getback™ physiotherapy will enter a new phase of expansion and development in February with the launch of a new showcase clinic in Melbourne.
The new clinic will be the first standalone getback facility within the existing network of 12 co-branded clinics. It will also be the first getback clinic to offer a range of new services for patients including exercise therapy for knee, hip and shoulder.
getback™ co-founder and Director of Clinical Practice Geoffrey Mackay said the new clinic on the CBD fringe builds on the success of getback’s exercise therapy solution for back and neck pain.
‘Since John [co-founder Professor Emeritus John Carlson] and I started getback a decade ago our network has helped more than 12,000 patients find long-term relief from back pain through evidence-based exercise therapy,’ he said.
‘We’ve been in dialogue with our technology partner David Health for several years about solutions for other prominent musculoskeletal disorders.’
‘The new clinic will offer hip, knee and shoulder rehabilitation solutions to improve both injury treatment and surgery outcomes with pre- and post-operative programs.’
Degenerative diseases of the hip, knee and shoulder joints are now the main cause of pain and loss of life quality in the middle aged and elderly in Australia. Joint disorders can occur through injury, repetitive strain, mechanical problems and osteoarthritis.
Mackay said that many people make the mistake of continuing the same workouts of their 20s into their 40s and beyond.
‘To build resilience in ageing joints, most people need to completely change the way they exercise as they get older,’ he said.
‘Whether you’re a former sportsperson who has taken a couple of decades off or 50-year-old inspired to run a half marathon, you need to begin by building a foundation.’
More than 50,00 hip replacement surgeries alone are now performed in Australia each year. According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, patients in the public system waited an average of 153 days for hip replacement surgery in 2021-22.
‘Patients who are in pain while waiting for surgery risk further muscle de-conditioning as their joint function worsens,’ Mackay said.
‘There is now wide consensus in the medical community that joint replacement surgery outcomes are significantly improved by rehabilitative muscle training that can isolate target areas and provide precise control of movement and loading.’
The hip, knee and shoulder solutions utilise devices manufactured by David Health to tackle various disorders with the most bio-mechanically correct, cloud-based rehabilitation system available.
Preparing patients to remain active
Mackay said the focus of exercise therapy for hip, knee and shoulder joints is on pain relief, maintaining joint mobility and strengthening muscles for holistic support.
‘The getback medical rehabilitation devices enable a patient’s joint strength, mobility and strength-balance to be tested and precisely measured,’ he said.
‘The patient’s results are then compared with normative values of a healthy joint in people of the same height, weight, age and gender.’
Based on the patient’s data, an individual exercise therapy program is deigned by physiotherapists to fit the needs of each patient.
Controlled and effective rehabilitation
Mackay said that data-driven and device-based exercise therapy can significantly improve the recovery outlook for joint disorders and replacement surgery.
‘All the exercise therapy starts with a limited range of motion and low loading within the pain tolerance,’ he said.
‘The hip, knee and shoulder devices are bio-mechanically designed to ensure safe and controlled therapy for both injury treatment and rehabilitation.’
The new clinic is scheduled to launch in late March in the Australian Unity ‘Alba’ complex at 114 Albert Rd, South Melbourne.
There is ample street parking on Albert Rd, trams nearby on St Kilda Rd, as well as the new Anzac Railway station opening in 2025.
