I scored a referral to Pondera when something weird and painful was going on with my back earlier…read morethis year. Dave is a miracle worker. Something that'd been causing me large amounts of pain for days was identified with a few prods and a few questions, and over the course of a couple of appointments, had been manipulated right out of my system. As well as being a miracle worker, Dave is also a really personable and funny guy. Pondera seems to have a strong focus on physio for dancers and performers, too, which I think is a pretty cool slant. So many physios advertise their biggest focus as sports therapy, and that's not something I associate with at all. Hooray for the stage! Bonus: after one of my appointments, a well-known ABC Kids presenter was waiting for their appointment. Let me just say this - if Pondera is good enough for Playschool, it's good enough for me.

I have only been here once but this is the first time that I have been to a physio that I have not…read moreleft in pain or with a further injury! Stephen (the physio) was professional, easy to get along with and actually listened to my issue. He attended to it well and I was really impressed. I am due to go back on Friday to see him again and I am glad I finally found a physio that is right for me!

I was really impressed with Martine at Invigorate Physio. I'm 60 but like to stay fit and active -…read morerun, swim, hike, paddle etc. So I don't like injuries and take a lot of care to ensure I don't get them - I really liked Martine's holistic approach to overall health - as well as treating my long term sacroiliac/hip issue with both hands on treatment and my own personalised take-home program. Highly recommended if you're in Brisbane and looking for a health professional who gets the whole of you - not just the symptoms.

I'm not usually one to leave a review or recommendation, but Barefoot Physiotherapy is so…read moreoutstanding I could not go on without publicly praising them. I injured my ankle a few years ago playing touch and being a young student at the time decided to forgo seeking treatment. This was a huge mistake and over the years not only did my ankle never heal, but my body adjusted to compensate - which only caused more issues and pain. I decided to finally seek help and after trying two other physiotherapists nothing seemed to be working. Luckily for me, I stumbled across Barefoot online and based on their approach decided to give them a crack. During my first appointment, we did a very thorough overview of my specific injury, my whole body, my day-to-day experience and what I wanted to eventually achieve physically. I was pleasantly surprised at how in-depth this process was and how the results from this meeting alone drastically improved my injury. Following my appointment, I was assigned exercises that were practical, manageable and most importantly enjoyable. What's better was that were I to be under the weather or get bored, I could easily interchange or intensify my exercises. Over the next few months I saw my physiotherapist, Sal, many times. Every appointment I went to was reactive and based on progression. Depending on my adventures between appointments, my treatment and exercises were modified to ensure I saw and felt improvements with every visit. During busy weeks where I was unable to train as much as I would have liked, I never felt any guilt coming to see Sal because she understood that life is complex and I knew that between her expertise and confidence in me, we would be back on the horse in no time. For over a month now I've been using specialised training equipment Barefoot lent me, free of charge. By comparison, I know physio's that charge for tape! What's more, as my ankle improved I needed less and less appointments - a sign of true dedication to the patient. What has made Barefoot truly stand out however, is that I am treated as more than a simply customer. Sal was (and still is) incredibly attuned and sincerely dedicated to ensuring that I not only continue to improve my ankle's condition, but that I also live a genuinely good life. During my time here, Sal and the team at Barefoot have treated me like family. I always look forward to our appointments where I am not only expertly and professionally treated but enjoy meaningful conversation and a sharing of our experiences. Sal's outlook on life and problem-solving talents even helped me gain a new perspective regarding my own future pathway. I could continue this review with the many specific moments and features that make Barefoot Physiotherapy the virtuous establishment it is, but for the sake of anyone reading this I'll sum up by saying: they don't just treat the injury, they treat the person; and Barefoot has treated me very, very well. I'm off for a pain-free run (because I can do that now).

I hobbled in to Uq's physiotherapy clinic after weeks of putting it off out of fear of what physio…read moresessions would do to my bank balance. A mere $35 later, I walked out idolizing my undergraduate student therapist who's magical hands took away the pain! Of course, being staffed by students, I'm sure not all of them can be brilliant and I did have to endure a switch in therapists several weeks into my treatment due to their rostering system, but for half the price of regular physiotherapist they do a pretty awesome job. The undergraduates are in their final year of study, so they know what they are doing and they are supervised closely by qualified teachers. You can also be seen by post-graduate students for $50 an hour.

Great. Went here after dismal fail of another local Physio. They were great and helped heaps.read more

Had seen a few physios over past couple of years trying to find one that could help me with my…read morelower back issues. Tried Cale and his massage and advice has been the best. I recommend him to everyone!

These people know how to fix bodies, that's for sure…read more I've had bogus problems with my collarbone for years. It caused me fairly constant pain. My doctor didn't really ever investigate the issue, so I decided to ditch him. I'd heard people say the name Mark Kelly with reverence. He works at the West End Osteopathic Clinic. I was told he was expensive ($85 for the first appointment), and that I'd have to wait. I had to wait two weeks. Not so bad. The day of my first appointment came. When I sat down with Mark, he asked me to tell him what was wrong. I told him the same story I told my former doctor. He casually responded with "patients often do have a good idea of what's ailing them". He asked me to stand up, place one hand over the other hand, push down with the top hand, while trying to pull up with the hand underneath. Immediately, he explained the error in my collarbone. I'm not the medically/ scientifically minded person who is good with technical names and jargon. So, he explained to me in 'osteo' speak what was wrong, and then explained it to me in simpleton terms I could understand. The massage he gave me was absolutely, by miles, the best massage I've had. It's easy to say this simply because I went in there feeling stunted and pained, and came out feeling taller, stronger, and more calm. I remember being scared, because I knew at some point he was going to crack my back (it's a fear I've carried since childhood- I hate the sound). I just tried to focus on his instructions, and tried to remember to breathe. The cracks sounded like someone twisting bubble wrap, and the feeling can only be described as rusted shackles busting open from my spine. I was possibly even excited when Mark told me I had to come back every month for 'maintenance'. I have no qualms with paying $85 for his advice and therapy. It's often hard to find a good practitioner who will listen to you, and who you can trust to work in your best interest. Coincidentally, I haven't been in nearly as much pain since I began to see him. I give Mark Kelly, and all the staff at West End Osteopathic Clinic my highest recommendation.

I took my partner to West End Osteopathy in the hope that we would receive treatment for her…read morepersistently sore neck. The diagnoses was that the C6/C7 facet joint was locked and in muscle spasm. What we received were treatments that in fact exacerbated her condition and the next day she experienced far greater pain symptoms than prior to seeking treatment. The day after, the pain had become so severe that we returned to West End Osteopathy and sought further treatment to relieve the exacerbated symptoms again the treatment was ineffective. The following day the pain had become so bad that my partner was reduced to tears and immobility. We were lucky enough that our neighbour is a retired acupuncturist with 40 years of experience and was the president of the Australian Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine Association. Despite being at a family reunion he graciously came to our rescue and when he learnt that we had been told to apply heat hourly to the affected area he informed us that the problem had been misdiagnosed and that the disk was in fact swollen. He advised us to apply ice to reduce the inflammation and then applied acupuncture to reduce swelling. He further informed us that if we had continued with applying heat as proscribed we ran the risk of rupturing the disk and necessitating surgery. After routinely applying ice as he proscribed the swelling and inflammation had reduced considerably, together with the pain. We obtained an MRI scan, which confirmed our neighbour's diagnoses and showed that there was broad based disk protrusion in the C5/C6 spine, and tiny protrusions in C4/C5 and C6/C7. Our neighbour reassured us that there was no long-term damage and that with the correct treatment the problem should disappear in a matter of weeks. This statement was reflected in the MRI report. I spoke that day with the practitioner responsible and informed her that we had sought a second opinion as we found that her treatment and recommendations ineffective and even detrimental. I told her that we had been applying ice instead of heat and that this treatment was effective. She disputed the efficacy of the second opinion and I reminded her that it had in fact reduced the swelling and pain, and that her theory, in this case, was incorrect. I requested a refund and was told that the practice manager would call me. At 7.30 that evening I received a call from the practice manager who was very aggressive and spoke over the top of me whilst trying to belittle my experience with lengthy technical terms and attempted to invalidate the opinion of a practitioner with twice her years of experience. She told me that no one treats these types of injuries with ice and further that when we came to her practice we were not in fact paying for them to fix my partners problem, but for the knowledge and experience her practitioners had achieved through training. She added that we had no right to expect them to fix our problem but only that they would apply their training to the issue. When I disputed this she condescendingly informed me that I had a right to my difference of opinion. She refused to be responsible for the additional pain my partner had to endure and nor did she apologise for the pain caused. The practice manager was correct when she said that I am entitled to my opinion, so if you are reading this review please take heed of this warning and benefit from my partners painful experience and choose another clinic to take care of your loved one. I implore you that if you care for your own health and the wellbeing of those you love, please avoid West End Osteopathy as they have shown little regard for my partners well being or for the additional pain they have caused her.