, or are concerned about your risk, speak to your GP about a bone health assessment. Exercise supports bone health alongside good nutrition and prescribed treatment where needed.

📞 07792 570293
📍 Birdingbury, near Rugby, Southam and Leamington Spa

Supporting you to keep moving every day.

18/10/2026

World Menopause Day Sunday 18th October

Today is World Menopause Day so we thought it would be a good opportunity to talk about something that matters at every stage of life — staying strong.

During perimenopause and menopause, hormonal changes can affect our muscles, bones, joints and general wellbeing.

Some women notice more aches and stiffness, changes in muscle strength, or that activities which once felt easy are becoming a little more challenging.

But there’s plenty we can do to support our bodies.

And one of the most valuable things? Strength training.

💪 Maintain muscle strength — helping everyday activities such as lifting, carrying and climbing stairs feel easier.

🦴 Support bone health — resistance and weight-bearing exercise help maintain bone strength as we age.

⚖️ Improve balance and stability — helping us stay confident and capable.

🚶 Keep moving comfortably — strong muscles support our joints and help us continue enjoying the activities we love.

💙 Support our wellbeing — regular physical activity can also benefit mood, sleep and overall health.

And the good news?

You don’t have to join a gym or lift enormous weights to make a difference.

Simple exercises such as sit-to-stands, step-ups, resistance-band exercises and lifting appropriately challenging weights can all be a great starting point.
Pilates or yoga are also great options .

The key is to start where you are, build up gradually and keep going.

Menopause is a natural stage of life, but it doesn’t mean we have to accept becoming weaker or less active.

We can keep building strength, confidence and resilience — at any age.

At Jill Drew Physiotherapy, we’re passionate about helping people stay active, independent and able to enjoy life.

Strong for life — not just for the gym. 💙

Jill Drew Physiotherapy
📞 07792 570293
www.jilldrewphysio.com
supporting you to keep moving every day



WALXleamingtonandwarwick
WALX
Move Well With Sara
Jill Drew Physiotherapy

10/10/2026

Your journey. Your pace. Your progress.

It’s easy to compare ourselves with others.

The friend who walks five miles every morning. The person at Pilates who seems effortlessly flexible. Or someone who appears to bounce back from an injury much more quickly than we do.

But here’s something worth remembering.

Your body. Your circumstances. Your starting point. They’re all unique to you.

And so is your progress.

Perhaps today you managed a slightly longer walk.

Perhaps you climbed the stairs with a little more confidence, got out of a chair more easily, or returned to an activity you’ve been avoiding.

Or perhaps today was a day when you needed to rest and recover.

All of these can be part of making progress.

As physiotherapists, we know that improvement rarely follows a perfectly straight line. There will be good days, more challenging days and sometimes a few steps backwards.

What matters isn’t keeping up with somebody else. It’s finding a level of movement that’s right for you and building on it when you’re ready.

💚 Small steps count. Consistency matters. And your progress deserves celebrating, however modest it might seem.

So rather than asking, “Why can’t I do what they can?”

Try asking, “What can I do today that will help me keep moving tomorrow?”

Because movement isn’t a competition. It’s something we want to enjoy and maintain throughout our lives.

Jill Drew Physiotherapy
Supporting you to keep moving every day.

02/10/2026

We can highly recommend WALXleamingtonandwarwick if you are looking for a walking group locally.
Emma and her team are fantastic!

29/09/2026

🌿 Gardening counts!

If you’ve spent an afternoon in the garden and felt as though you’ve had a workout afterwards… you probably have! 😊

Gardening is a wonderful form of everyday physical activity. Think about what you actually do:

🌱 Squatting and bending to plant and w**d
💪 Lifting and carrying pots, compost and watering cans
🚶 Walking backwards and forwards around the garden
🙆 Reaching, stretching and twisting
🍂 Raking, sweeping and digging
🪴 Pushing a wheelbarrow or moving garden furniture

All of these involve strength, mobility, balance and cardiovascular activity — often without us thinking of it as “exercise”.

At this time of year, there’s usually plenty to keep us busy: clearing leaves, cutting plants back, moving pots and getting the garden ready for winter. And for me picking up conkers from outside the clinic !

Rather than worrying that gardening is “bad for your back”, remember that your body is designed to move. Bending, lifting and reaching are normal movements, and regularly using our bodies helps us maintain the strength and confidence to keep doing the things we enjoy.

A few simple tips can make gardening more comfortable:

🍁 Vary your tasks rather than spending hours doing the same movement. Remember my 20:20:20 rule - 20 minutes w**ding , 20 minutes pruning , 20 minutes digging .
🍁 Build up gradually if you haven’t gardened for a while.
🍁 Alternate heavier jobs with lighter ones.
🍁 Change position regularly — sit, stand, kneel and walk around.
🍁 And take a break when you need one — preferably with a cup of tea! ☕😊

Exercise doesn’t always have to happen in a gym.

Sometimes it looks like a pair of gardening gloves, a wheelbarrow and an afternoon amongst the autumn leaves. 🍂

Gardening counts — for your strength, your mobility and your wellbeing. 🌿

Jill Drew Physiotherapy
📞 07792 570293
supporting you to keep moving every day

18/09/2026

One of the best things you can do for your health this autumn? Keep moving.

As the mornings become cooler and the evenings darker, it can be very tempting to become a little less active.

But regular movement is about so much more than keeping our muscles and joints strong.

Research suggests that regular physical activity is associated with benefits for our immune health, as well as helping to:

🚶 maintain strength and mobility
❤️ support cardiovascular health
🦴 maintain healthy bones
😴 improve sleep
🧠 support our mood and mental wellbeing
⚖️ maintain balance and reduce our risk of falls

And it really doesn’t have to mean spending hours in a gym.

A brisk walk, gardening, Pilates, cycling, swimming, dancing or a simple strength programme at home can all contribute.

Perhaps most importantly, choose something you enjoy and are likely to keep doing.

As we head into autumn, think about your own routine. Are there small opportunities to add a little more movement to your day?

Ten minutes here and there really does add up.

🍂 Move well. Eat well. Sleep well. Stay connected.

Small, consistent habits can make a big difference to our health.
If you want to read more check out our recent blog post here :
https://www.jilldrewphysio.com/2026/09/autumn-is-here-simple-ways-to-support-your-health-and-immune-system/

Jill Drew Physiotherapy
supporting you to keep moving every day