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Home Visits Atlas Physio is happy to provide you with clinical sessions in the privacy of your own home. We provide these services for clients who cannot make it to our clinic in Fairfield, for those clients who would prefer a more convenient and time-sensitive consultation, or for those clients whose state of health means that they cannot leave their places of residence or care. Atlas Physio has provided in-home care to clients in their own houses, in retirement homes, and in residential aged care facilities. Since its founding, Atlas Physio has served the communities of the North and Northeast suburbs including Thornbury, Northcote, Westgarth, Ivanhoe, Heidelberg, Abbotsford, Darebin, Brunswick, Preston, Coburg, Fairfield, Reservoir and Alphington. Home visits are conducted differently to normal clinical visits - be sure to familiarise yourself with the differences between home and in-clinic visits. Scheduling Home visits are not able to be scheduled online. To schedule a home visit, dial 0400 174 015 to speak to a clinician and to schedule your visit. Payment Home visits are charged differently to in-clinic appointments. This is to address costs associated with travel, time, and the unique needs of our patients' in-home environments. Be sure to familiarise yourself with the differences in pricing as noted in our fee schedule. Specials Sessions conducted on a home-visit basis are eligible for discounts. Attendance Policy Once a home visit has been scheduled and confirmed, it is your responsibility to be present at the nominated address at the nominated time. In the event that the client resides in a gated community, critical care unit or other such location that requires security access, you are responsible to inform the administrators of that location that the appointment is taking place. Cancellation Policy Home visits may be cancelled with at least 24-hours notice. Confidentiality Home visits conducted in assisted retirement homes, residential aged care facilities, domiciles, critical care units and other supervised residences may require our clinicians to liaise with other medical staff. In this event, we will abide by the consent and privacy policy stated on our website, and we will always endeavour to respect our patients' confidentiality.

Elbow Pain Elbow Pain refers to any pain felt below the middle of the upper arm, and above the wrist. The elbow is the primary joint at which your arm bends forward and back, as well as the point at which it rotates the wrist. It is the point of attachment of many muscles that generate power, as well as muscles which offer fine control of the fingers and the wrist. For this reason, elbow pain is common in professions with involved or comprehensive upper limb movements, and may be felt by one in three people over the course of their lives. The elbow is made up of the humerus, the upper bone of the arm, as well as the lower bones of the arm called the radius and the ulna. These three bones all interlock at the elbow joint, and are held in place by ligaments that bridge the joint, as well as by the overlying muscles. The elbow needs to be very flexible in order to accommodate dextrous movements of the upper limb, as well as stable and solid enough that force can be generated using the arm to push, pull, and rotate objects in the world. For this reason, the elbow is a stable but dynamic joint. The elbow is also covered in muscles that move both the elbow and the wrist, as well as the hand. The muscles that control the fine movements of the fingers all originate from the elbow, before travelling down through the forearm and through the carpal tunnel before attaching to the fingers and producing precise, controlled action. For this reason, pain in the elbow can result in clumsiness, weakness, or pain in the hand. This can be confronting to people who rely on their dexterity to navigate the world. The elbow is most commonly injured through acute trauma such as a fall or a bad knock. It is common for a strike or blow to the elbow to cause swelling, stiffness, pain, and a loss of function. Such impacts may occur during the course of sporting or work-related activities, or may just as easily be the result of domestic clumsiness. Conversely, the elbow can also experience injury as a result of long-term changes such as wear-down of the joint surfaces or progressive weakness in the muscles overlying it, as is the course in ageing. Management of Elbow Pain depends on the cause of the pain, how it feels and changes over the day, what makes it better or worse, and the length of time you have been experiencing the pain. All of these factors will be addressed in your initial assessment, which is the first step towards minimising and managing any pain or discomfort. The treatment you receive will be tailored to address the specific cause of your discomfort, and will focus on minimising pain, maximising your ability to move pain free, and developing a plan to minimise the risk of a flare-up in the future. At Atlas Physio, we will provide you with education, structured management, and ongoing monitoring of your pain both in and out of the clinic. Contact us to arrange an assessment, and to take the first step on a course of corrective care today.

Joint Replacement Joint replacements are surgeries conducted to replace bony human joints with prostheses to restore function and minimise pain. Every year in Australia, over one-hundred thousand surgeries are performed to replace knees and hips alone. Other joints like the shoulders, the elbows, and ankles can also be replaced, but hip and knee surgeries are by far the most common. People elect to undergo joint replacement surgeries for many reasons, but the most common is because the joint is painful to use because of age-related weardown of one of its component parts. Taking the knee as an example, the most common reason for a knee replacement is to ease pain caused by arthritis. Joint replacements are surgeries and so will require post-surgical physiotherapy, which will usually be provided as part of your care either as a hospital or rehabilitation inpatient, by visiting a recommended clinic, by physiotherapy service at your home, or a combination of these. Joint replacement requires specific rehabilitation and management given that surgeries to the knees, the hips, and the shoulders all have potential to affect how people navigate their homes, undertake their work, and care for themselves. For this reason, your physiotherapist will usually communicate directly with the consult and management team overseeing your procedure, to relay any concerns and so that your primary clinician or consultant can communicate any specific orders or precautions to your treating therapist. Physiotherapy assessment and management is important to provide patients with education and orientation regarding the nature of the surgery and its benefits, risks, outcomes and timecourse so that people can make informed decisions. Often, physiotherapy management in joint replacement will involve prehabilitation of the joint before surgery occurs. Undergoing exercise and conditioning before surgery puts the limb in as strong a position it can be before the procedure, which has been proven to improve the speed and quality of recovery following the operation. Prehabilitation is also useful to manage symptoms in anticipation of an operation being undertaken, given that public system waiting lists can be long and changes can occur during that time. Physiotherapy input following joint replacement is important for two reasons. Firstly, because surgical procedures require causing damage to the body to achieve a therapeutic aim, rehabilitation will focus on restoring the limb to as good a functional state as it can be before undertaking heavier exercise or returning to work and life. Rehabilitation will be patient-and joint-specific but may include manual therapy, progressive exercise therapy, swelling management, gait re-education, and postural correction. Your physiotherapist will use a combination of techniques to come up with an individualised rehabilitation plan, guided by your needs and deficits, as well as the surgeon’s protocol. Secondly, physiotherapy rehabilitation is necessary to minimise complications such as stiffness, pain and weakness. During the process of healing, scar tissue formation and inflammation can make moving and getting around painful, and if not managed correctly, can be inhibitive to exercise and affect a patient's outcomes. Following surgery, the combination of inflammation, pain, and post-operative orders can result in weakness of the muscles around the joint, firstly due to their injury as part of the surgical process, then due to lack of use due to precautions, and even potentially for longer periods of time if the use of the injured limb is compensated for by the use of the opposite side. Management of your discomfort depends on its causative factors, how it feels and changes during the day, what makes it better and worse, and the length of time you have been experiencing that pain. All of these factors will be addressed in your initial assessment, which is the first step toward managing and minimising any pain or discomfort. The treatment you receive will be tailored to address the specific cause of your discomfort, and will focus on minimising pain, maximising your ability to move pain-free, and developing a plan to minimise the risk of a flare-up in the future. At Atlas Physio, we will provide you with education, structured management, and ongoing monitoring of your pain both in-clinic and out. Contact us to arrange an assessment, and to take the first step on a course of corrective care today.

Exercise Therapeutic exercise is the development, prescription, and monitoring of an exercise program with the aim of improving and consolidating function over time. ​ The use of exercise as medicine has been well-established since the sixteenth century, and the benefits of an exercise program are extensive. Independent exercise programs offer simple, flexible, and adaptable means by which you as the patient can continue to enjoy free and easy movement outside of the clinic. ​ Simple exercise programs involve the prescription of basic movements to capitalise on gains made in the clinic. For example, if stretching, massage and manipulation of one joint improves its flexibility, you will receive a program of exercises designed to maximise and maintain those improvements out of the clinic as well. These exercises will most likely be based on the exercises that you performed in clinic, and will be developed in consultation with your treating clinician. ​ More complex exercise programs involve the prescription of programs composed of many different movements. These programs may require initial supervision in a gym environment as well as monitoring to make sure the prescribed exercises are appropriate. These programs may be developed in consultation with doctors or physiologists to maximise their effectiveness. ​ Not every patient will be immediately appropriate for exercises. The exercises you receive will be tailored to you and your desired clinical outcome, as well as closely monitored for effectiveness. Feel free to discuss your exercise program with your clinician, either in or out of the clinic.

Assessments and Reviews In order to receive services as an NDIS client, you will need to be assessed by a clinician before beginning your treatment. In this assessment, your clinician will discuss your situation, your medical history as well as any other information that may be relevant, and may refer to or discuss your NDIS Plan when developing your physiotherapy plan. The purpose of this assessment is to create a comprehensive picture of you and your situation as it is when you first begin engaging with treatment. This lets your physiotherapist consider how physiotherapy can support you to achieve your goals, if there is any additional input you need like a different service, equipment, reporting or review, and it lets you talk about what is important to you and how you want to achieve that. Every person who is seen by a physiotherapist is assessed in a similar manner. As a client of the NDIS, however, this assessment is more thorough because your physiotherapist's findings will be used to develop the treatment that you receive. This treatment will balance things like exercises, reports, and equipment purchases against the funding you have in your plan. It's important that this is discussed and agreed on, because too much of any one therapy or service may exhaust the funds in your plan, and too little therapy or therapy that is ineffective may not be enough to make meaningful progress towards your goals. For this reason, as an NDIS client, your assessment may be conducted over more than one session and may take more time before a treatment plan is developed. This is to account for the fact that every person's context is different, and clients with profound, unique, or complicated disabilities require more consideration and review to ensure that they are receiving services that are appropriate and sustainable for them. This also applies for clients who have unique social contexts, like those living in supported accommodation or in inconsistent housing situations. Regardless of your context, your initial assessment is your opportunity to let your clinician know exactly what you want to do, what you're finding difficult, and what you want to achieve. This gives your clinician the tools to figure out a plan between what you can do now and what you want to do in the future, and to address the physical, situational, and personal difficulties that need to be overcome in order for you to achieve your goals successfully and comfortably. Your clinician will listen to you and write down the things you want to do, and will make sure to do this in a thorough and comprehensive manner so that it forms a strong basis for treatment. Good treatment starts with a comprehensive assessment, which includes lots of talking, asking questions, and moving around. This is so your clinician can get the clearest picture of you as an individual: what you like, what you want to do, what your difficulties are and how physiotherapy can help you. It is the first step on a journey of hard work and effort, and is your opportunity to advocate for and discuss the things you want to achieve, and let us know how we can help you live the life you want.

Frailty Frailty is a clinical state that is associated with an increased risk of harm, admission to hospital, disability, and poorer quality of life. Frailty refers to a loss of physical strength and physiological reserve, means that an individual living with frailty is more vulnerable to the physically stressing effects of diseases, infections, and injuries. Because of this increased vulnerability, individuals who are frail sometimes require increased care support and monitoring, from medical and allied health, social supports, and personal care. While there is no absolute standard for frailty, the commonly accepted characteristics of present and increasing frailty include unintentional weightloss, an increasing sense of difficulty in performing reglar tasks like self-care, decreasing engagement with physical activity, slow walking speed, and physical weakness. Not all of these factors need to be present in an individual to classify them as medically frail. The effect of these factors can be amplified by other issues such as disabilities, diseases, physical and cognitive impairments and other risk factors. Frailty is most commonly seen in the elderly, though any individual can experience frailty as a consequence of illness, injury, or some other factor that depletes the body's ability to maintain itself. For this reason, while frailty is associated with ageing, frailty is a problem separate to ageing and increasing geriatry. Because of this, anyone who experiences a chronic illness, who spends a long time in hospital, or who becomes injured runs the risk of frailty. Management of frailty through engagement with physiotherapy depends on the degree of impairment and physical change that the individual has experienced as a consequence of their frailty. If someone at risk of developing frailty is attended to rapidly, they stand a greater chance of avoiding more serious effects of weakness and poor energy. For those individuals whose frailty has progressed to the extent that they experience difficulty walking, moving, and engaging with structured exercise, physiotherapy focuses on basic reconditioning with a view to minimising future risk. Regardless of the factors contributing to frailty or the aims of the treatment, management of the frail individual is always multi-disciplinary, requiring oversight from a medical practitioner like a physician or specialist in addition to one or a few allied health professionals. Management of your discomfort depends on its causative factors, how it feels and changes during the day, what makes it better and worse, and the length of time you have been experiencing that pain. All of these factors will be addressed in your initial assessment, which is the first step toward managing and minimising any pain or discomfort. The treatment you receive will be tailored to address the specific cause of your discomfort, and will focus on minimising pain, maximising your ability to move pain-free, and developing a plan to minimise the risk of a flare-up in the future. At Atlas Physio, we will provide you with education, structured management, and ongoing monitoring of your pain both in-clinic and out. Contact us to arrange an assessment, and to take the first step on a course of corrective care today.

Core Muscle Weakness Core Weakness refers to poor strength, power generation or muscular endurance of one or more of the muscles that comprise the Core Muscles. The Core Muscles include the abdominals, the obliques, the transversus muscles, as well as the muscles of the diaphragm and those muscles that make up the Pelvic Floor. Weakness of the Core Muscles can lead to poor posture when in static or moving positions, can lead to increased discomfort in the lower and midback, can lead to increased stiffness of muscles around the core, and can increase the risk of irritation and injury of those structures. Core Weakness comes about through many different means, and because the core is made up of many different muscles, the experience of core weakness and the consequences thereof can be different from person to person. Typically, core weakness occurs due to gradual deconditioning of the muscles of the abdomen and the lower back. This gradual weakening is usually not pathological, but a consequence of sustained sedentary postures throughout the day. Jobs and occupations that require sustained sitting in supported and unsupported postures and which require sustained standing are risk factors for core weakness. Additionally, even occupations that require standing and movement can impose stress on the core that uses some muscles but not others, leading to weakness of some but not all muscles of the core. Weakness of the Core Muscles, poor posture, and poor muscular endurance are risk factors for developing back pain, and are often the first things addressed in the management of that condition. However, Core Weakness can have other effects too. A weak Core makes it more difficult to lift, move, and push objects as well as increasing the risk of injury from recreational exercises like running, weightlifting, and cycling, as well as awkward movements like those needed around the house. In severe cases, postural effects from Core Weakness can lead to irritation and discomfort in the lower back, the shoulders, the neck and the hips. The Core Muscles are those that provide stability to the abdomen and lower back, and therefore their conditioning is an important consideration in general health. Core Weakness is managed firstly by ensuring that the muscles, joints, and segments of the lower back, ribcage and pelvis can all move in a painfree and easy manner. Following this, conditioning of the Core Muscles requires a specific program, which can involve exercises like reformer or mat pilates, yoga, tai chi, or basic isometric or repetitive exercises. Finally, Core Muscle reconditioning requires use of the core in a vigorous sport- or exercise-based context, such as in recreational physical activity on a pitch or in the gym. Regardless of the severity, timecourse and overall plan, your physiotherapist is the best person to consult regarding weakness of the core muscles. Management of your discomfort depends on its causative factors, how it feels and changes during the day, what makes it better and worse, and the length of time you have been experiencing that pain. All of these factors will be addressed in your initial assessment, which is the first step toward managing and minimising any pain or discomfort. The treatment you receive will be tailored to address the specific cause of your discomfort, and will focus on minimising pain, maximising your ability to move pain-free, and developing a plan to minimise the risk of a flare-up in the future. At Atlas Physio, we will provide you with education, structured management, and ongoing monitoring of your pain both in-clinic and out. Contact us to arrange an assessment, and to take the first step on a course of corrective care today.

Shin Splints Shin Splints refers to pain felt anywhere along the shinbone (tibia) from knee to ankle. Shin Splints are caused by an inflammation of the muscles, tendons, and bone tissue around the tibia, and are commonly experienced by runners, dancers, and people who need to walk for work. Pain from Shin Splints is commonly due to Medial Tibial Stress Syndrome, in which there is an inflammation of the structures around the Tibia, which is the primary loadbearing bone of your lower leg. Pain due to Medial Tibial Stress Syndrome often becomes worse on sustained, repetitive activity and becomes better with rest. Shin Splint Pain may also be caused by a Stress Fracture of the Tibia. Stress Fractures occur due to repeated force applied to a bone which results in gradual traumatic damage of that bone over time. While the bone may not break, this pain is referred to as Osteogenic Shin Splint Pain (Osteo = bone, genic = coming from). Shin splint pain may also be caused by tendinopathy, compartment syndrome, infection within the calf, or nervous entrapment, all of which have the potential to interact with structures within the lower leg. Management of Shin Splints depends on the cause of the pain, how it feels and changes over the day, what makes it better or worse, and the length of time you have been experiencing the pain. The treatment you receive will be tailored to address the specific cause of your Shin Splints, and will focus on minimising pain, maximising your ability to move pain free, and developing a plan to minimise the risk of a flare-up in the future. At Atlas Physio, we will provide you with education, structured management, and ongoing monitoring of your pain both in and out of the clinic. Contact us to arrange an assessment, and to take the first step on a course of corrective care today.

Arthritis Arthritis is a medical condition in which the body's joints are damaged and inflamed. This can cause discomfort, stiffness, and pain, and this pain can range from mild to severe. While typically associated with ageing, anyone of any age can experience arthritis, and while there is no cure for the underlying causes, the symptoms can be well-managed. The term Arthritis refers to a constellation of medical conditions that affect the joints in the body. A joint is any location where two separate bones articulate with each other, and the physical nature of this articulation produces movement due to the action of muscles. Arthritis refers to inflammation of the joints (arthron = joint, itis = inflammation of). Osteoarthritis One major form of Arthritis is Osteoarthritis, which can affect the large and small joints of the body including joints in the hands, hips, spine, and knees. Osteoarthritis is the result of wear and tear of the joint, as well as injury. In Osteoarthritis, the cartilage in joints becomes worn down and underlying bone may be exposed. This can cause pain on weightbearing, movement, and during rest. Osteoarthritis is worsened by heavy lifting, repetitive kneeling or squatting, and there is also a familial element to this disease as well. If your parents had osteoarthritis, you may be at increased risk of experiencing it yourself. Typical symptoms of osteoarthritis are pain and inflammation of the tissues in and around the affected joints. Additionally, the cartilage within the joints may become worn down, which increases the friction with which bones move against each other, and can even result in the weardown of those bones. Osteoarthritis typically occurs in weightbearing joints which move a lot through the day, so it is typically experienced in the lower back, the hips, the knees, and sometimes the neck. However, Osteoarthritis can affect any joint in the body, so it is a good idea to be vigilant. Rheumatoid Arthritis Another form of Arthritis is Rheumatoid Arthritis. In Rheumatoid Arthritis, the body's own immune system starts to attack its own tissues. This attack is not only directed at the joint but toward many different body tissues. In Rheumatoid Arthritis, there is similar joint surface weardown that appears in Osteoarthritis. Bone erosion is a central feature of Rheumatoid Arthritis. Bone continuously undergoes remodeling which may cause joints to swell and become stiffer and more restricted. The causes of Rheumatoid Arthritis are unknown at this time, but lifestyle factors such as regular exercise can minimise the severity of symptoms. While Osteoarthritis affects weightbearing joints more than others, Rheumatoid Arthritis can affect the small joints between fingers as well as larger joints. The symptoms of Rheumatoid Arthritis develop gradually, and they can often be felt alongside muscle stiffness and pain. Rheumatoid Arthritis can flare up, meaning that you may experience periods of time where your symptoms are more severe than otherwise. You may experience pain, stiffness, warmth and redness of the affected joints, as well as fatigue, fever, loss of energy and weightloss. These other symptoms are a consequence of the auto-immune nature of the disease affecting tissues and organs that are not joints. Treatment Arthritis is best addressed through a combination treatment which will involve your doctor, your physiotherapist, a specialist if needed, and your family. Arthritis is a disease that has the potential to impact many dimensions of your life, including mobility, independence, and community participation. For this reason, it is important to discuss how Arthritis impacts these aspects of your life, so your clinical team can help you comprehensively. Management and assessment of Arthritic Pain depends on the cause of the pain, how it feels and changes over the day, what makes it better or worse, and the length of time the pain has persisted. Simple strategies include gentle stretching of sore joints with a view to relieving the pain, as well as using hot or cold packs for a little temporary relief. Effective pain medication includes anti-inflammatory medication if appropriate, or prescription medication if recommended by a physician. A physiotherapist can assess the nature of a person's Arthritic pain, determine the most likely factors leading to and aggravating that pain, as well as minimise that pain and promote a healthy recovery. Once the pain has been minimised, the physiotherapist will prescribe and monitor a program of individual exercises to best address any functional or muscular weaknesses that may cause a flare-up in the future. Once the pain and the weakness has been managed, the physiotherapist will continue to monitor the patient and amend their exercise program accordingly to ensure continued benefits from their exercises and management. At Atlas Physio, we will provide you with education, structured management, and ongoing monitoring of your pain both in and out of the clinic. Contact us to arrange an assessment, and to take the first step on a course of corrective care today.

Neck Pain Neck Pain is a general term that refers to any kind of pain or discomfort felt in the neck. Neck Pain is a common problem that people experience, and may affect one in five people over the course of their lives. Neck Pain is felt in the region below the base of the head and above the tops of the shoulderblades, though you may feel pain elsewhere in the body. Because of the number of nerves that go through the neck, pain may be felt in the shoulders, arms, hand, and the head and eyes. Neck Pain is referred to as Chronic Neck Pain when it has been present for twelve weeks or more. Neck Pain is caused by irritation of structures within the neck. The specific cause of the pain depends on many factors like the age of the person experiencing the pain, their occupation, whether the pain was caused by an accident or started rapidly, as well as other variables. Neck Pain can also be described as Mechanical Neck Pain, when the pain is specifically due to a certain, reproducible movement or sustained posture that strains the neck. Referred Neck Pain is felt in the arm, shoulders, in the mid back, or as headache. When Neck Pain is experienced as a headache or causes a headache, it is referred to as a cervico-genic headache (cervico = cervical spine, genic = coming from.) During your assessment, you will be asked whether or not you experience headaches, and if so, the frequency and nature of your discomfort. Management of Neck Pain depends on the cause of the pain, how it feels and changes over the day, what makes it better or worse, and the length of time you have been experiencing the pain. All of these factors will be addressed in your initial assessment, which is the first step towards minimising and managing any pain or discomfort. The treatment you receive will be tailored to address the specific cause of your Neck Pain, and will focus on minimising pain, maximising your ability to move pain free, and developing a plan to minimise the risk of a flare-up in the future. At Atlas Physio, we will provide you with education, structured management, and ongoing monitoring of your pain both in and out of the clinic. Contact us to arrange an assessment, and to take the first step on a course of corrective care today.