What to Expect from Physiotherapy at Active Lifestyle Physiotherapy
Before your first appointment, here’s what we’d love you to know.
Your first visit checklist
A quick reference before you arrive:
✓ Wear comfortable, loose-fitting clothing
✓ Bring your referral — or let us know who to contact if you don’t have it
✓ Let us know about any prior imaging
✓ Bring your private health fund card
✓ Check your schedule for the next few weeks — the early phase of treatment is more frequent
✓ Think about what you want to get back to doing
✓ Arrive on time
✓ Expect some soreness after your first session — it’s completely normal
Your first appointment is an assessment — and that’s a good thing
Your initial consultation at Active Lifestyle Physiotherapy is dedicated to understanding you — your injury, your history, your goals, and your lifestyle. Our physiotherapists each bring over 15 years of clinical experience across a wide range of conditions, which means from your very first session, you’re in the hands of someone who has seen and successfully treated presentations like yours many times before.
We’ll ask a lot of questions, carry out a physical assessment, and start building a clear picture of what’s going on. By the end of your first session, we’ll have a treatment plan tailored specifically to you, including how many sessions we’d recommend, how often, and what to expect along the way.
Most people arrive hoping one session will do the trick. Occasionally it does — but for most injuries and conditions, a structured course of treatment is what gets you back to doing what you love, faster and more completely.
We understand that every person comes with their own background, values, and experience of healthcare. We welcome that. Please feel free to share what’s important to you, including any previous treatments you’ve tried, traditional or otherwise. This helps us get it right for you.
Before you come in, take a moment to think about what you want to get back to doing. Whether it’s returning to sport, getting through a workday without pain, keeping up with your children, or simply sleeping through the night — knowing your goal helps us build a plan that’s meaningful to you, not just clinically appropriate. The clearer your goal, the more focused and effective your treatment will be.
Preparing for your appointment
To make the most of your time with us, please wear or bring comfortable, loose-fitting clothing that allows easy access to the area being assessed and treated. Shorts are ideal for lower limb and knee appointments; a singlet or loose top works best for shoulder or neck assessments.
If you’re unsure what to wear, don’t worry — all consultations at Active Lifestyle Physiotherapy take place in private, fully enclosed consultation rooms, and we have shorts and gowns available to change into. We will always step out while you change, and use towels to drape appropriately throughout your session. Your privacy and dignity are important to us, and we’ll never compromise on either.
Please also bring:
- Any referral letters from your GP or specialist. If you don’t have your referral with you, please let us know who referred you so we can contact them directly to obtain any relevant information before or after your appointment
- Your private health insurance card for on-the-spot HICAPS claiming
If you were referred by a friend or family member — thank you for the trust. Please let us know who sent you so we can pass on our gratitude.
If you’ve had any imaging done — X-rays, MRI, ultrasound, or CT scans — please let us know before or at your appointment. We work closely with many of the local imaging centres in the area, including PRP Radiology, I-MED Radiology, Macquarie Medical Imaging, Castlereagh Imaging, and Synergy Radiology, and are often able to access your images and reports directly. Having this information from the outset allows us to give you a more accurate and thorough assessment from the very first session.
Please also arrive on time. Our schedule is carefully designed to give every patient the full attention they deserve. If you’re running late, please let us know as soon as possible — we’ll always do our best to accommodate you in the remaining time, though the full consultation fee will apply. If you arrive more than 15 minutes late, we may need to ask you to reschedule, and our cancellation fee will apply (see our cancellation policy below).
A note on multiple areas of concern
It’s not uncommon for patients to arrive with pain or issues in more than one area — and we will always do our best to address everything you bring to us. Our initial assessment is 45 minutes, which gives us a thorough picture of your overall presentation. That said, we will prioritise the most debilitating or functionally important area first, ensuring it receives the full attention it deserves. Attempting to fully assess and treat several areas in one session means each area receives less time than it deserves — and the results for all of them suffer.
If you have two or more significant areas to address, we strongly recommend extended consultations for your follow-up appointments rather than standard sessions. This allows us to properly treat each area in turn without compromising care. Most private health funds also provide a higher rebate for extended consults. When you call to book, simply let us know you have multiple areas of concern and we’ll make sure you’re in the right appointment type from the start.
What to expect after your first few sessions
It’s very common to feel some temporary soreness in the treated area after your first one or two sessions — similar to the way muscles feel after an unfamiliar workout. This is a normal and expected part of the healing process, and it typically settles within 24–48 hours. It is not a sign that treatment isn’t working or that something has gone wrong.
What we do want to hear about is sharp, worsening, or unusual pain that feels different to the expected post-treatment soreness — particularly if it’s keeping you up at night or getting worse rather than better over a couple of days. In those cases, please contact us straight away rather than waiting for your next appointment.
And if at any point you feel your treatment isn’t progressing the way you’d hoped — please tell us. Patients who feel they aren’t improving sometimes quietly disengage rather than raising it, and we understand why — it can feel awkward. But an honest conversation is always more useful than a missed appointment. With over 15 years of experience each, our physiotherapists have a broad toolkit to draw on — we can reassess, adjust the plan, try a different approach, or refer on if needed. We are always working in your corner, but we can only do that if we know what you’re experiencing.
Physiotherapy is a partnership
Physiotherapy works best when both sides show up fully. Our role is to provide skilled, evidence-based assessment and treatment. Your role is to attend consistently, engage with your home exercise program, and communicate openly with us.
This is especially important to understand if you’re used to a healthcare model where the clinician does the work and you receive the result. Physiotherapy is different — the sessions are where we create the conditions for recovery, but it’s what happens between appointments that drives your progress. Your active participation is not optional; it is the treatment.
We’ll never give you an unrealistic program or set you up to fail. Every home exercise we prescribe will be practical, purposeful, and explained clearly. But we do ask that you engage with it — and that you tell us honestly if something isn’t working for you so we can adjust it.
How treatment typically unfolds
Most of the acute conditions we treat at Active Lifestyle Physiotherapy follow a three-phase approach. Here’s what that usually looks like:
Phase 1 — Calming things down
In the early stages, we focus heavily on hands-on manual therapy — joint mobilisation, soft tissue work, and targeted techniques to reduce pain and restore movement. This phase is usually the most intensive, and there’s a good reason for that: manual therapy is highly effective, but its effects are relatively short-lived on their own. Keeping sessions closer together means we can build on each treatment before the benefits wear off, helping you progress faster.
Most people in this phase attend twice a week for the first few weeks, though this is always tailored to your presentation.
Phase 2 — Building capacity
Once your symptoms have settled and you’re moving better, we shift focus to building the strength, endurance, balance, and power your body needs to handle the demands of real life. With a greater emphasis on exercise-based rehabilitation — including progressive loading, balance training, and where appropriate, plyometrics — this is where the real long-term gains are made.
Sessions in this phase are typically once a week.
Phase 3 — Building resilience
This is the phase many people skip — and it’s the one that makes the biggest difference to whether you stay better. Phase 3 is about consolidating your gains, building the resilience to withstand the things life throws at you, preventing recurrence, and achieving your longer-term goals. Whether that’s returning to sport, keeping up with your family, or simply feeling confident in your body again — this is where we get you there and set you up to stay there.
For many patients, this phase involves check-in sessions every 4–8 weeks. Research consistently shows that patients who maintain periodic contact with their physiotherapist experience significantly fewer recurrences of their original condition compared to those who stop treatment once symptoms resolve. A brief session every couple of months to monitor, progress, and fine-tune your program is almost always more effective — and considerably less costly — than managing a full flare-up from scratch.
Committing to the plan — and booking ahead
When you book your initial appointment, we’d encourage you to take a moment to look ahead at your schedule for the next few weeks. For most acute conditions, the early phase of treatment involves attending more frequently — typically twice a week — to make sure each session builds on the last before the benefits start to fade. The more available you are during this critical window, the faster and more completely you’re likely to recover.
At the end of your first session, when your treatment plan has been confirmed, we’ll ask you to book your upcoming appointments then and there. Locking these in early means you secure the days and times that genuinely suit your life, rather than scrambling for gaps after every visit. It also means your recovery is built into your routine from the outset — not squeezed in around everything else.
And if cost, timing, or anything else is a concern — please raise it at that first appointment, when we’re building your plan together. We’d much rather design something that fits your real circumstances than lose you after one or two sessions. We can often adjust frequency, prioritise the highest-impact sessions, or structure things differently — but only if we know what you’re working with. A realistic plan, followed consistently, will always get you further than an ideal plan that doesn’t fit your life.
Can’t make it in? Telehealth may be an option
If attending in person becomes difficult — whether due to work, travel, illness, or other commitments — we offer telehealth consultations for appropriate appointments. While hands-on treatment isn’t possible via telehealth, it can be a valuable option for exercise progression, reassessment, and keeping your recovery on track between in-person sessions. Ask us whether telehealth is suitable for your stage of treatment.
Fees, rebates, and payment
We have HICAPS available, which means your private health insurance rebate can be processed on the spot at the end of each appointment. Simply bring your health fund card and we’ll handle the claim directly — you only pay any remaining gap.
Unfortunately, we’re unable to tell you in advance how much your fund will rebate — this varies between insurers and policy levels. To find out before your appointment, contact your health fund and ask about the following item numbers:
- Item 500 — Initial assessment consultation
- Item 505 — Standard subsequent consultation
- Item 506 — Extended consultation (multiple areas)
We also welcome patients referred under a GP Chronic Condition Management Plan (GPCCMP) — the Medicare plan for people with chronic conditions requiring ongoing, multidisciplinary care. Under this plan, Medicare provides a rebate of $61.80 per session (MBS item 10960), which can be processed immediately through our terminal.
A note we feel is important to share: Active Lifestyle Physiotherapy is not a bulk-billing clinic. Our normal consultation fees apply to all patients, including those with a GPCCMP referral. We know that some GPs describe these plans as providing “free” or “no-gap” sessions — we understand why that expectation is set, but it isn’t something we’re able to offer. Every patient, regardless of how they’re referred, receives the same time, attention, and quality of care from our experienced team — and our fees reflect that. The Medicare rebate will meaningfully reduce your out-of-pocket cost, but a gap will remain.
If you have any questions about fees before your first appointment, please don’t hesitate to call us — we’re happy to be upfront about costs so there are no surprises.
Questions between sessions? Please reach out
If you have a question, concern, or are unsure about something between appointments — please contact us. You can reach the team at Active Lifestyle Physiotherapy by phone or email, and we’ll always get back to you as soon as we can. We would far rather you check in than sit with uncertainty, push through something you shouldn’t, or quietly wonder whether your treatment is on track.
Recovery doesn’t pause between sessions, and neither does our commitment to your care.
What we ask of you
- Check your schedule before your first appointment — the early phase of treatment is more frequent, and the more available you are, the better your outcome
- Think about your goal before you come in — what do you want to get back to doing?
- Arrive on time — your punctuality protects everyone’s session
- Wear comfortable, accessible clothing (or we can provide what you need)
- Bring any referrals, or let us know who to contact if you don’t have one handy
- Let us know if you’ve had any recent imaging done
- Attend as consistently as your plan recommends
- Book your upcoming sessions before you leave — don’t wait until the next one to rebook
- Do your home exercises — they are part of your treatment, not an optional extra
- Speak up if something isn’t working, or life gets in the way — we’d always rather know
- Ask questions. This is your recovery, and you deserve to understand every step of it
The goal
At Active Lifestyle Physiotherapy, we want you back to doing what you love — whether that’s running, lifting your children, getting through a workday without pain, or sleeping through the night. With over 75 years of combined clinical experience at the highest level, our physiotherapists have the knowledge, skills, and genuine commitment to get you there.
A clear plan, followed consistently, is the most reliable way to make that happen.
We’re in this with you. Let’s make it count.