Physio in Sydney CBD
Hands-on treatment and exercise, three minutes from Town Hall.

What brings people to a physio in the CBD

Usually something has stopped them. A back that catches when they stand up from the desk, a neck that aches by three in the afternoon, a knee that will not take the stairs, or a shoulder that has been sore since a gym session in February. Our physiotherapists examine you, work out which structure is causing the pain, treat it by hand that day, and teach you the exercises that stop it coming back.

What you do all day matters as much as what hurts. The desk, the commute, the running shoes and the way you lift your child all load the same joints, so the plan has to fit the life around it and not only the clinic room.

The clinic is on George Street opposite the QVB, three minutes from Town Hall Station and five from Wynyard. People come to us from across the city, from Barangaroo and the Rocks, and from the inner suburbs a short train ride away.

What we treat

Back and neck pain

Most back and neck pain settles with the right treatment and honest advice about what to keep doing. We separate pain that comes from a joint from pain that comes from a disc, a nerve or the muscles guarding around it, because each one needs a different exercise. If you have had it for months or years, the plan starts with the movements you have been avoiding.

The detail is on the back pain physiotherapy, neck pain physiotherapy and lower back pain treatment pages.

Hips, knees, feet and ankles

Hip, knee and ankle pain usually comes down to how well the joint is controlled under load. We assess the joint itself, then the strength and timing of the muscles that should protect it, and build a program from the level your body can manage rather than the level a generic sheet suggests.

Each has its own page: hip pain, knee injuries and pain, and foot and ankle injuries.

Pelvic pain and pelvic floor problems

Pain at the front of the pelvis, a deep ache in one buttock, or pain that has been put down to the pelvic floor responds to the same kind of assessment as any other joint. The pelvis has three joints and a deep layer of muscles holding it together, and treatment works on the joints and the muscles together rather than on the sore spot alone.

There is more on the pelvic pain physiotherapy page.

Sport and training injuries

Runners, lifters, squash players and weekend footballers come to us with the injury that will not go away between seasons. We look at the movement that caused it, treat the injured tissue, and rebuild the strength and control around it so the same load does not break it again.

There is more on the sports physiotherapy page.

Pregnancy and after the birth

Pain in pregnancy and in the months after a birth is treated by the same physiotherapists who teach our pregnancy and postnatal classes. That covers pelvic girdle pain, lower back pain, rib pain, and the slower rebuild of the abdominal and pelvic floor muscles once the baby is here.

There is more on the pregnancy and postnatal physiotherapy page.

What happens at your first appointment

The assessment runs for an hour with the same physiotherapist you will see each visit. You start by talking through how the problem began, what makes it worse, what you have already tried, and what you need to get back to, whether that is running, sleeping through the night or sitting at a desk without moving every ten minutes.

Then comes the examination. Your physiotherapist watches you move, tests the joints, muscles and nerves involved, and checks how the rest of your body is coping with the compensation. If anything needs imaging or a specialist opinion before treatment, they will say so.

Treatment starts that day. You leave with an explanation of what is causing the pain, hands-on treatment already begun, a short exercise program for the days in between, and a clear idea of how many sessions it is likely to take and what progress should look like week by week.

Why the exercise is taught by the same physiotherapists who treat you

Hands-on treatment settles the pain. The exercise is what makes it stay settled, and it is where most recoveries are won or lost. In our studio the mat Pilates and clinical rehabilitation classes are taught by physiotherapists, so the exercise you do in a class is the exercise your treatment plan asked for, watched by someone who already knows your history.

The classes are not a separate business bolted onto the clinic. They run in the same rooms, with the same team, and the physiotherapist teaching can change an exercise mid-class when something is not working for you.

Read about the Pilates classes in Sydney CBD or the clinical rehabilitation classes for people who need closer supervision.

Prices, rebates and how to book

Physiotherapy consultations are rebated by most private health funds under physiotherapy extras, and we claim through HICAPS at the desk so you only pay the gap that day. Bring your fund card.

Work injuries and motor vehicle injuries are treated here too, under the NSW workers compensation and compulsory third party schemes. If you have a GP care plan, DVA cover, Medicare arrangements or one of those claims, tell us before you book and we will tell you what it covers and what you will pay.

Book online or call (02) 9264 0077. The full fee schedule is on the physiotherapy and Pilates pricing page.

Book your physiotherapy assessment

Treatment you can keep doing at home

The exercises your physiotherapist teaches are filmed for The Fix Program Online, so you can check your form at home between appointments instead of working from memory.

What people say about the studio

"Can't recommend Katrina enough. She's both an excellent physio, going above and beyond, and kind and compassionate. Katrina has treated my various injuries and niggles over the last 5 or 6 years - she looks at issues holistically to get to the root cause of issues so you're pain free and moving again as soon as possible. 10/10"

That review is on our Google listing, with the rest of them, unedited.

Related reads

• The truth about back pain
• Core stability programs for chronic lower back pain
• Office chairs for good neck and back posture
• Running injuries: the hard truth
• Can physiotherapy help treat tennis elbow?