Manual Therapy
Our physiotherapists are skilled in many styles of manual therapy including Mulligan Concept, McKenzie Mechanical Diagnosis & Therapy, Maitland Therapy, and massage.
We wish to be known for our handling skills and “hands on treatments” for those patients with joint stiffness, pain and dysfunction. Often manual therapy will be used to create a window of opportunity to allow the patient to start mobilising again and to exercise without pain.
Mulligan Concept manual therapy is unique in that when indicated the treatment is pain free and readily can be repeated as a home exercise.
The McKenzie Method uses repeated movement and force progressions and is especially useful for diagnosis and treatment of disc injuries.
Maitland techniques are passive and can be graded from a very gentle traction to a high velocity manipulation.
Massage also has a place in manual therapy, improving blood flow , releasing tension and improving lymphatic drainage.
Please advise our receptionist if you are seeking one of these specific methods in your treatment so we can pair you with the appropriate physiotherapist.
Occupational Services
Workplace Assessments
Risk Identification
Work Hardening
Staff Training
Workstation Set-up
Rehabilitation Programs
Graduated Return to Work Plans
We offer contracts for employers seeking regular site visits and casual bookings on an “as needed” basis
Read more about Occupational Services
Post Operative Care
Physio sessions pre-operatively for any orthopaedic surgery is an important step in maximising your recovery. Concentrating on pre-op strengthening and flexibility has been shown to decrease post operative pain and increase the speed of recovery.
Post-operatively your physio will work within your limits every step of the way and get you going on a personalised flexibility and strengthening programme to help you move and function at a higher level, faster.
Sports and Recreational Injuries Treatment
Our physios can help assist with all your sporting and recreational aches and pains. We will help to improve your pain using manual therapy, massage, acupuncture and graduated exercises to get you moving and feeling like normal again, then we will work on ways to help prevent future injury. This may involve things such as a cardio-vascular fitness plan, a maintenance plan for your strength or advice on warming up and cooling down.
A pre-season strength and fitness plan can be tailor made for any sport, which will help prepare you to get stuck straight into your game! For weekend warriors through to elite sports.
Persistent Pain
Our staff utilise a holistic approach to assist patients experiencing persistent pain. Treatment may include traditional modalities such as manual therapy, massage, and acupuncture, but also graduated exercise, sleep hygiene, breathing exercises, relaxation strategies and meditation.
Our goal is to help you find strategies to help you cope with your pain whilst maximising your function and enjoyment of life. Pain education and resilience are key components to helping you successfully manage your pain along with cardiovascular conditioning and strengthening. We are able to liaise with your pain clinic specialists and other health care professionals in a team-based approach.
Physical Conditioning
If you are wanting to improve your physical fitness, our staff can set you up with a specific strength and exercise program to reach your goals. We work with you to develop a program tailored to suit you needs, your baseline abilities and your lifestyle. Focus can be shifted over the program to address areas that you feel may need more attention
The programs can be adjusted to suit home based strengthening and exercise, or gym based depending on what you have access to.
Acupuncture
Acupuncture has been used as a therapeutic treatment for the health of the Chinese people for over 3000 years. Doctors and Physiotherapists are now using it widely in New Zealand.
It involves the insertion of fine needles into the body at specific points to treat a variety of illnesses, injuries or diseases. Many of our physiotherapists have dry needling and advanced western acupuncture skills.
Breathing Retraining and Relaxation Techniques
Breathing is now recognised as having a huge impact on the way the other systems in the body react to stress. Many people have issues with tightness in the chest, anxiety, gut issues, panic attacks, headaches and a myriad of other symptoms which all can be contributed to by poor breathing patterns. Come for a full breathing assessment and learn specific techniques to help control your breathing rhythm and rate and help you control your breathing rather than your breathing controlling you.
Breathing education and support is also essential for those with chronic lung
conditions such as asthma, bronchiectasis and COPD. We can help by teaching you what is happening within your lungs, what to expect in the future and how to deal with your ongoing lung condition. Including regular lung clearance techniques which can be so important in maintaining healthy lungs.
Read more about Breathing Retraining
Pelvic Health
We can offer a complete women’s pelvic health service including for continence, pelvic floor rehabilitation and pelvic pain conditions.
This can be suited to individual needs and go at a pace that suits the individual.
Integrated Care Pathway
Prohealth is part of a growing network of 1500 physios and 200 specialist across the country to deliver ICP services. This is ACC’s new innovation to more effectively manage people with injuries that require multiple rehabilitation services. Benefits to patients include earlier access to treatment, scans, orthopaedic opinion, vocational plans – specifically for knee meniscal injuries, ACL injuries, rotator cuff tears and lumbar disc injuries. Please ask if you would like to know if you qualify for referral to this system.
WHAT TO EXPECT AT YOUR FIRST APPOINTMENT
When you enter our reception area, please introduce yourself to our receptionist. She will give you a Consent form to sign and you will be asked to check all your details to ensure they are accurate (name, address, phone number, date of birth).
Your Physiotherapist will come out and collect you from the Waiting Room. You will be taken to a private room where your Physiotherapist will introduce themselves before taking a comprehensive oral history from you about your injury or condition. Your Physiotherapist will then ask you to undress the injured part of your body and offer you a modesty gown or modesty shorts to wear if appropriate.
Together with the Physiotherapist you will perform a series of movement and balance tests to check for muscle, ligament, tendon or joint injury. At the end of the physical exam, you will be given a provisional diagnosis and explanation by your Physiotherapist.
Your Physiotherapist will then offer you a choice of treatments which may include massage, manual therapy, acupuncture and active exercise. You will also be given education on your current condition, resting positions, whether the use of bracing, strapping, hot or cold treatments are indicated. If your condition is very irritable treatment may be delayed until your next visit to avoid flaring your condition. If you have a very complicated, multi joint problem the assessment may take the full appointment and your treatment will start in earnest at your next visit.