Back and Neck Pain
The Thrive Physio Plus team has an arsenal of skills to help you get on top of your back and neck pain. As with most injuries, simply getting you out of pain is only 50% of the picture. In conjunction with getting you strong and mobile to assist in your recovery and prevent re-injury, the Thrive Physio Plus also has therapists highly skilled in the McKenzie Method of spinal assessment and management. The McKenzie method is a philosophy for the assessment and management of back and neck pain, and is used clinicians and clients worldwide. This approach remains one of the most researched Physiotherapy based techniques available. It is a safe and reliable way to diagnose spinal pain, and empowers the client to learn the skills to manage their symptoms independently. These skills, when applied properly, will alleviate pain and prevent recurrence when used over the longer term. It’s a great method of helping you regain control of your life, and provides you with the tools necessary to help yourself! Headaches
Our headache treatments are unrivalled in the physio world for their investigative accuracy and results. With clinicians trained in the Watson Headache Approach, we can confirm if disorders in the upper neck are responsible for headache or migraine and determine the exact nature of the disorder as well as which spinal joints are involved. There is no guesswork and no cracking or manipulation. Its unique and powerful feature involves temporary reproduction and resolution (easing) of usual head pain. For further information, go to:
www.WatsonHeadacheApproach.com Stop relying on medication and start living an unburdened life.
Physio Supervised Exercise/Pilates
1:4 or 1:1 Physio directed exercise tailored to your individual goals and needs. All participants require a 1:1 Physiotherapy assessment prior to commencing to ensure we can collaborate on goals, understand your injury history, and get you familiar with the equipment. During your session we will progress and modify your exercises as needed to ensure you’re exercising safely and to a level suitable for you. Suitable for all ages, genders, goals, injuries, fitness levels and pre and post-natal, your body will thank you for it.
Sports Injury
AFL superstar or weekend warrior – it’s all the same to us. The Thrive Physio Plus team has extensive experience working with athletes of all sports and can diagnose, rehabilitate, and empower you to get back into action in the best time frame possible. More importantly, we recognise it’s not just good enough getting you back sport, you need to stay healthy! We have the knowledge and experience to minimise the risk of re-injury through evidence based rehabilitation strategies. Book in for a pre-game tune up, post-game loosen up, or a pre-season assessment now to ensure your body is functioning at its best!
Pre and Postoperative Rehabilitation
Recent research evidence indicates that Physiotherapy prior to joint replacement surgery may improve early postoperative pain and function. This process, referred to as prehabiliation, serves to reduce pain and swelling, restore range of movement, improve muscular control of your injured area and facilitate proprioceptive awareness and normal movement patterns. This enables you to ‘hit the ground running’ after your procedure. It’s also a great opportunity to understand the process of what needs to happen after your operation. The Thrive Physio Plus team can help provide clear goals, immediate home management strategies, and make you feel more at ease about what needs to be done to get you back to where you want to be.
Pre and Postnatal Care
Give your body the strength it needs at the time it needs it most. Prenatal, the Thrive Physio Plus team can help you prepare your body in a safe and fun environment. This includes advice and Pilates/strength training to prevent and manage pelvic girdle pain and other musculoskeletal issues typically seen during this period. We’ll also ensure you do this as safe as possible. Postnatal, we can get you back to everything you’ve been longing for over the last 40 weeks! With particular focus on the areas of your body that are in need of some much needed help under the extra loads associated with feeding, holding and carrying your new baby. With guidance from your obstetrician, we’ll be sure to make sure all the boxes are ticked for you to safely resume your most loved activities.
Temperomandibular Joint Dysfunction
The temperomandibular joint, or the jaw joint as it’s commonly known, is the most used joint in the body. Like any joint in the body however, things can go wrong. This can cause difficulty and pain when eating, smiling, or laughing. After assessment with a Thrive Physio Plus clinician experienced in treating TMJ dysfunction, treatment may include targeted, gentle mobilization of the affected structures, massage, home exercises and education about your condition to manage it at home and into the future. Look after your TMJs, and you’ll never bite off more than you can chew again! 
Sciatica Treatment
What is Sciatica?
Sciatica is an umbrella term used to describe pain that travels down the back of the leg, as low down as the feet and toes. There can also be symptoms such as altered sensation, tingling and muscle weakness. What causes Sciatica?
The nerves that supply your leg originate from your spinal cord, which exit through little spaces in the side of your spine. These small nerves (called nerve roots) join together and form the large nerve known as the sciatic nerve. It is this nerve that then passes through the buttock and down into your leg. Sciatica can be caused by: 1) Compression and irritation to the nerve roots close to your spine by issues like bulging discs or inflammation causing increased pressure on the nerves. 2) Compression and irritation of the sciatic nerve which passes through your buttocks and travels down your leg. This can be caused by a muscle irritating the sciatic nerve as passes through it (this is known as piriformis syndrome). Essentially, sciatica is an irritation of the nerves in your spine, or in your buttock. How can Physio help me?
1) Sciatica treatment in the early stages involves a strong focus on reducing your pain with manual therapy, dry needling, gentle nerve stretching, and spinal mobility work to reduce the sensitivity of the irritated nerve. This usually yields great relief and a significant reduction in symptoms in 1-4 visits. 2) Ensuring long term results and minimising the chance of your symptoms returning by completing a personalised rehabilitation plan. There’s a structured approach to ensuring we address sciatica properly (see the early, mid and late stage exercises below). Getting you pain free is our first priority, but it’s our attention to detail in helping you rehabilitate through the entire journey that ensures our results are unrivalled and your symptoms don’t return. 3) Ensuring you have no lingering weakness that will affect your function and quality of life moving forward. With moderate to severe sciatica symptoms, once your pain resolves sometimes there’s often some left over weakness that make your usual tasks harder than they’d normally be. To get back to your normal self, this needs to be addressed. A thorough Physiotherapy assessment can help identify what’s lacking, and give you the knowledge to fix it. 4) Advice and education on positioning, posturing and the level activity suitable for you to allow your symptoms to settle and keep you comfortable whilst our treatment is having the desired effect. We’ll also give you the advice you need to gradually build back up to the activity level you want in a safe and non-detrimental way. 
