What it is
A short, honest summary.
- —An autoimmune attack on the peripheral nerves, often triggered by a recent infection.
- —Weakness typically ascends from feet upward, may affect breathing and swallowing in severe cases.
- —Acute phase requires hospital monitoring; recovery phase is where physiotherapy lives.
What families notice
The signals worth taking seriously.
- 01Tingling or weakness starting in the feet, spreading upward
- 02Loss of reflexes (a clinical sign, but families notice 'jelly legs')
- 03Difficulty walking or climbing stairs
- 04In severe cases: breathing difficulty, swallowing trouble
- 05Pain — often underappreciated, frequently severe
My approach
How the work is structured.
- —Early-phase passive movement, positioning, and respiratory care.
- —Gradual strengthening as nerves remyelinate — without exhausting the recovering tissue.
- —Gait retraining and endurance work through the months-long recovery.
- —Pain management and fatigue pacing as central pillars of the programme.
What recovery looks like
A plain-language picture.
“Most people make a strong recovery over 6 to 18 months. A meaningful minority have residual fatigue or weakness; targeted physiotherapy continues to help these too.”
FAQ
Common questions, answered briefly.
- Why does recovery take so long?
- Nerves regrow at roughly 1 mm per day. Distal recovery (feet, hands) is genuinely slow biology — not poor effort.
- Will I be back to normal?
- Most people are, or close to it. The work doesn't change the underlying biology, but it determines how well you use what returns.