08 Apr April ’20 newsletter
Well hello April! Haven’t you snuck up on us? The last few weeks have been a wild ride, but we are so thankful to our practitioners, and to you, our valued clients. You have all taken our extra precautions seriously and have adapted to our new telehealth service with patience and ease.
So what next? Well this newsletter tells you more about what we’re currently offering: Our virtual group classes, one-to-one exercise sessions, and our in-clinic and telehealth one-to-one advice sessions in order to set you up correctly for home working and exercise (to keep you injury-free). We finish with our Education Quarter, talking about wrist sprains (because people are still injuring themselves, even in isolation!). Enjoy…
Telehealth group classes
Exercise is so important, even more-so now that we are stuck at home. Our daily incidental exercise (like walking to the station, out to lunch etc) has decreased dramatically. To help people continue to move, and to keep in line with Government regulations, we are offering group exercise classes from the privacy of your own home!
Term 2 classes start 27 April 2020 and cost $30/class. Classes are one hour, once a week for the nine week term. Check with your private health insurance provider to see if a rebate is available.
You’ll need some basic equipment like towel, mat, and a few other bits you can purchase (they’ll be delivered straight to your door from our supplier). To book in, call the clinic on 9438 1782. Want to try it out? We’ll be running some classes over the holiday period to get everyone used to the new set-up. Call us to book in for a holiday class.
One-to-one exercise sessions
Complying with Government regulations, we are offering one-to-one 45min exercise sessions within the clinic, as well as online. If you need extra motivation, or want that individual focus and support, our one-to-one sessions will have you working out with one of our trusted practitioners, with a bespoke program tailored to your needs! Call us today to book in for your session.
1:1 in clinic $130.00
1:1 online therapy $90.00
Working from home ergonomic one-to-one sessions
Most of us are working from home, often without proper desk/chair set-up. Given we’re going to be doing this for at least three months, we want to ensure you are set up properly from the get-go. In this 45min session, we’ll assess your desk, screen and chair set-up, we’ll look at your posture, chat about anything that might be of concern and give you advice, exercises, stretches or techniques bespoke to your needs.
1:1 in clinic: $130.00
1:1 online therapy: $90.00
Exercise technique and programs one-to-one sessions
As above, the same goes with exercise! Lots of people are starting to walk and run outside now, many haven’t done it before, or simply aren’t used to it. People are also exercising more from home and need help with programs, technique and more. We can help you with advice and technique from the start to help you reduce the risk of injury and avoid pain and discomfort over the coming months. We can also assess your running or walking style, either in-clinic on the treadmill, or online via video. How do we assess online? Simply get someone to video you (from the back) while walking or running, and organise an appointment. We’ll view the video, and give you hints, tips and exercises for your ideal running posture and technique! Sessions are 45min.
1:1 in clinic: $130.00
1:1 online therapy: $90.00
General appointments and consultations
Of course, we’re still here for you as normal with our business-as-usual appointments, either in the clinic or online. Sessions range from 15 minutes to one hour, depending on your needs. Your practitioner will let you know what session length you need. Initial consultations for new patients, or existing patients with new injuries, are best done in the clinic, although telehealth is of course available! Prices and session times below:
In clinic Online
15 mins $50 $30
30 mins $100 $60
45 mins $130 $90
60 mins $160 $120
Medicare and private health insurance?
If you have a Chronic Disease Management (CDM) Plan (formally called an EPC) from your GP, all telehealth appointments are bulk-billed, with no out-of-pocket expenses. In-clinic appointments for people with a CDM are bulk-billed as normal, and you are responsible for the gap payment only.
If you have private health insurance, please check with your individual provider to check what rebates are available for you.
Easter opening hours
We’re closed from Good Friday, 10 April, to Easter Monday, 13 April. Have a wonderful Easter and we look forward to seeing you back in the clinic or online from Tuesday 14 April.
The Education Quarter
I’ve sprained my wrist – what should I do?
It’s the normal Monday morning rush (but you’re now at home). You’re running up and down the stairs, getting the kids ready for home-schooling, and you for home-working. You need coffee. As you run down the stairs to fix your caffeine-boost, you trip on the last step, and put your hands out to break the fall, THUD! “Ouch… My wrist!” Uh-oh.
Very quickly you realise something is wrong. You can’t move your wrist without pain and it’s starting to swell. Now you must get this wrist seen to. Time to give us a call.
What has happened?
This type of event usually results in one of two outcomes. Worst case scenario, you’ve broken a bone in your wrist or forearm. A slightly less than worst case scenario is a wrist ligament sprain. Calling your physio first up is a good idea and may well save you a trip to the emergency department, and we all know we need to avoid hospitals at the moment. Having said that, if your physio suspects you have fractured a bone after they have assessed you, they will refer you for a scan to confirm. For the purposes of this email, you’ve been cleared of any fracture and have been left with a nasty sprain.
A ligament is a strong, dense, inelastic piece of tissue that joins bone to bone to form a joint. The strong and inflexible nature of this type of tissue is perfect for creating stability in a joint. Without them, our bones would just fall off each other, and we’d collapse into a big pile of skin and bone. During a Fall Onto an Out-Stretched Hand (or ‘FOOSH’), if the force of the impact is too great for the ligament to take, it will tear or ‘sprain’.
Typical signs and symptoms of this injury include:
- Pain with wrist movement
- Tenderness and heat over & around the sprain
- Swelling
- Bruising
What should I do next?
Being under the care of your physio is a great option as we have the expertise to take you from your injury back to full fitness. The direction you go will depend on the severity of your sprain. A severe sprain with complete tearing of the ligament may require scans and a specialist opinion. A mild/moderate sprain can be completely managed under our care, with no need for outward referral.
The first stage of treatment will include having your wrist immobilised in a brace to allow inflammation to settle and healing of the sprained tissues to start. You will need to do your bit too — protect it at all costs and perform rest, ice, compression and elevation (RICE). This will all be discussed in detail during your consultation.
After a period of immobilisation, the muscles which cross the wrist joint will have stiffened up and weakened. Over the coming weeks, we will aim to restore range of motion to the wrist, hand, elbow, and any other joints that have been affected by the injury. We may use massage, joint mobilisation and other techniques such as dry needling and taping. Another aim will be to restore stability to the wrist and strength and power to the muscles that help the wrist to function. Be prepared for some strength and flexibility exercises to do at home. These are necessary to further improve after your consult in the clinic. Or if a virtual consult, we’ll take you through certain tests, and show you certain exercises or stretches you may need to perform, as well as how to manage your injury at home. Please do your exercises, they will speed up your recovery and have you back to full fitness before you can say “scapholunate ligament” (that’s one of the commonly sprained ligaments in the wrist… More anatomy lab next month!).
As part of the rehab process, you’ll be gradually performing tasks to get you using your wrist in everyday life again, like lifting a kettle, typing, holding weights, doing cartwheels and riding a zip-line. Regardless of your goal, be it wanting to take part in your sewing club or being a top gymnast, we’d love to play a leading role in your recovery process. If you’ve sprained your wrist and are looking for help, please call us on 9438 1782 and we’ll get you from A (injury) to B (champion of your world).