B-LOG

YES - you can claim a medicare rebate for physiotherapy! We want to help you get out of pain and medicare rebates can make it easier to come in for treatment.How do medicare rebates for physiotherapy work?It’s pretty straightforward. There are some basic steps that...

Last year I was annoyed. The annoyance reached a tipping point where I had heard so much guff and nonsense that I wrote an article on physio myths and where they might be better stuck. Due to being re-annoyed this week, here is the myth-busting sequel: 1. Discs do not...

Don't laugh but last January I had planned on healthy living. I was intending to do all of the wholesome things. The list included: sleeping well, no alcohol through the week, meditating every morning, eating a bucket of kale every day, running regularly, surfing lots...

Sciatica. We've all heard the word. I probably have at least two people per week telling me they think they might have it. But what is it? Sciatica is an old term for a condition that we now call radiculopathy. Bit of a mouthful, but it's just a term for pain and...

“I’ve been to three different healthcare providers and none of them have been able to fix my problem. I just want to be able to walk my dog. You are my last resort.” Jenny* had been experiencing knee pain for the past 6 months. She’d tried physio, chiropractic,...

“It’s always going to be like this”  Gary* had done 2 hours of mowing on a blustery spring morning and just like he’d predicted, his lower back had ‘gone out’. Cometh the back pain, cometh the couch. Much to his wife’s amusement (and frustration) the rest of the...

'So, what do you like to do for exercise?' Jenny* (52), looked down at the floor. 'I used to be fit, I loved swimming, but now I can barely put on a pair of shoes without losing my breath'. Jenny sat in front of me looking tired, a little embarrassed and very...

Do people really do their physio exercises? Does anyone actually have the single-minded, laser-focused determination to use that rubbery bandy stuff physios give you for a thousand repetitions to solve their 20 year old dodgy shoulder? Does any sane person wake up...

You might have questions about physiotherapy. You might be considering booking a session but are unsure if it's what you need. You might not know how far down the hippie-as-Hemsworth continuum Brightside Physio is (short answer- not very). Here are some common Qs we...

She said I had "thumbs of steel".  Steel? I resemble that remark. Then she started describing me as having trained in the Tower of London- and I laughed, possibly a little too loudly and probably too wickedly. Maree went through a total knee replacement a while back...

It started with me. I just followed what everyone else was doing. The first 4 of my 20 year physio career I treated patients with a variety of machines that went 'bing' and flashy lights. All the physios I knew did it. It was easy. Patients didn't complain. It looked...

They say: "dance like no one is watching". They're wrong. Some folks shouldn't dance at all. I (unfortunately) am one of these people. I dance like a drunk monkey with tetanus and its been pointed out to me on regular intervals, by people that I love, that my dancing...

"I'd rather poke myself in the eyeball with a fork" Mille* 76 is a card-carrying stright shooter. She has a kind heart, a razor-sharp mind and it's fair to say she doesn't suffer fools. She's fabulous, but her knees are dodgy. And with clear-eyed pragmatism she had...

Are you reading this because you have back pain? Or know someone with back pain, or even be worried about getting back pain? Maybe you can't lift your kids up or swim at the beach or even do a basic gym routine because of back pain. Here's some quick Brightside tips...

I first met Trish* on a bright sunny Thursday afternoon. She crept inside with Jackie O's sunglasses on. She had the pale, drawn expression of someone in extreme pain. I made a bad joke about wearing rock star sunglasses inside and a career as a catwalk model- she...

BY KRISTEN ANDREWS"Well, you look like you're doing great to me" I know he was just trying to be kind; he was probably trying to reassure me that everything wasn't all bad, but I stared at him in disbelief. I'd just told my GP that for the last few months, I hadn't...

BY KRISTEN ANDREWS'I'm sorry, it's just been one of those days' Gemma* (31) initially arrived at her first appointment 15 minutes late, two-year-old in tow, looking slightly dishevelled and very, very pregnant.  She explained that her two-year-old daughter had just...

Pain makes you feel old. +20 years. That's what Chrissie* said when I first met her on a cold and miserable September morning. I was chirpy and chipper despite my damp socks and questionable hairdo. Chrissie was not. She said her hip had been feeling like it was...

If you're someone working from home, or long days at the office and struggling with pain or stiffness- this article is for you. You might be working from a laptop on a cluttered dining table, or maybe you've got the old familiar neck pain + headache, or the lower back...

*Nicole was stuck. Half-way dressed. Stooped over the bathroom sink. Midway through cleaning her teeth her lower back had decided to become a right-angled rusted door hinge. Who would've thought that such a simple thing could cause...

"What do you expect - you're old." Cate told me that she'd heard this said to her by her last physio and the GP and the specialist. She felt discouraged and not a little annoyed. After all, isn't 70 the new 60? And why does her active and full life have to be cut down...

Feb 11 3:00pm. De Vitre st car park. Patience* told me later that she was feeling sick in her stomach walking into the physio room. Mostly worried about the future. And whether I was someone who could help. And the pain — unremitting this morning, a knee that felt...

What’s wrong with my knees!? Is your knee cracky? Sharp ’n’ jabby? Constant toothache? So-swollen-it-could-drown? Or is it just a grouchy, sore knee that stops you walking, running, doing steps and exercising? If this sounds like you - read on. 5 winning tips for...

Ok, maybe not *everything* but here’s 5 things that are   1. Arthritis pain does not = damage Arthritis is a part of our bodies getting wear and tear.  It is not a sign that your body is falling apart.  In most cases it is a method that your body uses to talk to...