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HOW WE WORK • BY DESIGN PHYSIOTHERAPY

NOT A QUICK

FIX. A PROPER

Answer

Most physio gets you better enough to leave. We're trying to get you better enough that you don't need to come back.

That means finding what's actually driving the problem, then building the strength to handle it. Every time.

BOOK INITIAL ASSESSMENT
WHAT WE TREAT

No referral needed • All major health funds

At a Glance
Assessment-Led Every session starts with understanding the pattern driving your pain, not just where it hurts.
Education-First You leave every session knowing more about your body than when you arrived. Understanding is part of the treatment.
Strength-Forward Rehab doesn't end when the pain settles. It ends when you're strong enough that it doesn't come back.
No Referral Needed Book directly online or call 0483 947 716. All major health funds accepted.

— WHY MOST PHYSIO DOESN'T STICK

THE LOOP

WE’RE BUILT

TO BREAK

You've been before. It helped for a bit. You did the exercises, at least for a while. The pain settled. You stopped going. A few months later it was back.

That's not bad luck. That's what happens when treatment stops at pain relief. The pattern that drove the problem in the first place the muscle that wasn't switching on, the movement sequence that was loading the wrong structure was never addressed. So when load comes back, so does the pain.

We're not trying to be your physio forever. We're trying to make sure you don't need to keep coming back with the same thing.

The pattern we see constantly
Someone comes in with a back that's been playing up for six months. They've had physio before. They were given exercises, had some manual therapy, felt better, stopped going. Three months later it flared again. They were told to rest. It settled. Then it came back. The cycle repeats because the system that was loading the back wrong is still loading it wrong. That's the gap we fill — and it's why our approach starts with the pattern, not the pain.

OUR THREE PILLARS

WHAT EVERY

CLIENT GETS.

EVERY TIME.

01
Certainty
You know exactly what's going on. The diagnosis is clear. The explanation makes sense. You understand why your body has been doing what it's been doing — and what we're going to do about it. No vague reassurance. No "let's see how it goes." A real answer, every session.
02
Simplicity
One or two things. Not ten. We focus on the exercises and movements that will make the biggest difference right now — the ones that will actually change the pattern. We send them with video. You know exactly how to do them and why they matter. No overwhelm, no guesswork.
03
Progress
Every session moves forward. We don't repeat the same treatment indefinitely. We track your progress — what's changed, what's loading differently, what capacity you've built. The goal isn't temporary relief. It's getting you to a point where the problem doesn't keep coming back.

These aren't aspirational values. They're the three things we commit to in every session with every patient. If any one of them is missing, the session hasn't done its job.

We say them out loud in your first session because we want you to hold us to them. If you leave confused about what's going on, or without a clear plan, tell us. That's on us to fix.

- WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENS

HOW A SESSION

AT BY DESIGN

WORKS.

The subjective history tells us most of what we need to know before you've even moved. How it started, what makes it worse, what you've tried, what worked briefly. That history is the diagnosis. The movement assessment confirms it.

We don't have a protocol. We have a process for finding your pattern. What you get out of a session is determined by what that pattern is, not by a standard set of treatments applied to everyone with your diagnosis.

01
Listen First
We spend the first part of every initial session understanding your history. Not just the injury — the context. What you were doing before it, what you've tried since, what worked for a bit and why it stopped. That history shapes everything that follows.
02
Find the Pattern
We watch you move. Squat, hinge, single-leg balance, shoulder press. We're looking for the coordination gap — the place where the wrong structure is taking the load because something else has switched off. Most people have never had this assessed properly before.
03
Explain What We Found
We walk you through the anatomy on the iPad. Link your scan or imaging to what the assessment showed. Explain the mechanism — why this structure is sensitised, what's been loading it wrong, what needs to change. You leave session one with a clear picture of what's going on.
04
Give You One or Two Things
The most important exercises right now. Not a list of eight. The one or two movements that will change the pattern most efficiently — sent with video so you can't get them wrong. Simple enough to do consistently. Specific enough to actually make a difference.
05
Hands-On When It Helps
Manual therapy, joint mobilisation, dry needling where appropriate — not as a primary treatment, but to reduce sensitivity enough that you can start loading the right structures. Hands-on work is a tool, not the goal. The goal is always getting you to load correctly on your own.
06
Build and Progress
Once the pattern is right, we build the capacity. Into the gym. Progressive loading. The exercises get harder, the load increases, the structure you've been protecting starts to handle real demands. That's when the confidence comes back. That's when it actually sticks.

OUR PHILOSOPHY

STRENGTH ISN’T

A BONUS.

IT’S THE POINT

Most physio clinics treat the pain and discharge the patient. We think that's the start of the problem, not the end of it.

Pain relief is the first phase. Getting the right muscles loading in the right order is the second. Building the capacity to handle real life, the hike, the deadlift, the game, the kid you need to pick up is the third. That's where most rehab stops short.

We don't discharge you when you feel better. We discharge you when you're strong enough that it won't keep happening. That's a different finish line and it's why our results last.

Phase 01
Relief
Calm the pain. Reduce sensitivity. Get moving without fear. Understand what's been driving it.
Phase 02
Rebuild
Fix the pattern. Get the right muscles loading in the right order. Start to trust the body again.
Phase 03
Strength
Build the capacity to handle real load. Get back to everything. Stay there. That's the finish line.

Strength training isn't something we add on at the end for motivated patients. It's the clinical framework that underpins how we treat everything. Every exercise we prescribe is building toward a body that can handle load because load is what life is made of.

You don't need to be fit to start. You don't need to have a gym background. You just need to be willing to do the work and we'll give you exactly what that work looks like, one step at a time.

WHY BY DESIGN

WHAT MAKES US

DIFFERENT.

01
We Find the Root Cause
Pain is a signal, not a diagnosis. We look for the movement pattern, the coordination gap, the structure that's been overloaded because something else stopped working. That's where the real answer is — and that's where we start.
02
Strength Is the Treatment
We don't treat pain with rest. We treat it with the right load, in the right sequence, building the capacity that was missing. Strength training isn't an add-on. It's the clinical framework we work within.
03
We Explain Everything
You understand your body better after every session. The anatomy, the mechanism, why it's been hurting, what's changing. That understanding isn't separate from the treatment — it's part of it. Informed patients get better outcomes.
04
Nothing Is Passive
We don't park you on a bed with a heat pack and check in every ten minutes. Every session is active, tracked, and moving forward. We're in the room with you. We know exactly what changed and what's next.
05
Experienced Physios Only
Every physio on our team is highly experienced and held to a high standard. No juniors seeing your complex case in room three. The same level of clinical rigour regardless of who you're booked with.
06
400+ Five-Star Reviews
Hobart's highest-rated physiotherapy clinic. Not because we ask everyone to leave a review — because the results give people something worth writing about.

— FAQ

COMMON QUESTIONS

ABOUT OUR APPROACH.

How is this different from physio I've had before?
The most common thing we hear is that people have had physio before, felt better, stopped going, and the problem came back. That usually happens because treatment addressed the symptom (pain reduction) without addressing the movement pattern that drove it. We look for that pattern first. The exercises we give you are specific to what your assessment shows, not a standard protocol for your diagnosis. And we don't discharge you when you feel better. We discharge you when the pattern is fixed and the capacity is built.
What happens in the first session?
The initial assessment is 60 minutes. We start with your history: how it started, what makes it worse, what you've tried. Then we watch you move: squatting, hinging, single-leg work, whatever's relevant to your presentation. We walk you through what we found on the iPad, give you one or two exercises to start with, and send you home with a clear picture of what's going on and what we're going to do about it. Most people leave feeling like they finally have an actual answer.
Do I need to be fit or go to the gym?
No. The strength-forward approach doesn't mean we expect you to already be training. It means we're building toward a body that's strong enough to handle what you're asking of it, and that process starts wherever you are right now. We have a private gym on site and access to it is part of the treatment when the time is right. You don't need any gym experience. We'll show you exactly what to do and why.
How many sessions will I need?
It depends on the presentation and how long it's been going on. Most acute issues resolve meaningfully within four to eight sessions with consistent work between appointments. Longer-standing presentations like chronic pain, post-surgical rehab, and recurrent injuries take more time and a more structured progression. We give you a realistic timeline at the initial assessment based on what we find, not a generic number of sessions.
Do you bulk bill?
We don't offer general bulk billing. We do accept chronic disease management plans (CDM/EPC plans) through your GP. Medicare covers part of the cost for up to five sessions per year under these plans. All major private health funds are accepted with HICAPS available on-site. No referral is needed to book directly.
What conditions do you treat?
We treat the full range of musculoskeletal conditions: back pain, hip and groin pain, knee pain, shoulder pain, neck pain, achilles and calf injuries, ankle and foot pain, elbow, wrist and hand pain, and more. We also see post-surgical rehab, WorkCover Tasmania patients, and sports injuries. If you're not sure whether we can help, call us. We'll tell you honestly.

READY for a

PROPER

ANSWER?

BOOK INITIAL ASSESSMENT

No referral needed • All major health funds

Or call 0483 947 716 • hello@bydesignphysio.com

WHAT WE TREAT

CONDITIONS WE

SEE MOST.

Back & Lower Back Pain → Learn more Hip & Groin Pain → Learn more Knee Pain → Learn more All Conditions → View all