What to Do While Waiting for Physio: Exercises by Area

Should you rest or keep moving while you wait?

Keep moving, for most problems. A day or two of going easy after a fresh strain is fine, but weeks of rest usually leave a joint stiffer and the muscles around it weaker. For low back pain, NICE says people should be encouraged to carry on with their normal activities, and the JOSPT neck pain guideline recommends exercise for most types of neck pain. The idea carries over to most aches and strains elsewhere: do less of what clearly flares it, and keep doing everything else.

A systematic review of people waiting for outpatient physio found signs that longer waits went with more pain and disability, although the evidence was mixed (Deslauriers and colleagues, 2021). You cannot shorten the queue from home. You can make sure you arrive at the first appointment no stiffer than when you joined it.

How do you know if you have done too much?

Use the next morning as your guide. Some discomfort during an exercise is common, and NICE notes that joint pain can go up when people with osteoarthritis start exercising. If it has settled by the next morning and is not building up from one week to the next, the amount is probably about right.

A review of exercise for long-standing muscle and joint pain found that programs which allowed some pain during exercise did no worse than pain-free ones (Smith and colleagues, 2017). So a little ache is not a reason to stop. Cut back if the area is more painful, stiffer or more swollen the next day: go back to the last amount that settled and hold it there for a few days before trying more. Drop any exercise that gives a sharp, catching pain or brings on pins and needles, and if the pins and needles or numbness stay after you stop, get medical advice the same day.

A short note each day helps you see the pattern. Write down the pain at its worst, what you did, and how you felt the next morning, and take it with you to the appointment.

Starter exercises by body area

These are low-load starting points, not a full program. Pick the area that hurts, try two or three of its exercises, and use the dose on each exercise page. The doses below are the ranges those pages give, and your physio will adjust them once you have been seen.

If you are pregnant and past the first three months, check with your physio before exercising flat on your back. Several of the exercises below for the back, hip and knee are done lying down, so ask before you start them. If you are waiting to be seen after having a baby, follow what your maternity team gave you and check with them or your physio first, particularly after a caesarean or a tear.

These are written for adults. A child or teenager who is still growing should see a doctor or physio before starting any of them. A growing heel, knee, hip or back can be sore for reasons that need a different plan from the adult one. Sever's disease covers heel pain in children and Osgood-Schlatter disease covers pain just below the kneecap.

If your balance is not steady, do the standing exercises next to a kitchen counter. If you have high blood pressure, breathe steadily through every hold and never hold your breath.

Neck

Most neck pain that came on without an injury eases with gentle, regular movement. Chin tucks are where many programs start, often 8 to 10 with a 3 to 5 second hold, a few times a day. Slow neck rotation, 5 to 10 turns to each side a few times a day, keeps the neck turning. Your physio will adjust this.

Too much looks like pain that spreads into your arm or hand, or tingling that comes on as you move. Stop that exercise if it happens. Pins and needles that stay after you stop, or numbness in part of the arm or hand, need medical advice the same day; the warning list below has the full line. If a neck movement makes you dizzy, stop, sit still until it settles, and get medical advice the same day before you try again.

After neck surgery or a broken bone in the neck, check with your surgeon or physio before you start. Neck pain straight after a high-energy accident, such as a crash at high speed, means keeping still and calling emergency services, and whiplash explains who needs a check after a minor one; the warning list below gives the full set of signs. The neck pain program and neck pain on one side take it further.

Back

Walking little and often is one of the most useful things you can do for a sore lower back. Add pelvic tilts, often 2 to 3 sets of 10 with a 5 second hold, once or twice a day. The knee to chest stretch is usually 3 to 5 holds of 15 to 30 seconds on each leg, and lower trunk rotation 10 to 15 slow rolls to each side, both once or twice a day. Your physio will adjust this.

Pain that spreads further down your leg as you exercise, rather than staying in the back, means that exercise is not suiting you yet, so leave it out. If you have low bone density (osteoporosis), keep the knee to chest stretch and the trunk rolls small and gentle, and check with your physio before repeated forward bending.

If you have had a hip replacement, get the go-ahead from your surgeon or physio before you try the knee to chest stretch and lower trunk rotation. Pulling the knee in bends the hip well past a right angle and rolling the knees turns the upper hip inward across your body, and many surgeons ask you to avoid that for the first months after some operations. If either of them suddenly gives you severe hip or groin pain and you cannot move the leg, stop and follow the hip replacement warning sign below. If you have had surgery on your spine in recent months, get the go-ahead from your surgical team or physio first. Numbness around your genitals or bottom, or weakness in both legs, means calling emergency services or going to an emergency department straight away; the warning list below gives the full set of signs.

After recent heart or chest surgery, get your surgeon's or surgical team's okay first, because pulling your knee in with both arms and rolling your knees to one side both pull across the healing breastbone. If the breastbone clicks, grinds, shifts or feels as if it is moving while you do it, stop, and contact your surgical team the same day.

The low back pain program and sciatica pages hold the full exercises, and lower back pain on one side helps sort out the common causes.

Shoulder

A sore shoulder usually does better with some movement than with being kept still. The pendulum exercise, often 30 to 60 seconds in each direction a few times a day, lets the arm move without lifting it. Isometric shoulder external rotation, 5 to 10 gentle holds of 5 to 10 seconds once or twice a day, starts the rotator cuff working. The scapular squeeze is often 10 to 15 squeezes with a 5 second hold, 2 to 3 times a day. Your physio will adjust this.

An ache that is still there the next morning means you have done too much. Night pain that keeps getting worse is different: see your doctor within a few days, as the warning list below sets out. After shoulder surgery, including a rotator cuff repair, or after a shoulder fracture or dislocation, follow your surgeon's or physio's plan, and do only the movements and range they have cleared. Many plans allow only passive movement at first, where the arm is moved for you and its muscles stay relaxed.

Shoulder or arm pain that comes with chest pain, breathlessness or sweating means calling emergency services straight away; the warning list below gives the full set of signs. See rotator cuff tendinopathy, frozen shoulder and shoulder pain at night for the next steps.

Elbow and wrist

Wrist flexion and extension, often 2 to 3 sets of 10 to 15 slow movements 1 to 3 times a day, keeps the wrist moving. For pain on the outside of the elbow when you grip, isometric wrist extension is a common start, 5 to 10 holds of 5 to 10 seconds once or twice a day at a gentle effort. For stiff fingers, tendon glides take the fingers through the full sequence 5 to 10 times, 2 to 4 times a day. Your physio will adjust this.

Grip pain that lingers into the next day means easing back. Finger tingling that is slowly getting worse needs an appointment with your doctor within a few days. Pins and needles or numbness that stay after you stop need medical advice the same day; the warning list below has the full line. After a broken wrist, hand or forearm, or surgery on any of them such as a tendon repair, start only when your doctor, surgeon, physio or hand therapist says the bone or repair is ready for this, and follow their plan for how much to do. After a broken or dislocated elbow, or elbow surgery such as a tendon repair, follow your surgeon's or physio's plan, and start these exercises only when they have cleared you.

A wrist or arm that has changed shape after a fall means going to an emergency department straight away; the warning list below gives the full set of signs. Tennis elbow, carpal tunnel syndrome and elbow pain when lifting go further.

Hip

The glute bridge, often 2 to 3 sets of 10 to 12 with a short hold at the top, works the buttock muscles that support the hip. The clamshell is often 2 to 3 sets of 10 to 15 on each side once a day, and sit to stand 2 to 3 sets of 5 to 10 on most days. Your physio will adjust this. If your pain is over the bony point on the outside of the hip, use the isometric clamshell rather than the clamshell, usually 5 to 10 holds of 5 to 10 seconds a side, because the leaflets for that problem ask people to avoid clams and side lying leg lifts.

Groin pain that builds through the day, or a limp that was not there before, means cutting back. If you have had a hip replacement, get the go-ahead from your surgeon or physio before you try clamshells and sit to stand. Opening the knee turns the thigh outward and standing up from a low seat bends the hip past a right angle, and many surgeons ask you to avoid that for the first months after some operations. A new hip does not need a fall to come out: if your hip or groin suddenly becomes severely painful while you are bending or standing up, sometimes with a clunk, and you cannot move the leg or put weight on it, keep still and follow the hip replacement warning sign below.

Severe hip pain after a fall, or a leg you cannot put weight on, means calling emergency services or going to an emergency department; the warning list below gives the full set of signs. Hip osteoarthritis, greater trochanteric pain and hip pain when walking take it further.

Knee

Quad sets are often 10 with a 5 to 10 second hold, several times a day. The straight leg raise is usually 2 to 3 sets of 10 on each leg once a day, and heel slides 10 to 15 slow repetitions 2 or 3 times a day. Your physio will adjust this.

A knee that is more swollen or more painful the next morning has done too much. After a knee fracture or knee surgery, including a knee replacement, follow your surgeon's or physio's plan, and start these exercises only when they have cleared you.

A knee that swelled up within a few hours of a twist or a fall means going to an emergency department straight away; the warning list below gives the full set of signs. The knee osteoarthritis program, patellofemoral pain and knee pain on stairs go further.

Ankle and foot

Ankle circles, often 10 to 15 slow circles each way 1 to 3 times a day, keep a stiff ankle moving. The calf stretch is usually held for about 30 seconds, 2 to 3 times on each leg once or twice a day. Calf raises start at 2 to 3 sets of 10 to 15 on both legs, once a day or a few days a week. Your physio will adjust this.

Limping more the next day, or heel pain that is worse on your first steps in the morning than it was before, means easing back. After an ankle fracture or ankle surgery, follow your surgeon's or physio's weight-bearing plan, and start these exercises only when they have cleared you.

A sudden pop or snap at the back of the ankle or heel means going to an urgent care center or emergency department the same day; the warning list below gives the full set of signs. Ankle sprain, plantar fasciitis and heel pain in the morning take it further.

When should you stop waiting and get help?

If the pain keeps getting worse over a week or two even though you have cut back, or new symptoms appear, contact your doctor or the physio service rather than waiting for your slot. Some signs need much faster help than that. Chest pain that does not ease quickly with rest, or any sign of a stroke, such as a face that droops on one side, an arm you cannot lift or keep up, speech that slurs, or sudden dizziness with a fall, means calling emergency services straight away. The warning list below sorts every sign by how quickly to act.

The physio waiting list hub explains how to be seen sooner where you live, through self-referral, direct access or private care.

Related exercise programs

Warning signs

Get emergency help now

Emergency: if chest pain, pressure or tightness does not ease quickly when you rest, spreads to your arm, neck, jaw, stomach or back, or comes with sweating, feeling sick, feeling light-headed or being short of breath, call emergency services straight away, as this can be a heart attack. If it eases quickly and none of these happen, get medical advice the same day, and do not exercise again until you have been checked.
Emergency: chest pain or tightness, which may spread to your arm, neck or jaw, or shoulder or arm pain that comes with shortness of breath, sweating or feeling sick. This can be a heart attack. Call emergency services straight away.
Emergency: if you faint while exercising, call emergency services, even if you feel fine again quickly.
Emergency: any sign of a stroke, even if it goes away. That means a face that droops on one side, an arm you cannot lift or keep up, slurred or muddled speech, weakness or numbness on one side of your body or face, sudden blurred vision, double vision or loss of sight, trouble swallowing, sudden dizziness with unsteadiness or falling over, a sudden severe headache, or a sudden fall where your legs give way but you do not black out (a drop attack). Call emergency services straight away. With neck pain, these can rarely come from a tear in an artery in the neck.
Emergency: neck pain straight after a high-energy accident, such as a crash at high speed, a car that rolled over, being thrown from a vehicle, being hit by a vehicle while walking or cycling, a motorbike or quad bike accident, a horse riding accident, a diving injury, or a fall from a height or down several stairs. Keep still and call emergency services. If the neck pain only starts later and nobody has checked your neck since, keep your neck as still as you can, do not twist or bend it, and call emergency services or go to an emergency department straight away. Do not drive yourself, and tell them what kind of accident it was, because that is one of the things that decides whether you need a scan.
Emergency: new neck or back pain after a fall, a knock or a jolt, even a minor one such as a trip or a sudden stop in a car, if you have a condition that stiffens the spine, such as ankylosing spondylitis. Call emergency services or go to an emergency department straight away, do not drive yourself, and tell the staff about your spine condition, so they keep your neck and back in their usual position. A stiff spine can break after a small injury, and the break is easy to miss at first. If the pain started straight after the injury, or you also have numbness, tingling or weakness in your arms or legs, keep still and call emergency services.
Emergency: new problems walking, for example your legs feel stiff, heavy or weak or you have become unsteady on your feet, new trouble controlling your bladder or bowels, or hands that suddenly become clumsy, for example you can no longer do up buttons. Call emergency services straight away. These can be signs of pressure on the spinal cord in the neck.
Emergency: pain, tingling, numbness or weakness in both legs, numbness or altered feeling around your genitals or bottom, or new trouble peeing or controlling your bladder or bowels. The same applies if you lose feeling in one leg. Call emergency services or go to an emergency department straight away. These can be signs of pressure on the nerves at the base of the spine (cauda equina syndrome).
Emergency: you have had cancer, now or in the past, and your back or neck pain feels like a tight band around your body, or comes with pain spreading down an arm or leg, weakness, numbness or pins and needles in your arms or legs, trouble walking, or trouble controlling your bladder or bowels. Call your cancer team's emergency number straight away, or go to an emergency department if you do not have one or cannot get through. This can be cancer pressing on the spinal cord (metastatic spinal cord compression), which needs treatment straight away.
Emergency: the shoulder feels as if it has slipped out of place, looks a different shape or suddenly locks so you cannot move the arm, or the pain is severe after a fall or an injury. Go to an emergency department straight away, without driving yourself, and do not try to put the shoulder back in yourself.
Emergency: your arm, hand or fingers turn cold, pale, blue or gray compared with the other side. Call emergency services or go to an emergency department straight away, and do not drive yourself. The blood supply to the arm may be blocked.
Emergency: after a fall or a knock, a wrist, hand or arm that has changed shape or sits at an odd angle, that goes numb, tingles or has pins and needles, that turns pale, blue or cold, that has a bone showing through the skin, or that has a cut bleeding heavily. Go to an emergency department straight away, or call emergency services, and do not drive yourself. Do not try to straighten the arm or push the bone back yourself.
Emergency: you have had a fall or an injury and now have severe hip pain, or you cannot walk or put weight on the leg. Call emergency services or go to an emergency department. This can be a sign of a broken hip (hip fracture).
Emergency: you have had a hip replacement and have sudden severe pain in your hip or groin, sometimes with a clunk or pop, and you cannot move the leg or put weight on it, or the leg suddenly looks shorter or turned in or out. Do not try to walk on it or push it back into place. Keep still and call emergency services or go to an emergency department, and do not drive yourself. Your new hip may have come out of its socket (dislocated), and a medical team needs to put it back.
Emergency: your foot or leg suddenly turns cold, pale or blue, or suddenly becomes very painful, numb or weak, even while you are resting. Call emergency services or go to an emergency department straight away. This can be a sign that the blood supply to the leg is blocked, which needs treatment at once.
Emergency: the knee has moved out of place, looks misshapen or is pointing at an odd angle, or you have tingling or no feeling in the knee, leg or toes, or your foot turns cold, pale or blue. Go to an emergency department straight away. Do not drive yourself: ask someone to drive you or call an ambulance.
Emergency: the whole knee, not just the kneecap, felt as though it slid or shifted right out of place at the moment of injury, even if it went back straight away, or the knee now feels loose or wobbly in more than one direction. Go to an emergency department straight away. Do not drive yourself: ask someone to drive you or call an ambulance. A knee that comes out of place and goes back can tear several ligaments at the same time and can damage the artery or the nerve behind the knee. That damage is not always obvious at first, and the knee can look almost normal, so it is checked in hospital on the day rather than worked out at home.
Emergency: the knee became very swollen very quickly, within a few hours of a twist, fall or blow, or you felt a pop or snap. Go to an emergency department straight away. Do not drive yourself: ask someone to drive you or call an ambulance.
Emergency: the ankle or foot looks deformed or out of place, you heard a crack when you were injured, or the foot is numb, tingling, cold, pale or blue. Go to an emergency department straight away.
Emergency: sudden, severe pain in your lower back or tummy that is not like your usual back pain, if you have been told you have a swelling of the main blood vessel in your tummy (abdominal aortic aneurysm), you are over 60, you smoke or used to smoke, or you have high blood pressure. The same applies if sudden, severe back or tummy pain comes with feeling faint or passing out, pale, sweaty or clammy skin, a racing heartbeat or being short of breath. Call emergency services straight away. This can be a sign of an aneurysm bursting, which needs treatment in hospital at once.
Emergency: back pain with a fever, or you feel hot, shivery or very unwell, and you also have new weakness, numbness or tingling in one or both legs, or new trouble with your bladder or bowels. Call emergency services or go to an emergency department straight away. This can be an infection pressing on the nerves in the spine (spinal epidural abscess), which needs emergency treatment.

Get help today

Same day: after a fall or a knock, a wrist, hand or arm that is very painful, that you cannot use because of the pain, that is badly swollen or bruised, or that is very stiff or hard to move, with no change of shape, no numbness or tingling, no pale, blue or cold skin, no bone showing and no cut that is bleeding heavily. Get it checked the same day at an urgent care center or an emergency department, and do not exercise that arm until it has been seen. A fall onto an outstretched hand often breaks a bone near the wrist, and an X-ray is the only way to be sure.
Same day: hands that have slowly become clumsy, for example trouble doing up buttons or dropping things, or numbness in both hands. Get medical advice the same day. These can be signs of pressure on the spinal cord in the neck (cervical myelopathy). If the clumsiness or numbness gets worse quickly, call emergency services straight away.
Same day: pain or tingling in both arms at the same time, rather than in one. Get medical advice the same day. This can also be a sign of pressure on the spinal cord in the neck.
Same day: pins and needles in your arm or hand that do not go away after you stop, or part of your arm or hand goes numb. Get medical advice the same day. If one side of your face or body suddenly goes numb or weak, or your speech becomes slurred or muddled, call emergency services, even if it goes away.
Same day: the shoulder is hot, red and swollen, or you have a fever or feel unwell. This can be a joint infection, which needs treatment quickly. Go to an emergency department the same day, and call emergency services if you feel very unwell.
Same day: a joint is hot, red and swollen, or you have joint pain with a high temperature or feel hot, cold or shivery. Get medical advice the same day, and go to an emergency department if you feel very unwell. This can be a sign of infection in the joint, which needs treatment quickly.
Same day: since an operation, the wound is red, hot, swollen, leaking fluid or opening up, you have a fever or feel hot and shivery, or the pain in that area is new or getting worse quickly. Contact your surgical team or the ward you went home from the same day rather than waiting for your physio appointment, and if you cannot reach them, go to an emergency department the same day. This can be an infection in the wound or deeper, around a repair or a new joint.
Same day: at any time after your operation, even years later, new pain in your new hip along with a high temperature or feeling hot, cold or shivery, or a hip that becomes hot, red or swollen, which counts on its own, with or without pain and with or without a temperature. Contact your surgical team or get medical advice the same day. A new joint can become infected long after the operation, and that needs treating quickly. A normal temperature is not an all clear: OrthoInfo says fever is no longer considered a sign of an infection after a joint replacement, that the signs can be as little as mild redness and swelling and sometimes there are none at all, and that increased pain or stiffness in a joint that had been working well is one of them. So do not wait for a temperature before you report new or increasing pain in your new hip to your surgical team.
Same day: back or leg pain with a fever, or you feel hot, cold, shivery or generally unwell. Get medical advice the same day, and go to an emergency department if you feel very unwell.
Same day: a leg or foot that is getting weaker, for example your foot drags, catches on the ground or slaps down when you walk (foot drop). Get medical advice the same day. If the weakness is getting worse by the hour, go to an emergency department.
Same day: neck pain after a car accident or a fall, even a minor one, if you are 65 or older, have low bone density (osteoporosis) or have taken steroid tablets for a long time. Get your neck checked by a doctor the same day, for example at an emergency department, before you start these exercises. At 65 or older, doctors usually want an X-ray or scan of the neck after an accident.
Same day: back pain after a minor fall or strain if you are older, have low bone density (osteoporosis) or have taken steroid tablets for a long time. Get medical advice the same day.
Same day: new hip or groin pain after a fall, even a small one, if you are older, have low bone density (osteoporosis) or have taken steroid tablets for a long time, even if you can still walk. Get medical advice the same day. A broken hip is not always obvious at first.
Same day: the pain started with a fall, a twist or a blow to the knee, or you cannot put weight on the leg. Get medical advice the same day.
Same day: the knee straightens when someone else moves it for you, but you cannot lift the straight leg off the bed yourself or hold the knee straight against gravity, or you can feel a gap or a dip just above or just below the kneecap. Get assessed the same day by a doctor, at urgent care or at an emergency department. The tendon that straightens the knee can tear, which is not a meniscus or a ligament problem and is not treated with exercises. It is usually repaired, and a tendon repaired late does less well than one repaired early.
Same day: a sudden pop or snap at the back of your ankle or heel, a feeling that someone kicked you there, or sudden pain there after which you cannot push off or rise onto your toes on that leg. Stop, take the weight off that leg carefully and go to an urgent care center or emergency department the same day, even if you can still walk, as this can be a torn Achilles tendon.
Same day: a calf or thigh that is newly swollen or getting more swollen, warm, tender, red or darker than usual, has swollen veins that are sore to touch, or has a throbbing or cramping pain that does not fit your injury or condition, or that feels different from normal muscle soreness after exercise. This can be a sign of a blood clot (deep vein thrombosis), especially after surgery, an injury, time in a cast or boot, a long trip or a spell of being much less mobile than usual. Get medical advice the same day. If you are also short of breath or have chest pain, call emergency services.
Same day: severe pain that comes on suddenly or is getting worse quickly. Get medical advice the same day.
Same day: pain that is worse at night, or does not ease at all when you rest. If you are being treated for cancer now, contact your cancer team the same day.
Same day: pain that is worse at night, or does not ease at all when you rest. If you have had cancer, now or in the past, or you have lost weight without trying, get medical advice the same day.

Book an appointment

Within a few days: pain that is worse at night, or does not ease at all when you rest. See your doctor within a few days.
Within a few days: you have had a fall, even if you were not hurt, or you keep tripping, stumbling or feeling that your legs might give way. Book an appointment with your doctor within a few days and ask about a falls assessment. Tell them about every fall, even the ones where you were not hurt.
Routine: pain in your new hip that had settled and has come back, or pain that is getting worse month by month, for example in the groin or thigh when you first stand up and start to walk. This is not an emergency, but ask your surgical team for a review, as the parts of a new joint can loosen or wear over the years. Get medical advice the same day instead, not a routine appointment, if the hip also becomes hot, red or swollen, or you have a high temperature or feel hot, cold or shivery, or the pain is building week by week rather than month by month. A new joint can become infected years after the operation, and the two can feel similar at first.

Common questions

Should I rest or keep moving while I wait for physio?

For most aches and strains, keep moving. A day or two of taking it easy after a fresh strain is reasonable, but long spells of rest tend to leave a back or shoulder stiffer and weaker by the time you are seen. NICE advises that people with low back pain are encouraged to carry on with their normal activities. Ease off the things that clearly flare it, keep doing the rest, and add a few gentle exercises for the sore area.

Which exercises are safe before I have been assessed?

Gentle, low-load movements for the sore area are a sensible start for most people whose problem came on without a serious injury, such as chin tucks for the neck, pelvic tilts for the back or quad sets for the knee. Start at the low end of the dose on each exercise page and judge it by how you feel the next morning. If you are waiting after an operation or a broken bone, do only what your surgical or fracture team has given you until the physio has seen you.

What if an exercise makes my pain worse?

A little extra discomfort while you exercise is common and usually fine if it settles by the next morning. If the pain is worse the next day, cut the number of repetitions or the range back to the last amount that settled, rather than stopping everything. Drop any exercise that gives a sharp or catching pain, or brings on pins and needles, and mention it to your physio at the first appointment. Pins and needles or numbness that stay after you stop are different: get medical advice the same day instead of waiting for the appointment.

Should I keep a symptom diary while I wait?

It helps. A few lines a day on how bad the pain was, what made it better or worse, which exercises you did and how you felt the next morning will show you whether things are settling. It also gives your physio a clear picture at the first appointment, so less of the session goes on remembering what happened weeks ago.

References

National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. Low back pain and sciatica in over 16s: assessment and management (NG59). 2016, updated 2020. https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng59
Blanpied PR, Gross AR, Elliott JM, et al. Neck pain: revision 2017. Clinical practice guidelines linked to the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health from the Orthopaedic Section of the American Physical Therapy Association. Journal of Orthopaedic and Sports Physical Therapy. 2017;47(7):A1-A83. https://doi.org/10.2519/jospt.2017.0302
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. Osteoarthritis in over 16s: diagnosis and management (NG226). 2022. https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng226
Smith BE, Hendrick P, Smith TO, et al. Should exercises be painful in the management of chronic musculoskeletal pain? A systematic review and meta-analysis. British Journal of Sports Medicine. 2017;51(23):1679-1687. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2016-097383
Deslauriers S, Déry J, Proulx K, et al. Effects of waiting for outpatient physiotherapy services in persons with musculoskeletal disorders: a systematic review. Disability and Rehabilitation. 2021;43(5):611-620. https://doi.org/10.1080/09638288.2019.1639222
NHS. Symptoms of a stroke. https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/stroke/symptoms/
NHS. Abdominal aortic aneurysm. https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/abdominal-aortic-aneurysm/
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. Abdominal aortic aneurysm: diagnosis and management (NG156). 2020. https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng156
Darouiche RO. Spinal epidural abscess. New England Journal of Medicine. 2006;355(19):2012-2020. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMra055111
NHS. Complications of a hip replacement. Page last reviewed 6 March 2024. https://www.nhs.uk/tests-and-treatments/hip-replacement/complications-of-a-hip-replacement/

Written and checked by the PocketPhysio editorial team. Last updated 2026-10-17.

This page is general education, not a diagnosis or a personal treatment plan. See a physiotherapist or doctor for advice about your own situation.

What to do while waiting for physio: starter exercises by body area