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For patients who cannot get to the clinic

Online
ACL Rehab.

You do not have to live near the clinic to have your rehab steered properly.

ACL rehab runs the better part of a year, and most of it is work you do on your own between appointments. If you live too far from Five Dock or Gladesville to come in regularly, a video appointment lets us look at what you are doing, correct it, and set the next block of work. The training still happens where you are. The plan comes from here.

Book a video appointment What a session covers

30 minutes, $100. Available through both clinics.

Who it suits

Is this the right appointment?

Video works well for some ACL questions and badly for others. The difference is mostly whether the question is about the program or about the knee itself.

Works well for
You have had a reconstruction and are working through a protocol
You are training on your own and want the program checked
You have finished one stage and need the next one set
You have questions about load, progression or timeframes
You see someone locally, and want a second read on the plan
Come in instead if
The knee is newly injured and nobody has examined it
You need force plate or dynamometer numbers
You are being cleared to return to sport
Something has changed in the knee and you do not know why
You want hands-on treatment
What happens

Thirty minutes, four jobs.

Enough time to see how you move, work out what is holding you back, and leave you with the next block written down.

01

Review where you are

What you are doing now, how much of it, and how the knee has responded. If you have a surgeon's protocol we work against that.

02

Watch you move

Squats, single leg work, step downs, hops if you are up to them. A phone propped against something is enough to see what we need to see.

03

Fix what needs fixing

Usually technique, dose, or the exercise being wrong for the stage you are at. Most programs stall on one of those three.

04

Set the next block

What changes, what stays, and what has to be true before you move to the next stage. You leave with it written down.

SportsFit 5 Stage ACL Program

Every session is placed against this. Knowing which stage you are actually in is most of the value.

Being straight with you

What a camera cannot do

Worth knowing before you book, because it changes what you should expect from the appointment.

Objective testing
Our return to sport criteria run on force plates and a dynamometer. Limb symmetry, rate of force development and hop testing are measurements, and they cannot be taken over video. If you want those numbers, they happen in a clinic, either here or with a physio near you who has the equipment.
Examining the knee
Ligament and meniscus tests need hands on the joint. If something has changed and nobody has looked at it, see someone locally first and bring what they found to the appointment.
Hands-on treatment
Manual therapy, dry needling and taping are all in person. If that is what you are after, this is not the appointment for it.

None of that stops a video appointment being worth having. It changes what the appointment is for. Most of ACL rehab is programming and progression, and that travels perfectly well down a camera.

Questions

Before you book

Do I need to have been to the clinic before?
No. If we have not seen you, the first appointment goes on understanding your surgery, your protocol and where you have got to. Have your surgery date, your surgeon's instructions and any imaging reports handy.
Why do I pick a clinic when I book?
It decides which physio you see. The appointment is by video either way, so pick whichever team you would rather work with.
Can I claim it on private health?
Rebates for video appointments differ between funds and between policies, and some do not cover them at all. Check with your fund before you book. We will give you an invoice with the item number on it either way.
What if you decide I need to be examined?
We will say so, and tell you what to ask for. A video appointment is not the place to rule out a meniscus tear, and we will not pretend otherwise.
How often would I book one?
As often as you would expect something to have changed. Early after a reconstruction that tends to be every couple of weeks, because things move quickly. Further along, once a block of work is set, it is usually longer between appointments.
What do I need at my end?
Room to move, whatever you train with, and somewhere to prop a phone or laptop so we can see you from head to foot. A link comes through before the appointment.
Book a video appointment

Thirty minutes with a physiotherapist who works with ACL patients every week. $100, wherever you are.

Book now