Mon - Fri: 7am - 7pm Saturday: 8am - 10am
Ph: 02 9665 9667
Shop 4 / 55 Dudley St Coogee
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The initial step in managing your lower back problem is a thorough assessment. This assessment helps us pinpoint any injured or problematic areas in your spine.
After the assessment, we can determine whether it's best to start treatment immediately or if further tests, such as scans, or a referral to a specialist, are needed.
In many cases, we can begin treating the underlying causes of your back problem directly without requiring additional tests or referrals right away.
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The key to diagnosing a back problem is gathering enough information about your symptoms and medical history to paint a clear picture of what's going on. It's really important that we do this well and explain our findings to you in a way that makes sense.
When it comes to recovering from a back issue, it's crucial to recognise and separate the parts of your condition that are directly causing your symptoms from those that aren't as relevant.
Our goal is to identify the aspects of your back problem that we can actually treat, while not getting too caught up on things we can't change or that won't help improve your situation.
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When it comes to treating your back problem, we base our choice of treatments on our assessment of your condition, considering your preferences and health goals.
We offer a variety of treatments, starting from gentle hands-on therapy and movement techniques in our clinic to more intensive exercises and training programs in our gym.
These treatments are customised to help you with any activities you find challenging or are avoiding, whether they're daily tasks, work-related activities, sports, or hobbies.
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A crucial part of our strategy for dealing with your back issue is to help you become self-sufficient in managing it over the long term. We get that you probably don't want to depend on weekly or monthly visits to the physiotherapist just to feel better.
While some people might benefit from regular visits like that, our goal is for you to learn the skills and motivation to do activities that you enjoy and that keep your back healthy.
We want to give you the tools you need to take care of your well-being and manage your back on your own effectively.
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Taking charge of your own back problem can be tough, even if you have all the right advice and tools. It's easy to let life's busy schedule get in the way, especially when you're feeling better.
For many people, when the back issue improves, they lose the drive to keep up the habits that initially helped.
That's why we encourage you to keep in touch with us. Visiting the clinic once or twice a year gives us a chance to catch up and adjust your management plan.
Plus, we offer group exercise sessions to make long-term back care more fun. By turning healthy habits into social activities, it's easier to stick with them in the long run.
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Sudden onset, severe episodes of neck or back pain are surprisingly common. These episodes can be super painful. But usually, the “bark is worse than the bite”. It’s a good idea to visit us so we can rule out any concerning cause of your pain. From there, we can implement treatment to resolve your symptoms and get back to your usual activities.
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Even if we knew for sure that your back pain started with a disc injury, it's crucial to understand that the disc is never the sole driver of a back problem. Once pain is on the scene, regardless of which structure initially got hurt, the way we move and behave changes. We consciously change our actions or avoid certain activities, and our instincts kick in to protect us. And these changes in movement behaviours affect our pain.
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Treating sciatic nerve or nerve root impingement problems is one of our favourite clinical challenges. There is always room for symptom resolution once we get you on the most appropriate treatment , individualised for you.
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Longstanding back pain problems are my specialty. We can help you resolve chronic pain that interferes with your life and the activities you wish to be able to participate in.
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Recovering from spinal surgery needn’t be a scary process. We just have to ensure that we set up your treatment to avoid placing any inappropriate force through your healing structures. And as you’re ready, we can regain strength and mobility through specific exercises to get you back to normal again
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If you have suffered a whiplash injury, particularly a high force injury such as a car crash, it is important to have the injury assessed by a doctor or physio. We can assess your condition to determine whether or not it is necessary for you to have diagnostic imaging such as an x-ray carried out. The purpose of the x-ray would be to rule out the presence of a suspected fracture to one of your neck bones. In the event that a fracture is present, you will likely be admitted to hospital for monitoring and treatment. Depending on the severity of the fracture, you could require surgery.
When the assessment reveals that there is no fracture, or no clinical signs of a fracture or other serious structural pathology, conservative (meaning non invasive, non surgical) management is indicated. This is where our role as physios is really important. If you’ve had a whiplash, and we know that there is no structural damage that has occurred to your neck, it is really important to commence a guided and graded return to your normal occupational and recreational activities sooner rather than later
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Managing a diagnosis of osteoarthritis is one of my favourite jobs as a Physio. It’s all about finding just the right amount of exercise and activity levels to keep your joint(s) happy right now, while at the same time building your capacity so that you can keep doing more in the future.
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Scoliosis was originally a Greek word meaning curved or bent. Today it is a word used to describe a common type of spinal curvature. Scoliosis is simply a descriptive term, like headache- it is not a precise diagnosis. In other words, if you have had some imaging like an x-ray, or some other form of assessment that indicates that you have a spine that curves laterally, the next step is to work out why your spine is curved in such a manner.
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We address unhelpful layers of guarding and spasm with targeted massage interventions
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Joint mobilisation interventions lead to enhanced mobility, reduced pain, and increased confidence in resuming physical activity involving specific joint surfaces in the body.
These interventions facilitate a transition from a "protective" to a "relaxed" state, promoting smoother joint movement and better circulation in joint tissues, muscles, and nerve pathways. This sets the stage for alleviating pain and other symptoms.
Benefits include enhanced flexibility, greater confidence in movement, and pain reduction.
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We know it's important to for you to learn exercises you can do on your own to recover from your injury and to avoid future recurring problems.
We provide you with options to do in your own home, workplace, gym or other preferred exercise setting
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We inquire about activities that exacerbate or alleviate your symptoms. Understanding how your symptoms react to specific activities enables us to tailor a treatment plan to suit your individual requirements.
Optimal treatment results are achieved when we identify and assist you in adjusting the intensity, frequency, and duration of movement habits or activities that may be contributing to your symptoms. We always take into account:
Load Intensity: The level of stress imposed by the activity.
Load Frequency: How often the activity is undertaken.
Load Duration: The duration for which the activity is sustained.
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We couple our massage and manual therapy interventions with "active" alternatives that empower you to manage your symptoms independently, should the need or preference arise. These include:
Static stretching
Dynamic stretching
Self-Mobilisation
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In a physiotherapy setting, graded strength and conditioning play a pivotal role in rehabilitation. It's our duty to ensure that you build the appropriate level of strength and control aligned with your stage of recovery. Our goal is to strategically plan your progress so that by the end of treatment, you not only regain your previous level of function but surpass it, ensuring you're fully prepared to return to your daily activities.
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We want you to be able to do the things that your back problem is a barrier to. You might have a really specific goal, like being able to participate in next year's city2surf. Or maybe your goal is to simply to be able to sit at your desk without pain. However you back problem is impacting your life, we want to learn about it, and help you get back to living your life the way you'd prefer.
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We specialise in treating spinal conditions, from acute onset low back pain to chronic cases, post-surgery recovery, disc injuries, and conditions like spondylitis and spondyloarthropathies
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We focus on creating customised treatment plans that fit your specific needs and goals.
Whether you want to get back to playing sports, back to work, or simply move through daily activities with more ease, our goal is to help you regain mobility and strength so you can pursue what matters to you.
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We take pride in providing treatments based on the most up-to-date research and evidence-based methods. Our approach highlights the importance of early diagnosis, making clear decisions, and reducing excessive worry about the severity of your condition—especially important when pain is severe and concerning.
We are committed to supporting you throughout your journey, building a strong relationship and open communication to instill trust and confidence in your treatment plan.
Our dedication goes beyond just relieving symptoms; it's about empowering you to take control and get back to a fulfilling life with the activities that matter most to you.
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We're dedicated to equipping you with the essential knowledge and tools to actively manage your spinal health.
Through personalised education and guidance, we empower you to make informed decisions and adopt preventive measures, ensuring long-term well-being and vitality
If you’re unsure of your treatment needs, please feel free to call us. We can discuss your situation and help you decide what to do next.
P: 02 9665 9667
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Lower back injuries are commonly associated with squatting and deadlifting, with many attributing their pain to these specific movements. But it's helpful to recognise that back injuries are multifaceted, influenced by a myriad of factors including stress, sleep quality, and overall well-being.
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Have you ever been told that x-ray findings like a bulging or herniated disc are solely to blame for your back pain? It's time to rewrite that narrative.
Read More…
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A noteworthy aspect of chronic pain is the changed movement behaviours adopted by those experiencing it. Pain serves as a powerful motivator, prompting individuals to alter behaviour to either avoid future discomfort or minimise existing pain. These adaptive movements can be viewed as a type of "protection mode."
While a protection mode proves beneficial for acute injuries, aiding healing by modifying movement and load on injured structures, its persistence in chronic pain scenarios is less constructive. In many cases, there may not be a specific injury to safeguard against, resulting in a self-sustaining loop where pain and protective movement behaviour reinforce each other.
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What’s behind the push for “good” posture? It's a case of confusing what looks healthy with what actually is healthy. Sure, walking into a job interview with a straight back looks impressive, but looking healthy doesn't equal being healthy.
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A typical episode of severe low back pain, for which there is no serious underlying cause will settle down over a 1-2 week period. Most often, people feel about 80% recovered after 7-10days.
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The message that has long since been propagated is two fold:
that a weak core predisposes one to lower back injury and pain
that the resolution of back pain is contingent upon strengthening of the core
We now know that there is more to back pain than what is implied by these two propositions… things just aren’t that black and white.
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Cracking or popping your own back often brings about a sense of easier movement and a reduced sense of pain and stiffness. But is it a bad thing to do?