Physiotherapy in Mona Vale
Your Trusted Physio
Physiotherapy is an evidence based profession that views human movement as a central key element of health and wellbeing. Physiotherapists aim to maintain, restore and improve your function after injury or chronic illness, so that you can return to doing what you love, and enjoy an active and pain-free lifestyle.
At Epic Life Physio in Mona Vale we ensure that we firstly RELIEVE your pain, then RESTORE your movement and function and lastly allow you to PERFORM at your peak. Our physiotherapists are experts in diagnosing, treating and rehabilitating injuries.
Physiotherapists assess the underlying cause of your issue, and use a combination of manual therapy, other treatments such as dry needling, shockwave or laser therapy, and clinical exercise to treat the symptoms whilst providing lifestyle advice and education to help you return to pre-injury function and stay better for longer.
We work in partnership with other health professionals including your GP or specialist, radiologists, podiatrists, exercise physiologists, dietitians and more to achieve optimal health for you.
Physiotherapists are university educated health professionals with training in human biosciences, anatomy, and biomechanics. They are trained to assess and diagnose your condition, then plan and administer treatment programs to restore movement and improve function – and at Epic Life Physio in Mona Vale our goal is to restore your full function so that you can live your epic life.
Benefits of Physiotherapy
Physiotherapy is beneficial for:
- Neck and Back pain including wry neck and sciatica
- Muscle pain
- Joint pain
- Groin and pelvic pain
- Sporting injuries
- Sprains and strains
- Post-operative rehabilitation including pre-operative strengthening
- Acute and chronic musculoskeletal injuries
- Arthritis – including osteoarthritis of the spine, hip, knee, ankle and shoulder
- Posture and alignment issues
- Women’s and men’s pelvic health (including incontinence)
- Vertigo
- Headaches and jaw aches
- Falls prevention
Dry Needling
Dry needling is similar to acupuncture and is based on scientific research. It utilises western-based anatomy and physiology to select trigger points and fascial points to relieve your symptoms. Dry needling uses a thin acupuncture style needle to stimulate underlying myofascial trigger points, such as muscular and connective tissues, to reduce your muscle pain and improve your movement. Our physios have completed rigorous training to ensure that the treatment is both highly effective and safe. Dry needling treatments are often combined with other physio treatments to provide the best outcome for you.
At Epic Life Physio in Mona Vale we use dry needling for injuries including:
- Headache management
- Osteoarthritis and musculoskeletal pain
- Muscle spasm
- Neck and Back pain (including Sciatica)
- Knee pain
- Tennis elbow / elbow pain
- Shoulder Injuries (rotator cuff and frozen shoulder)
Lymphoedema Management
Lymphoedema can result from musculoskeletal trauma or injury, circulation issues or following cancer treatment. It occurs when your lymphatic drainage system is not functioning correctly and the fluid builds up in your tissues – most often in an arm or leg. Treatment is therefore aimed at improving the flow of lymphatic fluid; and draining the fluid effectively back up into your pelvic and chest regions.
Trish is an expert in the use of shockwave therapy for lymphoedema and has had some great results – often working with patients who have struggled with their lymphoedema for years, or even decades. Shockwave is used in combination with other therapies such as manual drainage, compression, exercise and scar and skin care.
Musculoskeletal Physiotherapy
The physios at Epic Life Physio are experts in the management of musculoskeletal and particularly spinal-related pain, using their assessment skills to diagnose the problem and provide holistic and effective, evidence-based treatment.
Treatment provided can include manual therapy, dry needling, mobilisation or manipulation, and personalised exercise rehabilitation.
In Mona Vale we treat conditions using musculoskeletal physiotherapy such as:
- Low back pain and Sciatica
- Neck pain (cervical pain)
- Muscle pain
- Joint pain, such as shoulder, knee and hip conditions
- Headaches
- Vertigo (including Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo)
- Posture and alignment problems, including scoliosis and kyphosis
Sports and Exercise Physiotherapy
Epic Life Physio at Mona Vale will work with you to maintain or restore your optimal level of function and performance, using their knowledge of injury prevention, specific rehabilitation techniques, strength and conditioning exercises, and load management across both the sporting season and off-season.
The conditions that we see include:
- Muscle strains commonly including hamstring and calf strains
- Tendinopathies including Achilles tendinopathy (calf / ankle), rotator cuff tendinopathy (shoulder), “tennis elbow” and “golfers’ elbow”
- Joint injuries, such as shoulder joint injuries, knee, hip and ankle pain
- Spinal conditions, including low back pain, stress fractures, disc and facet joint injuries
- Education and strategies for the management of chronic pain
Epic Life Physio has significant experience working with athletes of all abilities, from those starting out to elite athletes and everyone in between.
Pre and Post Operative Rehab and Sporting Injuries
The team at Epic Life Physio are used to seeing a wide range of sporting and other injuries that require treatment and rehabilitation – and have worked with many amateur and elite / national / international / olympic level athletes. The physios will work with your sports medicine doctor or orthopaedic surgeon to determine a personalised approach to treat and rehabilitate your injury as needed with a goal of getting you back to living your epic sporting life including strengthening, flexibility, sport specific skills and more.
Conditions that require rehabilitation include:
- Post-operative injuries
- ACL reconstruction
- Meniscus tears
- Rotator cuff repair
- Acute and chronic musculoskeletal injuries
- Sprains and strains
- Tendonitis and bursitis
Vestibular Physiotherapy
An injury to the vestibular system can cause dizziness, balance problems and vertigo as it impacts the inner ear that detects head movement and assists you to control your balance. Common causes of these injuries include whiplash and neck pain, damage to or inflammation of nerves (vestibular neuronitis), or potentially for an unknown reason – potentially after a virus. You may have symptoms such as vertigo, dizziness, blurred vision or an unstable gaze, or imbalance and falling over.
Vestibular Physio is a specific exercise program designed to improve your balance and decrease any dizziness and get you back to that epic life.
Casting & Splinting (Fracture Splinting)
Casting and splinting is usually applied by your physio to hold bones in place whilst a fracture heals and helps to stabilise the fracture and therefore reduce pain, swelling and muscle spasm. For most broken bones it takes about 6 weeks of immobilisation in a cast or splint so it is important to have the best cast or splint on! Casting or splinting can also be used in some cases for injuries to tendons or ligaments as well.
The team at Epic Life Physio can also determine any exercises you can or should be doing whilst in the cast / splint and also after it has been removed.
Braces & Walking Aids
Our team at Epic Life Physio are skilled in selecting and fitting the most appropriate support for you and we can coach you in the correct application and use of your brace or walking aid, including managing stairs, and gait re-education. Braces, walking aids and other orthotic devices are available to provide support, comfort, and aid mobility following surgery or an injury.
Some of the key types of braces or walking aids we have include:
- Knee braces including Zimmer splints for MCL support and ACL (and for allowing return to sport)
- CAM boots, aka “moon boots”
- Elbow and wrist braces
- Ankle braces and ankle ligament support
- Shoulder supports
- Underarm or forearm crutches and walking sticks
Return to Work (aka Tradie Physio)
Trish at Epic Life Physio is renowned across the northern beaches for helping tradies get back on the tools and return to work to avoid loss of income, inability to complete jobs in progress and prevent reinjury by improving strength, flexibility and manual handling techniques. Each of these treatments is personalised to your needs based on the type of injury and role that the person has and what it will take to get them back to work as soon as possible.
The team also of course treats many people with injuries who have office based jobs as well! With many people now working more regularly from home, ergonomic set up is key to preventing back pain, poor posture and chronic neck pain with associated headaches, as well as overuse injuries from excessive keyboard and mouse usage.
Remedial Massage
Remedial massage focuses on specific pressure release and manipulation of the muscular system to promote rehabilitation and relaxation. It eases the pain and discomfort of injuries and strains to allow the body’s natural healing process to work at its best. The experts at Epic Life Physio will perform a complete assessment to determine the best treatment plan for you.
Remedial massage at Epic Life Physio is used for conditions such as:
- Chronic shoulder, neck and lower back pain
- Anxiety, depression and stress-related conditions
- Migraine and other headaches
- Repetitive strain injuries
- High blood pressure
- Chronic disease such as cancer and arthritis
- Sports injuries
The benefits of massage therapy include:
- Reduction of muscle aches and pains
- Reduction in muscle tension
- Fascial release which improves flexibility
- Stress management
- Muscle relaxation
- Increased circulation via lymphatics
Falls Prevention
Falls are a major and very common problem for people over the age of 65 and account for almost 40% of hospital admissions. Strength and balance are very important factors in determining how likely you are to experience a fall. Our team can assess your risk of a fall and implement a targeted strengthening, flexibility exercise program that will improve your strength and balance with a goal of minimising your risk of injury and falling; and allowing you to remain independent and safe in your home as well as when you are out and about in town.
Laser Treatment
Epic Life Physio is one of only a few clinics that offers laser treatment – and this isn’t the “hot” laser that physio’s used in prior decades, this is “cold” laser that removes inflammation in the tissues. The machines are expensive to purchase so most clinics have not done so but Trish has found that it works exceptionally well for certain injuries.
The injuries that Trish has found laser works well for include:
- Acutely (i.e. recently) sprained ankles, knees, wrists and elbows
- Broken or bruised ribs and cartilage
- Bruising/Haematomas in arm and leg muscles; i.e. “Cork Thighs”
- Bursitis in the shoulder, hip, knee or ankle regions
- Groin Injuries
EM Tone Rehabilitation
Trish is an expert in using a technology called EMTone (pronounced “em-tone”) which assists weak muscles to fire and work again, making them stronger following either injury, surgery, disuse or pregnancy and childbirth. It is particularly relevant for those patients that have struggled to build this strength through exercises alone. Give us a call today at Epic Life Physio if you would like to know more about this technology and how it might assist you recover faster so that you can return to living an active lifestyle again.
If you have any other questions about any of the physiotherapy services above or if you would like to book in an appointment please give us a call at Epic Life Physio on (02) 9997 4587 or book in an appointment online