Exercise Physiologist Inner West: Work Injury Rehab

Most people searching for an exercise physiologist in the Inner West have already tried rest. The shoulder settled while they were off work, then flared again in week two back on the tools. Or the low back is fine walking the dog and awful after forty minutes of lifting. Exercise physiology deals with that gap between feeling better and being able to do the job.

Our clinic is in Five Dock and we see clients from Drummoyne, Haberfield, Leichhardt, Concord, Ashfield and Burwood. Our exercise physiologists and physiotherapists are registered with SIRA, so treatment can be delivered under NSW workers compensation and CTP claims as well as privately.

What an accredited exercise physiologist actually does

An Accredited Exercise Physiologist (AEP) is a university-qualified allied health professional accredited by Exercise and Sports Science Australia. The work is prescribing and supervising exercise for injury, chronic conditions and functional capacity, then adjusting the dose as capacity changes.

In a work injury setting that usually means three things. Measuring what you can currently tolerate. Building a graded program aimed at the physical demands of your role. Documenting the change so your doctor and insurer can see where you are up to.

How this differs from physiotherapy

The two overlap and often run together. Physiotherapy tends to sit closer to the injury itself: hands-on treatment, joint and soft tissue assessment, early-stage loading, diagnosis and clinical reasoning about the structure involved.

Exercise physiology tends to sit closer to the job. Longer sessions, gym-based work, progressive loading, conditioning, and simulation of the tasks you actually do. On a claim you might start with physiotherapy for the first few weeks, then move to exercise physiology as the focus shifts to capacity and hours, or run both at once with a shared plan.

Funding under workers compensation and CTP

For a NSW workers compensation claim, the usual path is a referral from your nominated treating doctor, then approval from the insurer. We complete an Allied Health Recovery Request setting out the assessment findings, the goals, the proposed number of sessions and the return-to-work target. The insurer reviews it and approves treatment before we continue. There is no gap payment to you for approved sessions.

For a CTP claim after a motor accident, treatment is funded through statutory benefits where it is considered reasonable and necessary and related to the accident. The timeframes and rules depend on how your injury is classified under the Motor Accident Injuries Act, which is worth confirming directly with your insurer or with SIRA's CTP Assist line on 1300 656 919.

If you have no claim, exercise physiology can be booked privately. Some private health extras cover it, and GPs can refer under a chronic disease management plan for eligible conditions.

What the first appointment involves

Allow around an hour. We go through the injury, the treatment so far, imaging if you have it, your current certificate of capacity and the restrictions on it.

Then we measure. Depending on the injury that might include range of motion, grip strength, single leg strength and balance, sit to stand, a step test for aerobic capacity, and lifting from floor to bench and bench to shoulder at controlled weights. For a lower back or shoulder claim we will usually test tolerance to sustained positions, because that is what fails at work rather than a one-off lift.

We also ask blunt questions about the job. How many kilograms, how many times an hour, at what height, on what surface, for how long. A storeman at a Rosehill warehouse, a childcare worker in Five Dock and a plasterer have very different problems even with the same MRI report.

You leave with a program and a plan for how sessions and home work fit around your roster.

What ongoing sessions look like

Sessions run in the gym and are supervised. Early on the emphasis is often on tolerable range, isometric loading and getting some aerobic base back if you have been off work for months. From there we add load, then volume, then the awkward positions and speeds that the job demands.

We track numbers so progress is visible: weights, reps, distances, sitting or standing tolerance in minutes. That record is what supports a graded increase in hours or duties rather than a guess.

Many clients also carry something else alongside the injury. Weight gain, blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, deconditioning after surgery, or poor sleep and low mood after a long claim. Exercise physiologists are trained to prescribe around those conditions, and we will coordinate with your GP where medication or monitoring is involved.

Working with your doctor, employer and insurer

Recovery at work moves faster when everyone is reading the same information. We write progress reports for the insurer, provide capacity information your doctor can use at certificate reviews, and can take part in case conferences with a rehabilitation provider or return-to-work coordinator.

Where suitable duties are being planned, we can comment on which tasks match your measured capacity now and which are likely to be too demanding at this stage. Worksite visits can be arranged with insurer approval.

When to ask for a referral

Consider exercise physiology if you are more than six to eight weeks post-injury and still well short of your normal duties, if pain flares predictably when hours increase, if you have been off work long enough to lose general fitness, or if your claim has stalled and nobody has objectively measured what you can do.

If you are in the Inner West and want an assessment with an exercise physiologist, call the clinic or book online and we will talk you through the referral and approval steps for your claim.