Industrial designer and mechanical engineer Russell Watts may be semi-retired, but he is still full of ideas. As a company founder, he’s used to being in the driver’s seat when it comes to decision making.
But when it comes to his health and well being, he’s happy to hand the reins over to professionals.
‘I used to be an inventor and I’ve usually got things running around in my mind,’ Russell says over coffee at Corner Store Cafe, next door to getback South Melbourne.
‘I like coming to this organised space at getback. I don’t have to think, it’s all taken care of.’
Russell has spent a lot of time in gyms over the years, but says many are not resourced to suit the needs of older people.
‘The problem is the trainers are often not well trained younger people who think that success is you being able to lift more.’
‘That’s not success for me. Success for me is no pain and not losing muscle.’
Unfortunately, Russell knows a lot about pain since first injuring his back as a schoolboy.
‘I think some of the time I was made to carry things that were too heavy,’ Russell says. ‘And no one was worried about lifting techniques in those days!’
Russell, now 82, developed ongoing back pain and tried many different treatments and interventions over the years.
He began back strength training with another provider several years ago and initially saw some improvement.
‘But the staff were not as well trained as at getback,’ he says. ‘They put my weight up in a certain exercise and I felt my back go crunch.‘
‘I could hardly walk for 12 months. It just set me back a long way.’
Russell says he put up with debilitating pain and not being able to sleep well for around 18 months.
‘When I got out of bed in the morning, I’d spend the first two hours trying to get myself going. And I used to walk hunched over to one side.’
Russell discovered getback in May 2024 while searching online for physiotherapists specialising in back pain treatment.
‘I just came to give it a try,’ Russell says. ‘I saw Jack [Mason] first for a physiotherapy assessment and then started the getback program twice a week with Sean [Exercise Physiologist Sean Ahearn].’
Russell says that as a mechanical engineer and designer, he appreciated both the efficacy and aesthetics of the getback devices.
‘A lot of thought has gone into these devices,’ Russell says. ‘I’ve got a lot of confidence in them.’
‘They’re lovely-looking machines too. You walk in there and it looks like a Porsche!’
Russell says his personalised exercise therapy program started very gradually.
‘So my back’s fragile, I know that,’ he says. ‘I didn’t see any benefit for the first few weeks, but after a period of time, I noticed the pain was easing.’
Now, he says there is a ‘vast difference’ in his pain level and overall well being.
‘I can sleep at night. It’s amazing – I just hop into bed and go to sleep!’
‘I really don’t have any pain in my side, where I had awful pain. I don’t have any back pain or in my rump.’
‘I’m really pleased with the outcome I’ve had.’
There was one unexpected result of the success of Russell’s program however. Once his personalised back strength and range of motion targets were reached, he was discharged from the program.
‘The told me I didn’t need to come anymore,’ he says. ‘I remonstrated because I was worried my symptoms would return.’
Russell now continues with a maintenance program once or twice a week and looks forward to the expanded South Melbourne clinic opening soon.
The facility will offer new programs focused on preventative health.
Russell says he will use the new facility like a gym – but with the confidence that his program will be supervised and monitored by allied health professionals.
‘When you’re doing gym training by yourself, you’ve got to worry about “Did I adjust the machine? Should I be putting an extra kg on?”’
‘At getback it’s all worked out for you… There’s nothing to worry about.’
‘I came across getback by chance, and I’m really happy that I did.’
