Two disciplines under one roof: Chiropractic care and Exercise Physiology. Most clinics offer one or the other. Having both matters more than it sounds, because getting you out of pain is only half the job. Keeping you out of pain is the other half, and that half is usually about movement, strength and habits rather than more appointments.
Chiropractic care
Dr Gordon practises the Gonstead method, a specific, no-rotation approach to adjusting. It suits people who want precision, and it’s gentle enough that we regularly treat older patients and pregnant mums, two groups who tend to arrive nervous about Chiropractic and leave surprised by how controlled a targeted adjustment is.
What that looks like in practice: your first visit runs long, because the examination is the part that determines everything else. History first. Then posture, motion palpation of the spine level by level, static palpation, instrumentation, and orthopaedic and neurological testing to work out whether a nerve is genuinely involved or the pain is coming from the joint itself. Weight-bearing X-ray if the findings call for it, because standing images show disc height and alignment under load in a way that lying-down imaging can’t. You’ll get the findings explained to you properly before treatment gets going, including the parts that aren’t good news.
Follow-up visits are shorter and more focused. We recheck the level, adjust what needs adjusting, and leave alone what doesn’t.
Exercise Physiology
Exercise Physiology is clinical exercise prescription: structured, evidence-based programs for rehabilitation, chronic conditions and injury prevention. Medicare care plans and NDIS funding can apply for eligible patients. Your GP can sort the referral, and we’re happy to talk you through what qualifies before you book anything.
A session isn’t a workout with a clipboard. The first one is an assessment: what you can do now, what hurts when you do it, how a hip hinge and a squat and a step-down actually look on you, plus grip, range of motion and whatever objective measures suit your presentation. Out of that comes a written program with real numbers on it, sets, reps, loads, and how to progress them week to week. After that, sessions are half coaching and half reassessment, because loading a healing back or a stiff knee is a judgement call that changes as you improve. Most people train the rest of the week on their own, at home or at their gym, and come back for review.
How the two work together
Same clinician, one plan. That’s the practical difference. If you turn up with a locked lower back, the early weeks are mostly hands-on: settle the joint, get the segment moving, calm the nerve down. As the pain eases the balance tips, and the work shifts to glutes, deep abdominals and hip mobility so the same level stops getting hammered every time you lift a toddler or a surfboard. Nobody has to re-explain their case to a second practitioner, and I’m not guessing about what the other person found, because I found it.
What we treat
The most common reasons people walk, or hobble, through the door are back pain, sciatica, neck pain and headaches, along with knee pain, frozen shoulder and the general stiffness that creeps in after years of desks and driving. We also see post-surgical rehab, osteoarthritis, and people managing chronic conditions where exercise is part of the medical plan. The full list is on our conditions page.
Not sure which service you need?
That’s normal, and you don’t have to decide before you arrive. Book a first visit and we’ll work out what’s going on. If Chiropractic isn’t the right tool we’ll tell you, and sometimes the honest answer is a strength program rather than an adjustment. Occasionally it’s neither, and you need your GP or a scan first, in which case you’ll hear that on day one.
Rose Bay clinic, 2/529 Old South Head Road. Phone (02) 9371 7774 or book online.