Musculoskeletal physiotherapy
The everyday work of the practice: backs that seize up, necks that ache at a desk, shoulders that catch overhead, hips and knees that complain on stairs. Roughly two thirds of the people we see come in with one of those.
We are looking for the cause of the load, not just the sore spot
A painful shoulder is often a shoulder that has been asked to do more than it has been trained for, and a stubborn low back is often a back doing the work a stiff hip has stopped doing. So the examination goes wider than the area that hurts, and the plan usually changes something about how you load it rather than only treating the tissue.
Most problems settle in between two and six appointments. Persistent pain that has been around for months takes longer, and we will say so at the first visit rather than at the sixth. We do not sell blocks of appointments, and we will tell you when we think you no longer need us.
You do not need a doctor's referral to book. Bring one if you have it, and bring any scans — but a referral is only required if you are claiming through a Medicare plan, DVA, a work injury or a motor accident claim.
Where the 45 minutes actually goes
Open each part to see what happens and how long it usually takes. Every appointment is a bit different, but this is the shape of a first visit.
10 min
What happened, when, and what you have already tried. What makes it worse by the end of the day, and what you cannot do at the moment that you would like to. If you have had imaging, we look at the report with you rather than at you.
This part matters more than people expect. Most of what we need to work out comes from the story; the examination confirms or rules it out.
15 min
Watching how you move, then measuring it: range of movement, strength through the relevant muscle groups, joint testing, and nerve testing where symptoms travel into an arm or leg. For a low back we will usually look at the hips and how you load through a single leg too.
You will be asked to move in ways that reproduce the problem. Nothing is done without telling you what it is for.
12 min
Joint mobilisation, soft tissue work, and dry needling where it suits the problem. It is used to make movement easier now, so the loading work has a chance to change things over the following weeks. We do not treat hands-on alone, because on its own it tends not to hold.
8 min
Two or three exercises, written down with the sets and reps, and a straight answer on what we expect to change and roughly when. You will also get the short version of what to avoid and, more usefully, what is safe to keep doing.
Standard appointment $95. A follow-up is $85 and runs 30 minutes. Fees include GST where applicable.
Ready when you are
Most new enquiries are seen within two working days. Ring reception or send the enquiry form and we will come back to you the same working day.