Musculoskeletal Physiotherapy

Titled Musculoskeletal Physiotherapists (or Manipulative Physiotherapists) in Australia study for an extra year full-time for their post graduate diploma and have world leading expertise in treatment of spinal pain (discs, joints, ligaments, muscles and vertebrae).

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They have highly advanced skills in accurate assessment, diagnosis and management of musculoskeletal conditions, particularly headaches, neck, back and sacro-iliac joint dysfunction. They provide superior expertise with hands on treatment and manual techniques, such as joint mobilisations and manipulation.

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A Musculoskeletal Physiotherapist is trained to know exactly when and where to apply spinal manipulation. Although these techniques are more intensive than those used by other Physiotherapists, they will always be applied safely and effectively and only with your consent..

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Research has shown that the highly skilled assessment from titled Musculoskeletal Physiotherapists can form a diagnosis similar to or better than those determined by sophisticated imaging processes. For example, studies have shown that Musculoskeletal Physiotherapists are skilled in the diagnosis of symptomatic facet joints (these are the joints of the spine) (Philips and Twomey 1996), symptomatic intervertebral discs (Donelson et al 1997) and lumbar instability (Avery 1997).