The ever-evolving COVID-19 situation, whilst creating lots of forced changes to our lifestyles, is allowing us the chance to think differently about the way we offer our services.

Traditionally, services such as chiro, physio and massage have been seen purely in the ‘hands-on’ category. Naturally, this still remains the best approach to patient care, however in these times we need to consider other ways that we can assist our patients who are unable to physically make it to the clinic for an appointment.

In order to continue offering the highest level of care that we can under the current circumstances, we’ve introduced a number of new measures which we’ll briefly outline below.

Videolink Appointments

Physiotherapy

Physiotherapy is one service that is highly amenable to a videolink style appointment. Your therapist can:

• continue and progress your home exercise programme
• help in the management and diagnosis of acute injuries
• discuss any changes in symptoms
• give postural & ergonomic advice for your home office setup
• plan any necessary correspondence with your GP or other specialists

We recommend, where possible, seeing a physio for an in-person appointment first where possible. This will allow them to make a clear & accurate diagnosis through standard testing and clinical procedures and commence hands-on treatment. You follow-up consultations, if necessary (and deemed to be appropriate for your condition) may then be carried out via Videolink if you require this.
If, however, you’re unable to even come in to the clinic for your first appointment, your initial consultation can be carried out via Videolink. Whilst not as ideal as an in-person appointment, this may be the next best thing to getting you on the road to recovery as quickly as possible.

Workstation Ergonomic Setup

Working from home? Not sure if your workstation setup is ideal? Book a workstation ergonomic setup assessment with one of our chiropractors and let the experts help get you in the right position.
The recent increase in people shifting out of the office and into the home has already seen an increase in postural stress & strain walking through our doors. A few simple corrections to your setup may be just the thing that keeps you out of our clinic.
This assessment will take you through:

• the correct positioning of your monitor/laptop
• correct placement of your keyboard & mouse
• appropriate chair height and style
• setup of your standing desk if necessary
• assessment of other factors such as lighting, glare and other environmental stresses that may contribute to your condition

Transition of classes to online platform

The recent changes have meant that we can no longer run group classes in our studio. We are busily working on a range of new options including:

• Live streamed classes through Zoom video conferencing
• Online classes to purchase and download to use as often as you like
• Online classes to stream as a one-off viewing at a time that suits you

These will all be up & running very soon, so please keep checking back for more updates.

Payment for Online Services

All our Videolink services, when booked online, can be paid for at the time of booking. We ask that you complete this step in order to confirm your session. Prices for the sessions are displayed during the online booking process.
Health funds are moving towards being able to offer rebates for Videolink services (or “telehealth” appointments as health funds call them), but this will not be available immediately.

We hope that in this time of uncertainty, we can still offer you the best level of care through accessible services such as those above. If you have any suggestions on how we can serve you better when you’re not able to physically attend thew clinic, please email reception@wordpress-618427-3319396.cloudwaysapps.com and let us know! We’d love to hear your ideas and see if we can make them happen.

Do I need sophisticated equipment to have a Videolink consultation?

No. The only things you need are a device with a camera and a microphone (most phones these days will suffice, or an iPad/tablet). Alternatively your laptop will probably have a webcam, microphone & speakers built in. The only other requirements are:

• The ability to be hands-free throughout the duration of the appointment. For this reason we recommend using a laptop, as you can position the screen and camera easily and not need to hold it. Alternatively you’ll need some sort of stand for your phone or tablet that can be moved as required.
• Clear space around you to be able to do certain exercises and movements unimpeded
• If possible, no interruptions from other family members! Just like at the clinic, it’s no problem if kids come & go during the appointment, but we don;t want you to be too distracted and not get the best benefit that you can from your session

Otherwise, that’s all! When you book the appointment you’ll get a confirmation email with the link to the video portal, which will open 10 minutes before your appointment time. You don’t need to download or install any software for the Videolink appointments.

If you have any queries, please don’t hesitate to ask.