Switch-Physiotherapist-Podiatrist-in-Sydney-logo
BOOK NOW >

NSW LOCKDOWN RESPONSE: WE ARE STILL OPEN

Experienced local physiotherapy health care service

What makes our physiotherapy service different?

Switch-Physiotherapy-in-Sydney-that-can-help-with-back-and-side-pain

The Switch group provides a range of physiotherapy services at our clinics in Penshurst, Concord and Maroubra. We have a very experienced team of physicians with over 65 years combined experience & great written reviews.  We focus on providing an evidence based, personal treatment service for symptoms like neck, knee or back pain, help with chronic sports injuries running assessments and more.

WE LISTEN

With our evidence based approach to health care means we don’t make any assumptions or take things for granted. We spend the time needed to listen and fully understand your health concerns so that we have a deep understanding of what you would like to achieve or get back to doing.

PERSONAL TREATMENT

We create an individualised treatment plan that goes through our 3 key steps to success: Explore,Preparation and Return.

THERAPY & MOVEMENT

We can ensure great results for our clients when we apply our hands on manual therapy techniques and unique movement patterns which gives you a step by step treatment to prevent the pain from returning

WE AVOID QUICK FIXES

We will avoid situations where we are asked for a quick fix, we ensure we go through the cause of the problem, correct it and provide you the right education to prevent it from coming back. This takes time and we have a process that we have developed over many years.

WE FOCUS ON LONG TERM SOLUTIONS

We don’t shy away from the fact that effective physiotherapy treatment takes time and requires a plan of sessions to do it. Other clinics may shy away from the multiple sessions and provide short term pain relief, only for it to return. We provide transparency from day one, there are no shortcuts and to effectively treat most pain issues will require long term solutions.

Some of our client stories

Andy's Back Pain

Injury – Ruptured discs; L3, L4, L5

What was the pain experience before getting treatment: I got to a point where I was unable to walk without intense pain shooting throughout the entirety of my bod, with sciatica pain from back to toes. I was in pain 100% of the time and required ongoing pain-relief (painkillers) throughout the day, every day. I reverted to 3 cortisone injections to try an alleviate this pain (which failed). My Doctor recommended surgery was my only option.

 

What couldn’t Andy do because of the injury: I was unable to exercise. I love running, especially running for a few km’s yet was barely able to walk (hobble) a few metres. General mobility and bending over had been a challenge and I haven’t been unable to play to the fullest with my young son.

 

What was the key to getting help with this injury? Seeking treatment from Alex and getting a treatment plan in place.

 

How was your experience at Switch? Life changing. Seeing that light at the end of the tunnel is something that I owe to Alex and the work he is done to date. Throughout my sessions Alex uses a variety of methods and can pivot his approach based on how I was feeling day to day etc.

 

Now that the injury has been attended to, what can you now do that was a struggle before? Mobility. Though I am still on the path to recovery I can now walk (with minimal pain), and have been able to do so without the need for painkillers. Generally speaking, it gives me that hope to keep a positive mindset.

Sarah's Neck Pain

Injury – Headaches due to tension and tight wrists

What was the pain experience before getting treatment: Pain in my wrists at work and headaches.

 

What couldn’t Sarah do because of the injury: Not being able to do certain motions at work with my wrist.

 

What was the key to getting help with this injury? James chose the right treatment plan for me, and gave me things I can do at home to strengthen my wrist.

 

How was your experience at Switch? Excellent, James is always great whenever I come to see him.

 

Now that the injury has been attended to, what can you now do that was a struggle before? I’m able to use what James has showed me to help assist with my wrist and arms at work.

Kathy's Knee Pain

Injury – No mobility in the knee.

What was the pain experience before getting treatment: Pain in my wrists at work and headaches.

 

What couldn’t Kathy do because of the injury: She wasn’t able to walk her dog for a reasonable distance without pain in her knee.

 

What was the key to getting help with this injury? Strengthening & tightening the muscles around knee.Being put on a program doing correct exercises for my ailment.

 

How was your experience at Switch? My experience at Switch has been very positive as I have had great physiotherapists that we’re concerned with my injuries.

 

Now that the injury has been attended to, what can you now do that was a struggle before? I’m able to walk without knee taped & no pain.Much more active than before as I still do strengthening exercises to maintain health of knee

Jame's Chronic Back Pain

Injury – Lower back injury including muscle spasms.

What was the pain experience before getting treatment: Pain in my wrists at work and headaches.

 

What couldn’t Kathy do because of the injury: I came to James because of the success I have previously had with him with my previous injuries including shin splints and a knee injury. This time I had injured my back, which I had never done before, at the gym using a squatting machine. I couldn’t bend my back at the worst and was always feeling a pain in the lower back after long periods of rest and it inhibited my ability to play sports and go to the gym.

 

What was the key to getting help with this injury? The issue at hand was that I wasn’t using my hips when squatting and bending over. James basically put me through a step by step process to get me back into the gym and playing soccer by showing me how to use my hips when squatting and bending over. This included showing me how to deadlift properly and easing me into the transition by starting off with smaller movements and finishing with the actual deadlift. The process also included the usual massaging and needling which helps a lot.

 

How was your experience at Switch? My experience at Switch was great and it will always be my number choice because of the success I’ve had with past injuries and in particular James’s work. Now that the injury has been attended to I can go back to the gym, play soccer and go back to work knowing that I’m in the best possible condition. My back feels great and I have no worries in doing daily things whether I’m lifting weights at the gym or lifting boxes at work. 

Our simple 3 step approach

We start our journey together by listening to you. It is important that we find out as much as we can about you, your body and what it is that is significant to you. We observe your movement and how the pain you are experiencing is impacting your whole body.
Failing to plan is planning to fail. We take this literally and from the start, our aim is to detail our process of treatment to help prepare your body to move freely and get the results you want. With our focus on manual therapy and movement patterns we will prepare your body with a solid foundation.
What is important to you is important to us! So depending on whether your focus is to eliminate pain forever, get back to a particular exercise or sport, our treatment plan will be fixated around helping you achieve what is important to you.

The most common areas we treat

BACK PAIN

Back pain is the result of injury to the muscles, joints, bones, discs or nerves in your spine.

Most commonly people injure their back through poor posture, prolonged sitting, heavy or repetitive lifting and generally moving in odd ways.

NECK PAIN

Your neck has vertebrae stacked with discs that are kept together with ligaments that are supported by muscles.

Sitting, sleeping, exercise, office work Your neck’s main job is to support and move your head. The neck is very vulnerable to injury that can be caused by poor posture, trauma from an accident or degenerative changes like arthritis.

KNEE PAIN

Knee pain can have causes that aren’t due to underlying disease.

Examples include heavy physical activity, lack of use, injuries such as sprains or strains, sitting in a constrained area or sitting on knees for a prolonged period

SHOULDER PAIN

In your shoulder the rotator cuff is a group of muscles and tendons that keep the upper arm bone held in the shoulder blade socket.

Pain from a problem with the rotator cuff is often called shoulder impingement. The condition can cause swelling, pain or damage to the tendons from repetitive loads, accidents at the gym or even ‘tech neck’

HEEL PAIN

Heel pain is most often caused by plantar fasciitis, a condition that is sometimes also called heel spur syndrome when a spur is present.

Heel pain may also be due to other causes like a stress fracture, tendonitis, arthritis, nerve irritation or even something like a cyst or running incorrectly

FEET PAIN

Feet pain can be caused by poorly fitting shoes, prolonged periods being on your feet, overuse such as long walks or running a marathon, sprains, strains or trauma.

We can identify what is causing feet pain and even look at other areas like your knee, hip or back that is contributing to feet pain.

HEADACHES

Headaches can be aggravated by poor posture, stress, tension, sleeping incorrectly, prolonged mobile phone usage or trauma to the neck.

Treatment techniques may include joint mobilisation, massage and soft tissue release techniques to relieve the joints and muscles in the neck

JOINT PAIN

Commonly injured joints include knees, ankles, shoulders, elbows and wrists.

They can be injured through trauma, general wear and tear, repetitive activities (like tennis elbow), overuse or through overloading the joint. Joints may also be injured as a result of a disease process or systemic condition (such as rheumatoid arthritis or gout.

SPRAINS & STRAINS

Sprains occur when you injure a ligament. A ligament is the supportive tissue which connects bones.

Commonly sprained ligaments include the knee ligaments (ACL, MCL, LCL) and the ankle ligaments (ATFL, CL). Ligaments can also be sprained around the shoulder, primarily around the acromio-clavicular joint.

SPORTS INJURIES

Typical sports injuries include muscle strains and joint sprains and can occur for both experienced or new athletes.

Physiotherapy can help the treatment of these injuries in their early stages so they don’t become chronic and take much longer to heal

WORK RELATED CONDITIONS

You may experience a variety of aches and pains during your working life. Common complaints amongst patients include postural related lower back and neck pain and over-use injuries such as wrist, elbow and shoulder pain from repetitive use of a keyboard, mouse or equipment.

Our physiotherapists will point out possible flaws in your workstation setup and postural alignment when performing certain tasks, such as lifting, driving, climbing, repetitive activities or prolonged sedentary positions

RUNNING ASSESSMENTS

A running assessment identifies areas which may need improvement or finds weak links in the kinetic chain before injury can occur.

It can also identify the areas where you may be placing excessive load on your body and we can show you how you can modify this during your training.

Frequently asked questions about physiotherapy

What is a physio?

A physio is a qualified health practitioner who is focused on helping people out of pain and moving again. Physiotherapists have high levels of expertise in the structure of the human body and its movement. A physio can work with people of all ages to treat a broad range of health conditions including sports injuries, musculoskeletal conditions or even chronic health conditions such as osteoarthritis. The most common symptoms that Clients come to a physio for are things like back pain, neck pain or shoulder pain that can cause headaches or joint pain.

What does a physiotherapist do?

A Switch Physiotherapist will use our simple, evidence based, 3 step approach to identify the cause of your injury or pain to then create a structured care plan that is personalised to help you get moving again, the way you’re meant to. We do this through our three key steps;
 
Explore: find out what it is that you are not able to do, listen to what is important to you and what it is that you want to get back to doing
 
Preparation: through manual therapy and our signature movement patterns we improve and prepare your body to move
 
Return: get you back to the things you love. Our hands on treatment uses unique movement patterns that form part of your individualised treatment plan to ensure that pain is not an obstacle for your everyday movements. We strive to ensure that your individualised treatment plan provides you with all the tools you need to prevent the pain from affecting your movement. We have successfully treated thousands of situations including back pain caused by incorrect posture sitting at a desk or pain from carrying heavy loads repetitively.

What is meant by physiotherapy treatment?

Physiotherapy treatment can vary depending on the style of the physio. Switch is a local physio that provides a range of treatments that include;
  • Hands on manual therapy
  • Dry needling
  • Gusha

These are combined with our own unique movement patterns that help ensure that our physio treatment will help your back, neck, knee or other body parts get moving the way they are meant to. Physiotherapy is treatment that you get with the aim of resorting, maintaining or maximising the most of your available mobility to ensure you can live comfortably day to day. Physiotherapy is focussed on helping you through physical rehabilitation, injury prevention and improving general health levels where you are involved in your recovery.

What conditions do physiotherapists treat?

The Switch physio team treats many conditions including; Neck Pain, Back Pain, Shoulder Pain, Knee pain and Heel pain. Our team has extensive experience treating muscle and skeletal injuries, sporting injuries and post surgery rehabilitation. We help people who have been affected by injury, illness or disability through movement and exercise, manual therapy, education and advice. Sometimes you might not even realise you need a physio but if you are suffering from regular headaches, pain in your joints or even things like muscle strains then a trained physiotherapist may be able to help you

What happens at a physio?

When you book a physio session one of the Switch clinics the first thing our trained staff will do is explore & understand your needs. Using our evidence based approach we don’t assume anything and will create an individualised treatment plan that will cater to your specific health requirements. The teams focus is to reduce pain and improve your body’s ability to move freely like it is meant to. At each session our team will use a range of hands on manual therapy techniques combined with our unique movement patterns to help reduce the pain you are suffering to treat muscular or skeletal issues.

Does physio really work?

The Switch physio team has over 65 years of combined experience and we have seen first hand how physio does really work to address pain and improvement body movement. Our team has been expertly trained to understand how to identify muscular or skeletal issues that might be preventing you from moving freely or causing pain in your neck, back or joints.

Our unique physio treatment methods work effectively when combined with our evidence based individual treatment plans that will focus on providing the right remedy for your situation. We spend the time to understand the outcomes you desire and ensure you can get back to doing the things you love to do as quickly as possible.

Physio can really work for lots of different situations like helping to alleviate regular headaches, rehabilitating a sports injury or reducing joint pain.

Does physio help back pain?

Getting physio to help with back pain is one of the most common health concerns that we treat in our clinics. Modern life sees us sitting at desks for longer periods of time, looking down at our mobile devices for longer and even laying back on a sofa to watch Netflix – all of these everyday scenarios can lead to poor posture and be a contributor to back pain.

Of course there are many other reasons why you might experience back pain such as;

  • Muscle or ligament strain from repeated heavy lifting or a sudden awkward movement that might strain muscles or spinal ligaments. Depending on your physical condition the constant strain on your back may cause painful muscle spasms.
  • Bulging or ruptured disks where the soft material inside a disk can rupture or press on a nerve.
  • Osteoarthritis can affect your lower back where in some cases, arthritis in the spine can lead to a narrowing of the space around the spinal cord, a condition called spinal stenosis.
  • Osteoporosis where your spine’s vertebrae can develop painful fractures if your bones become porous and brittle.
 

In each case our team doesn’t assume anything and takes an evidence based approach to identify the cause of the back pain to then use hands on treatments to help reduce the level of severity. We provide you with the right movement patterns and exercise routines to help reduce the chance of the pain returning.

Can physio make back pain worse?

Back pain should not get worse after receiving physio treatment. In our experience when we have seen clients experience back pain that is worse after treatment is is because they were using the wrong stretches or exercises that have led to further back overload. At Switch we focus on hands on manual therapy techniques that are aimed at settling the pain first, then we apply our unique movement patterns to ensure the rehabilitation won’t overload your back again.

Does physio hurt?

Physio treatment might hurt and we realise this sounds quite vague but everyone’s pain threshold is different. So for some people it may be quite bearable and for others the same amount of pain could be excruciating. Every physio treatment is not only different for every individual but what we apply will vary as well based on the condition of your body.

At Switch we user hands on manual therapy techniques that sometimes need to be applied to very tight muscles which can feel sore or uncomfortable during the treatment. So when we get asked ‘will physio hurt?’, we generally reply that it will and muscles might feel a bit tender the next day, but this is a necessary step to alleviate the pain or lack of movement you are dealing with.

Is physio a waste of time?

Yes absolutely physio is a waste of time for any individual who is looking for quick fixes. At Switch we spend a lot of time and energy to treat the cause of the injury and this requires a very clear plan and time to execute it to ensure that treatment is effective. Yes, you can get a treatment or maybe take medication to mask the pain for the short term but it may not address the injury long term.

Therefore the approach we take at Switch is to turn away people who want quick remedies. Instead, we provide each client with a detailed, individualised treatment plan that focuses on our 3 key steps of explore, preparation and return. We want to ensure that the outcomes of the plan are tailored to your specific needs for long term pain treatment so that physio is not a waste of time.

How long does physio take to work?

Physiotherapy in some cases can help reduce pain instantly after just one session. However, that doesn’t mean that the pain won’t return. It is important to focus on the root cause of the pain so that the area is not overloaded which will then lead to the pain returning. That is why we always make sure our Clients understand there aren’t shortcuts to resolving common pain problems. The length of time it might take physio to show long term signs of improvement will depend greatly on the nature of your injury and how severe it is, obviously each person’s situation will vary.