Peak Health Services

Peak Health Services Physio for gym and functional fitness rehab. We keep you training and get you pain free and stronger. www.peakhealthservices.com.au

22/06/2025

Ever come home from a physio visit with a list of 15 home exercises, that let's face it both you and the physio know you will never do? They might be wonderful helpful exercises, but they're absolutely useless if there's too many and it's not realistic to get them done.

We don't do that.

Our goal is to only prescribe somewhere between one and three exercises. Ones that work. Most of the time all we need to do is make a few tweaks to the training you are already doing instead, using that as your 'rehab' instead of burdening you with unrealistic expectations. Because the exercises will only work if they actually get done.

The last thing we'll ever tell anyone is to stop training, there is always a way to use your training to help.

Not ready to stop training but ready to finally sort out that hip/knee/shoulder/back that's been giving you grief for ages? Get in touch, we would love to help.

09/06/2025

There is nothing worse than an injury that strikes right when you are making progress or ramping up your training for an event. And for runners this happens waaay too frequently. Its frustrating, and often preventable!

Here's how:

1. Build Slowly.
You've just signed up for hyrox - great! You're super motivated and have a goal to achieve, which is amazing; the trick here is to curb the enthusiasm slightly and to build your capacity slowly. Exceed your capacity too much and too frequently and you will pick up a ni**le that will progress into an injury. Have a plan and stick to it - don't throw in an extra session just because you're feeling good.

2. Strength train.
This is a biggie. Strength is big factor in protection against injuries. Most runners unfortunately neglect this, or they don't challenge themselves with enough resistance during their strength session. You will gain a lot more by putting one strength session into your weekly training routine that an extra run. Not to mention that sled is heavy... And no, the "extra muscle" won't slow you down. If you need some help with this lets chat!

3. Recover.
Make sure you are prioritising recovery, this will help your tissues to repair and rebuild which is really the biggest thing you can do for injury prevention. What does this look like? Prioritising sleep. Good and adequate nutrition (more important and easier to underdo with high volume training than you think). Managing your stress levels. Not running on your rest day!

Not sure what this looks like for you? Or already got a little bit of a ni**le that's holding your running back? Pop in for a chat and we will sort you out.

25/05/2025

When we think about aging well, most of us picture being active, mobile, and independent into our 70s and beyond. The truth is, the foundation for that future is built right now and strength training plays a huge role.

Why It Matters in Your 30s, 40s & 50s

Muscle loss starts early: From your 30s onward, muscle mass naturally declines (called sarcopenia), and it accelerates with age unless you do something about it.

Build your strength bank: Think of strength training as putting deposits into your long-term mobility account. The more you build now, the more you can draw from later.

Joint protection: Keeping muscles strong around your joints helps prevent pain, injuries, and degenerative issues down the track.

Metabolism and energy: More lean muscle means better metabolic health, stronger bones, and higher energy levels throughout your day.

Future-proof your life: Whether it’s lifting your kids now or staying active with your grandkids later, strength training helps you stay capable, confident, and independent for decades to come.

You Don’t Need to Train Like an Athlete

Strength training doesn’t mean heavy barbells or high-level gym routines. It can be as simple as:

Bodyweight or resistance band work

Lifting moderate weights with good technique

Including squats, lunges, push-ups, and rows into your weekly routine

2–3 sessions a week is enough to see long-term benefits

Whether you're new to strength work or want a plan that fits your life, we are here to help.

11/05/2025

For a long time, the advice for back pain was simple: stay in bed and rest. But these days, we know that’s actually not the best idea.

Research shows that too much bed rest can slow down your recovery. When you lie around for too long, your muscles—especially the ones that support your spine—start to get weaker. And when those muscles weaken, it’s easier to injure your back again. On top of that, being inactive slows your blood flow, which your body needs to promote healing and reduce inflammation. Your joints and muscles literally need movement in order to be able to heal and recover.

That’s why we recommend getting up and moving (gently!) as soon as you can. Light activities like walking, stretching, or doing specific exercises designed just for you can help keep your joints flexible, strengthen your back, and speed up your recovery.

Moving also helps with the mental side of pain. If you avoid activity for too long, it can make you more anxious about doing anything—which can make the pain feel worse and harder to shake.

Bottom line? While taking it easy at first is okay, lying in bed for days isn’t the answer. We can help you stay active (safely) and use movement to heal, feel better, and get your life back on track.

04/05/2025

Experiencing some pain but still want to stay active?

You’re not alone and the good news is, you can usually keep moving with the right approach.

Let's take a look at how to modify your workouts when pain shows up, so you don’t lose progress or make things worse.

14/04/2025

If you’re into sports or training, you’ve probably dealt with an injury at some point—whether it’s a sore knee, a pulled muscle, or something more serious. Injuries can be frustrating, keeping you off the field, court, or gym for way too long. That’s where physiotherapy comes in! It’s not just about recovering from injuries; it’s also a game-changer when it comes to preventing them in the first place.

Strength, Flexibility & Movement: The Injury Prevention Trio
One of the biggest ways physiotherapy helps is by strengthening and conditioning your muscles. Weak or unbalanced muscles can put extra stress on your body, leading to overuse injuries. But with targeted exercises, you can build stability and support for your joints, reducing the chances of strains or tears. Another major factor? Flexibility and mobility. Keeping your muscles and joints moving properly and ensuring you have adequate range for the task you are needing to do prevents stiffness and helps you avoid those awkward twists and pulls that can lead to injuries.

Fixing Bad Movement Habits
Ever wonder if the way you run, jump, or lift might be hurting you? Physiotherapists use biomechanical analysis to check your posture, movement patterns, and technique. If they spot any inefficient or risky movements, they’ll help you correct them so you can perform better and stay safe.

Smart Training for Fewer Injuries
A good injury prevention program includes more than just workouts—it’s about training smarter. Physiotherapists design warm-up and cool-down routines, balance and coordination exercises, and sport-specific drills that help you stay in control of your movements. This kind of training improves muscle coordination and reaction time, making injuries less likely.

Stay in the Game Longer
Adding physiotherapy to your routine isn’t just about avoiding injuries—it also helps you recover faster from minor aches and pains, perform at your best, and extend your athletic career. Taking care of your body now means you’ll spend less time sidelined and more time doing what you love.

11/03/2025

Hear us out....

A lot of the time a ni**le or injury comes about because of overload (too much; too soon. too heavy; too often etc). And yes, a lot of the time there is a place for rehab exercises. But also a lot of the time the answer is not actually "more", its "smarter".

The last thing we will ever tell anyone is to stop training, there is always a way to use your training to help. It might look a little different for a period of time, but that's about it.

Want to know how to make better training decisions to knock that ni**le on the head? Let us know.

02/03/2025

Manual therapy is a hands-on treatment approach used by physiotherapists to manage musculoskeletal pain, improve mobility, and restore function. It includes a variety of techniques such as massage, joint mobilization, and myofascial release, each offering unique benefits for different conditions.

Massage therapy is one of the most widely recognized forms of manual therapy. By manipulating soft tissues like muscles, tendons, and ligaments, it can help reduce muscle tension, relieve stress, and improve blood circulation. Techniques like deep tissue massage can target trigger points or “knots” in muscles that can produce restrictions or refer pain to other areas of the body. This technique not only offers relief from tension but may also support muscle recovery, mobility, and relaxation.

Joint mobilization involves the gentle, controlled movement of joints within their natural range of motion. It is an effective technique for increasing joint mobility, especially in cases of stiffness due to conditions like osteoarthritis, post-surgery recovery, or injury. Physiotherapists use joint mobilization to reduce pain, improve function, and promote healing by restoring the normal movement of the affected joints. The technique often helps improve flexibility and reduces the discomfort associated with limited joint movement.

Myofascial release targets the fascia—the connective tissue surrounding muscles and organs. This technique targets the tension in the fascia, which may be a source of pain and restricted movement. It involves applying gentle sustained pressure to the affected areas, helping to break down adhesions and restore proper tissue function. Myofascial release can be particularly helpful for conditions related to tissue restriction.

Manual therapy is a versatile and effective treatment option for managing pain and improving physical function. Whether used for injury recovery, chronic pain, or post-surgical rehabilitation, these techniques can provide significant relief. If you are in pain we would love to fix that for you. Appointments available via our website!

23/02/2025

There is often a misconception about just what surgery is and how helpful it can be. And whilst sometimes surgery is absolutely necessary and the only right treatment option, it is generally nowhere near as often as you think it might be.

Here are three common, and generally unhelpful, beliefs about surgery:

1. Having surgery guarantees you'll get out of pain. Not so, pain is complex and while surgery can fix mechanical issues that doesn't always translate to being pain free.

2. Surgery is the fastest way to resolve the problem. Again not always so. Nothing about surgery is a magical quick fix; the 8-12 weeks return to (basic) function that is often quoted is not the same as the length of time it takes to return to full strength and full function, 8-12 weeks is minimum healing time for the tissues, after 8-12 weeks is when the real work starts. Depending on the extent of the surgery and the nature of the procedure rehabilitation is usually a 6-12 month process, sometimes even longer.

3. Recovery from surgery is less work than a conservative approach. Again, wrong. Post-op rehab is significantly longer and harder than most people believe it will be; you're not just rehabbing the injury; you're rehabbing the injury, surgical trauma, and quite often a period of immobilisation or incapacity.

BUT sometimes surgery is the best option; it's less often than people think, and is not a shortcut, it's not without risk, it's not easier, it's not faster.

And here’s the other thing; it doesn’t hurt to try conservative management first (pain management and appropriate strengthening and rehab; ie physio); there’s a really solid chance that if you give it the time and work it needs you will be able to avoid surgery, and if not you are now in a much better place to recover from the surgery.

02/02/2025

Did you know that physio can be incredibly helpful in decreasing or completely relieving headaches of most types?

Understanding Your Headache

- Migraines: Characterized by throbbing pain, often accompanied by nausea and light sensitivity.

- Tension-Type Headaches: A dull, aching pain or pressure around the head and neck caused by muscle tension and stress.

- Cervicogenic Headaches: Pain stemming from issues in the neck, often radiating to the head and behind the eyes. Typically one sided.


How Physiotherapy Can Help

1. Posture Correction: While posture in and of itself isn't the devil when it comes to headaches - there is often a lot that can be done to help relieve structural tensions and pressure.

2. Manual Therapy: Target tight muscles, reduce stiffness, and improve mobility. Very effective for some instant relief of your pain and symptoms.

3. Exercise Programs: Strengthen muscles and improve endurance to prevent recurring headaches.

4. Education & Lifestyle Advice: Learn how to identify and manage triggers and reduce stress.

Ready to regain control over your life? Contact us today to book a consultation and start your journey to headache relief!

19/01/2025

Are you a runner and want to get better at running?

Most runners start out running a little, learn the love of it and want to keep doing it, to go further or better their times etc etc.

Here’s the thing, almost every runner at some point in their running journey makes the same critical mistake. So, here's the one thing you are doing that is getting in the way of your running…


Running.

Wait, what?


That doesn’t sound right…. But for a lot of runners it is. Quite honestly, running seems like a logical thing to do if you want to get good at it; but if you’ve been running for a while and your progress is stagnating here are two things you could try instead that might help:

1. Not running every now and then - also known as rest and recovery. Running every day can drain your systems and whilst you might certainly be getting the volume in, you are probably missing the quality piece. Adding in a rest day; not a 'recovery run' day (I've been there - I know all the tricks, you won't sneak that one past me!), an actual rest day, will allow your systems to refresh and for you to hit your next session less fatigued. Voila, better results, with less time input.

2. Strength train - this is often a true low hanging fruit for runners; wouldn’t it be great if each stride could propel you slightly further slightly faster with the same or less effort? That’s what strength training can do for you. Plus it's good for a whole bunch of other health related reasons too.

Added bonus - both of the above can really help with protecting against injury, and also help with recovery and addressing any of those little ni**les that often creep in for runners. If you need some guidance, or help with a particular injury book yourself in, we're always happy to chat running.

16/12/2024

From the team and Peak, we wish you a Merry Christmas and a happy and healthy New Year!

We will be open during the holiday period! Check out our trading hours during the festive season 🥳🎄🎉

Appointments are available via our website.

Address

Redfern, NSW

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 7pm
Tuesday 9am - 7pm
Wednesday 9am - 8pm
Thursday 9am - 8pm
Friday 9am - 7pm
Saturday 9am - 5:30pm
Sunday 10am - 5pm

Telephone

+61296983333

Website

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