Experience first
Begin by watching the WIDE Card. You do not have to move or copy the figure.
MoveWide is the home of WIDE
Help with a movement that is still painful, tiring or difficult.
WIDE helps you look at one everyday movement in different ways.
You can watch it, imagine yourself doing it, try a smaller version, take more time, pause before coming back or do a little only if you choose. You can then notice whether one way feels more comfortable, easier or less tiring—and what happens afterwards.
You do not have to copy a perfect movement, complete the whole movement or keep doing more.
The public Card is free to try. It does not diagnose you, use a camera, create an account or store health information.
You choose what to do
No fixed progression
Developed by an HCPC-registered physiotherapist
Try WIDE now
Watch the seated figure move. You do not have to move yourself.
This short Card lets you watch one movement and choose what you would like to do next. You can watch again, picture the movement yourself or leave it there. Watching once can be enough.
This public Card shows a small part of WIDE. It does not diagnose or assess you, use a camera, create an account or store health information.
Open the Card on its own page →Gradus™ by WIDE
Continue one short part at a time.
Gradus is the step-by-step form WIDE takes. The first Gradus Foundations course begins with the short WIDE experience, then looks at the whole result of a movement and what may be useful next.
Look at the whole result
Consider what the movement took, what happened afterwards and what remained possible.
Choose what may help next
Keep something useful, change the approach, pause, discuss it or leave it there.
The course has no quiz, score, pass mark, camera or account. Your place and optional notes
stay in this browser on this device and are not sent to WIDE.
Gradus Foundations: Movement is more than completion. About 12–18 minutes in six short parts. You can stop and return later.
Free Movement Cost Check-in
What happened during and after the activity?
Finishing an activity is only part of the result. It may also involve pain, effort, tiredness, recovery time or giving up something else afterwards.
Before
Note what you expected the activity to take and anything else you hoped to do afterwards.
At the time
Record what you did, what helped and whether it felt different from what you expected.
Afterwards
Add what happened later, how long recovery took and what you could still do.
Your check-ins stay in your browser on this device. They are not sent to WIDE.
You do not need an account and you do not need to use the tool every day.
Different ways to try a movement
There is more than one way to do the same movement.
Two ways of doing the same movement may look similar but feel very different. One may cause more pain, take more effort, feel more tiring or take longer to recover from.
Do less
- move less far
- stop sooner
- do only one part
- watch or imagine it instead
Change the setup
- bring the object nearer
- make more space
- change where you begin
- ask someone to help with the task
Take more time
- begin more slowly
- pause before turning back
- take more time coming back
- stop when you have done enough
WIDE does not ask you to copy one correct way of moving. It helps you notice which way feels
more comfortable, easier to understand or more manageable for you.
How WIDE works
Start with something you want or need to do.
WIDE does not begin with a list of exercises. It begins with something in daily life, the part that is hard, and what happens during and after it.
1
Choose the activity
It might be bending to dress, turning in bed, reaching, getting out of a chair, gardening, working or another part of daily life.
2
Find the difficult part
What hurts? What feels tiring or hard to trust? What takes a long time to recover from?
3
Look at other ways
Watch, imagine, make the movement smaller, take more time, pause or try a little if you choose.
4
Keep what helped
A personal WIDE Card can keep a useful way to return to the movement. Next time, you can check whether it still feels right.
What makes WIDE different
It is not an exercise list or a programme that keeps asking for more.
WIDE pays attention to the whole result: whether you could do the movement, how it felt, what helped, how long recovery took and what you were still able to do afterwards.
You stay in control
You can watch, imagine, try a little, do less or stop. Physical movement is not compulsory.
More than one way
WIDE does not assume that everyone should copy the same movement or use the same amount of effort.
What happens later matters
A movement may feel manageable at first but lead to more pain, fatigue or a long recovery later. WIDE pays attention to that too.
WIDE does not replace medical assessment, urgent care, specialist treatment or an in-person examination
when one is needed. It does not assess fitness for work or decide what someone should be able to do.
Who WIDE may help
When you can do the movement—but it still takes too much out of you.
You may be able to finish the movement but have to brace, plan around it, recover for hours or give up something else later in the day.
Painful or difficult movement
Bending, turning, reaching, sitting, standing, walking or another everyday movement remains painful or hard to approach.
Fatigue or a long recovery
What feels possible changes from day to day, or the movement leaves you more tired or unwell later.
Daily life is getting smaller
Work, dressing, gardening, hobbies, family life or leaving the house are becoming harder.
ME/CFS, Long COVID and symptoms that worsen after activity need particular care. Watching and imagining can also be tiring. WIDE does not assume that doing more is the right answer, and specialist advice may be needed.
Evidence and development
The digital version is new. The work behind it is not.
WIDE has grown from four decades of rehabilitation, movement measurement and work with people whose pain or disability continued to limit daily life. The present digital Cards are being developed and evaluated now.
A movement changed straight away, and the person’s back pain resolved.
A physically active woman who did a great deal of gardening developed back pain. One relevant movement was uneven and uncomfortable. She pictured and experienced the movement differently. The movement changed immediately and the pain resolved.
This is one clinical case. It does not predict the same result for everyone
or prove that the current digital WIDE Card is effective.
Dr Krystyna Walton, former President of the British Society of Rehabilitation Medicine, described one person’s progress through the clinical approach behind WIDE as “phenomenal.”
This was a comment about one person, quoted with written permission.
It is not a general endorsement or a clinical trial result.
Earlier programme — Westfield / Hart Owens, 2001
High completion and large changes in recorded trunk movement speed.
Twenty-four people with longstanding low-back pain began a six-week programme. Twenty-three completed it, and every person who completed it improved in the recorded movement measures.
96%
completed the programme — 23 of 24 people
100%
of those who completed it improved in the recorded movement measures
+144%
average speed while bending forward — from 37.3 to 91.1°/s
+133%
average speed while coming back — from 44.8 to 104.3°/s
Why movement speed matters: trunk movement speed can be an important indicator in low-back-pain assessment because it shows how movement happens through time, not only how far someone can move. Research has found that speed can help distinguish people with low-back pain from people without it and may show differences that range alone misses. This does not mean that people should be told to move faster. Speed must be considered alongside pain, effort, fatigue, confidence, daily function and recovery.
Background research: Marras and Wongsam on lumbar movement range and speed and later research on movement range and speed measures.
Signed accounts from participants described changes in pain, mobility, stiffness, medication, self-management, work and everyday activity.
Percentages are rounded. This was an earlier programme, not a study of the present digital WIDE system.
It gives a reason for further research, not proof that the current product works.
Founding WIDE First Look
Bring one movement or activity that is still causing a problem.
WIDE is opening a small number of founding places while the remote service and digital Card are introduced and evaluated.
- One 45–50 minute remote session with Nicholas Barrow
- A check that remote support appears suitable
- A close look at one movement or activity
- Attention to pain, fatigue, confidence and what happens afterwards
- Watching and imagining different ways to approach the movement
- Changing the starting position, movement size, timing or task setup where useful
- Physical movement only when appropriate and chosen
- A personal WIDE Card containing what appeared useful
- One 20-minute remote review after 7–10 days
- Clear advice about continuing, stopping or seeking another kind of care
Remote sessions
Start from home.
A remote session can make it easier to look at movement in the place where daily life happens. It can include conversation, watching, imagining, trying different amounts of help and reviewing what changed.
Remote WIDE begins with a suitability check. It does not replace an in-person examination, hands-on care or specialist treatment when one is needed.
Is remote physiotherapy established?
Yes. The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy provides guidance on safe, personalised and appropriate remote consultations.
Read the CSP guidance on remote consultations →
The CSP does not endorse WIDE. This link explains the professional background to remote physiotherapy.
Suitability
Who the founding service is for.
The founding service is for UK adults who want help with one recognisable movement or activity. It is not an emergency, diagnostic, benefits or work-capacity assessment service.
It may be appropriate when
- one everyday movement is painful, tiring, difficult or costly afterwards
- advice or exercises have not changed it enough
- you want to watch it, imagine it, make it smaller, take more time or change the setup
- you are comfortable using a video consultation
It is not the right first step when
- symptoms are severe, unusual, rapidly changing or need urgent medical attention
- you clearly need an in-person examination or specialist treatment first
- you are seeking a diagnosis, emergency advice, benefits or work-capacity assessment
- you are under 18
About Nicholas Barrow
Four decades of clinical, movement and digital work.
Nicholas is an HCPC-registered physiotherapist and clinical biomechanist. His work has included neurological and musculoskeletal rehabilitation, Employment Service and Westfield programmes, movement measurement, remote clinical development and invited professional presentations.
HCPC Registration PH31075
Chartered Society of Physiotherapy member
Postgraduate Diploma in Biomechanics
Invited speaker at the Royal Society of Medicine
International physiotherapy and biomechanics presentations
Founder, WIDE Rehab Evidence Ltd
Next steps
One movement still has not changed enough?
Individuals can request a founding WIDE First Look. Professionals and organisations can request a short clinical, service or partnership discussion.
Questions
Before you request a place.
Is WIDE an exercise programme?
No. WIDE does not give everyone the same exercises or require fixed progression. It helps you watch, imagine and compare different ways to approach a movement. Physical movement is used only when appropriate and chosen.
Does WIDE teach one correct way to move?
No. Two ways of completing the same movement may feel very different. WIDE helps you notice pain, effort, confidence, fatigue, recovery and what feels useful to you.
What does a WIDE Card save?
A Card can keep the movement, the way you watched or tried it, the help you used, what changed and what may be useful next time. It is something to return to, not a rule.
What if fatigue or delayed symptoms are part of the problem?
Tell WIDE before any physical movement. Feeling comfortable straight away is not the only thing that matters. Later pain, fatigue, symptom worsening and recovery time also need attention. Watching only, doing less or stopping may be appropriate, and some conditions need specialist advice.
Will WIDE diagnose my condition?
No. WIDE checks for anything that may need urgent, medical, specialist or in-person assessment. A First Look then focuses on the movement or activity that is causing a problem.
Does requesting a founding place book or charge me?
No. It sends a short request to WIDE. Nicholas will review whether a remote First Look appears suitable and will then send the full details and booking options. Payment is not taken through the public request form.
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