Myotherapy
Pain that keeps
coming back
It is not stubborn. It is unexplained. The assessment at the front of a myotherapy appointment is the part that explains it.
What it is
We find the cause
before we treat it
Myotherapy is the assessment and treatment of muscle and soft-tissue pain. The hands-on work will feel familiar if you have had a good remedial massage. The difference is that the treatment is aimed at a reason, not just at wherever happens to be tender.
Finding that reason is quick and it is hands-on from the start. You will be asked to turn, reach and bend while Dale feels what moves and what does not — and it is very often a mid-back that quietly stopped rotating two years ago driving a neck that has hurt for months. The neck is the complaint. The mid-back is the problem.
What it treats
The six we
see most
Neck & shoulders
Screen posture, carrying, sleeping awkwardly, and the tension that turns into a headache by Thursday.
Low back
Lifting, gardening, long drives, and the mornings where getting out of bed is the hardest thing you do all day.
Headaches
The kind that builds from the neck up, often with a jaw and shoulder involved that nobody has looked at.
Tennis & golfer’s elbow
Gripping, lifting, a mouse, a racquet or a trade. Slow to come on and notoriously slow to leave if it is left alone.
Desk and screen pain
Upper back, neck and shoulder load from sitting — the most common thing that walks through the door.
Sports injuries
Calves, hamstrings, shoulders and hips. Running, footy, golf, swimming, and the gym four times a week.
The appointment
Start to finish
You talk, we listen
Where it hurts, how long it has been going on, what makes it worse. Most people have already worked out half the answer before they arrive.
We assess
How the joint moves, what fires, what has quietly stopped doing its job. This is the part a straight massage skips, and it is usually where the answer is.
Treatment
Hands-on work aimed at what the assessment found, not at wherever it happens to be tender. Dry needling, cupping and stretching where they earn their place.
A plan you understand
What we found, what we are going to do about it, and what to do between visits. You will know the reasoning, not just the appointment time.
Massage or myotherapy
Two minutes
will tell you
A massage
Treats the tissue in front of it. No assessment, no plan, and nothing to do between visits. Sometimes that is exactly the right purchase.
Myotherapy
Assesses, treats what it found, and sends you out with something to work on. Claimable on extras cover with most funds.
Two minutes
Not sure whether myotherapy
or massage is for you?
Answer four questions and we will tell you which appointment actually suits what you have got — or whether it is neither.
If we are not the right fit, we will say so and point you in the right direction. Nothing is stored and nothing is sent anywhere.
Who treats you
Dale Peirson
Twenty-five years qualified. A decade in practice here on the peninsula, several years away from the table, and then he came back to it — by choice, which tells you most of what you need to know.
- Bachelor of Health Science (Clinical Myotherapy)
- Firm, specific treatment. Not a general once-over.
- Assessment before hands, every appointment
- In clinic Monday to Thursday
Practical
Before you call
Health funds
Claim it
on the spot
- Medibank
- Bupa
- HCF
- nib
- HBF
- Australian Unity
- ahm
HICAPS is on the desk, and it is connected to every private health insurer in Australia — not just the ones listed. Tap your card after the appointment, the rebate comes off on the spot, and you pay the gap rather than the lot.
What comes back depends on your level of extras cover, and myotherapy is not on every policy. The terminal tells you the exact number before you leave the room, so there is no invoice to chase and nothing to find out later.
FAQ
Questions people actually ask
Do I need a referral?
No. You can book myotherapy directly.
What should I wear?
Loose, comfortable clothing you can move in. You stay fully dressed for the whole appointment — there is nothing to change into and nothing to take off.
Will it hurt?
Some of it is firm, and a stubborn area can be tender while it is worked on. It should never be something you have to brace through — say so and the pressure changes.
Is myotherapy the same as massage?
There is real overlap in the hands-on work, but myotherapy assesses first and treats what the assessment found. If you are not sure which you want, the two-minute questionnaire on our massage or myotherapy page will tell you.
Can I claim it on private health?
Myotherapy is generally claimable if you hold extras cover, but rebates and waiting periods vary between funds. Worth a two-minute call to yours before you book.
Book the one with the assessment
New patients get 40 minutes, because the first appointment includes working out what is going on.