Most people go back too early. We test instead of guessing.
Return-to-sport clearance here means hitting objective numbers — limb symmetry above 90%, hop tests, isometric strength on a dynamometer — not a physio saying it feels alright. Every number is repeated at each phase change and emailed to you as a chart, so you see exactly where you stand before anyone talks about clearance.
How this clinic runs
Four facts about how sessions here are booked and tested. None of them is a claim about how your body will respond — nobody can promise you that.
Operating out of the same Baroona Rd building.
Objective tests you complete before a return-to-sport clearance is signed.
Limb symmetry required on every strength and hop test, not a feeling.
Turf, rack, sled and force plates on the gym floor on site.
Every injury runs through the same four
Each phase has an exit criterion you have to meet before the next one starts. You will know at your first appointment which phase you are in and what gets you out of it.
Settle it down
Protect the joint, reduce irritation, and keep as much load as the tissue tolerates — usually the shortest phase. Exit: full passive range, walking without a limp.
Rebuild strength
Progressive loading of the injured tissue and everything upstream of it — the unglamorous phase where the work happens. Exit: 80% limb symmetry on strength testing.
Add speed & impact
Running, hopping, landing and change of direction, built up in measured increments on the turf here. Exit: 90% symmetry, hop tests passed.
Back to your sport
Sport-specific drills at full intensity, then a graded return to training and match minutes with your coach in the loop. Exit: all seven tests passed, coach briefed.
From the first assessment to the gym floor
Hands-on, first visit
Every case starts with a hands-on assessment before anything is loaded — shoulders, knees, ankles, backs, whatever brought you in.
Sprains & niggles
Undertreated constantly. Balance and strength work now is what stops a sprain becoming years of rolling the same ankle.
Loaded strength work
Progressive loading on rack and reformer-style equipment once the joint can tolerate it — phase two starts here, not on a plinth.
Pulley & resistance training
Cable and pulley work for ranges a standard gym setup does not isolate well.
Return-to-sport strength sessions
Supervised sessions in the phase-three and phase-four range, at a lower rate than a treatment appointment.
Guided return-to-sport coaching
A strength coach working off the same file as your physio, so nothing drops between hands-on treatment and the gym floor.
Cleared on numbers, not on feeling
Included in your appointment fee and repeated at every phase change. Six of the seven tests, at a glance:
Isometric quad strength. ≥90% symmetry required on the dynamometer.
Isometric hamstring strength. ≥90% symmetry, tested in inner and outer range.
Single-leg hop for distance. ≥90% symmetry, three attempts each leg.
Triple hop. ≥90% symmetry across three consecutive hops.
Side hop, 30 seconds. ≥90% symmetry on successful reps over a 40cm line.
Y-balance reach. Less than 4cm difference between sides.
Testing and gym time, priced like everything else
$120 initial assessment with baseline testing. $95 standard session after that. Supervised gym sessions run cheaper, at $70, because by then you need supervision and progression, not hands-on treatment.
Initial assessment
Sixty minutes, including baseline testing on the dynamometer and force plates.
Standard session
Forty minutes, hands-on and program review, every follow-up visit.
Who you'll be working with
Two physios and two strength coaches, working off the same file. Treatment ending does not mean starting again with someone new.
Nick Draper
BPhty (Sports) · AHPRA
Bianca Toure
BPhty (Hons) · AHPRA
Sam Petrakis
BExSci · ASCA Level 2
Amy Ngata
BExSci · ASCA Level 2
Questions we get on the phone
Before you book, the things people usually ask.
Why won't you just clear me when it feels fine?
Because feeling fine and being capable of a maximal change of direction are different things, and the gap between them is where reinjuries live. Objective criteria-based return is the more cautious standard, not a formality — we will show you your own numbers so you can see where you sit against the threshold.
Do I need a referral or a scan?
No referral needed — physiotherapy is first-contact in Australia. Scans are ordered where they change management: suspected bone stress, a significant structural tear, or pre-surgical planning. For most soft-tissue injuries an examination tells us what we need to start.
How is this different to a normal physio clinic?
There is a gym on site with a rack, a sled and force plates, so the strength phases actually happen here instead of being handed to you as a printout. The strength coaches work off the same file as the physios, so nothing falls through the handover.
Can you work with my club physio or surgeon?
Yes, constantly. We follow surgical protocols to the letter and send progress reports without being chased. If a club physio is doing your in-season management we work around them rather than duplicating it.
What if I have to play before I pass the tests?
It happens — finals, selection, a contract. We will tell you exactly which number you are short on and how to manage the load if you go anyway. That is a more useful conversation than a flat no.
Injured this weekend? We hold Monday slots.
Answered from 6am weekdays. Mention it is a weekend injury and you will get one of the three we hold every week.