Physiotherapy
How we can help you
Our Physiotherapy department can help you improve your bladder, bowel and sexual health. We work with you to assess your needs, set goals and provide treatments and exercise programs to help you reach your goals. Our services are accessible to women, men and gender diverse people living with:
- Breast and gynaecology cancer treatment and common symptoms/side effects
- Prostate cancer treatment and common symptoms/side effects
- Bladder, bowel and sexual disorders
- Conditions specific to pregnancy & childbirth
- Symptoms of menopause
- Lymphoedema of the arms and legs
We do this by:
- Finding out what the problem is when you come to your first appointment
- Understanding your needs and concerns
- Working with you to come up with a plan of how exercise can help you both in the short and long term
- Providing support for self-management
We offer both individual services as well as group based programs.
We can help you if you have problems with bladder or bowel function, sexual health, pain or movement caused by injury or disease. We look after patients staying at The Royal Hospital for Women and those in the community who have been referred to one of our outpatient clinics. We also see patients referred from outpatient clinics on campus, for example:
- RHW gynaecology oncology outpatients
- POWH/RHW Breast Service
- POWH Urology department
- RHW gynaecology outpatients
- UNSW Lifestyle Clinic
- RHW/POWH pain clinics
Our outpatient clinics are for those living in the community. Our clinics include:
- Physiotherapy outpatient service: We care for people living in the community with problems with their bladder, bowel and sexual health. We also support people as they recover from or plan to have surgery for example, breast, prostate and gynaecological surgery.
- Cancer Prehab and Rehab: We help people having cancer treatment (chemotherapy, radiation, surgery) by providing exercise plans, education, social support and self-management advice to improve response to cancer treatment, reduce cancer-related fatigue and manage side effects.
- Gestational diabetes GYM: We run exercise programs in the physiotherapy gymnasium to support people with diabetes in pregnancy improve their glucose control; provide follow-up after birth via our postnatal lifestyle session and prevent a diagnosis of diabetes for pregnant people who might be at risk.
- EMBODY: We provide virtual weekly group physiotherapy during pregnancy and after birth. The EMBODY program has been designed to be completed weekly during pregnancy and for up to 3-6 months after having a baby. The program combines movement with education to prevent common pelvic floor problems and improve the health of childbearing people. It’s a great way to get your pelvic floor exercises done!
Our team includes trained pelvic floor physiotherapists, student physiotherapists and visiting physiotherapists completing training in pelvic health who will be responsible for your assessment and physiotherapy treatment plan.
We work in partnership with specialist nurses, midwives, medical and surgical specialists and your local doctor (GP).
Our administration officers can help you with bookings, referral management and telephone enquires.
We provide options to attend physiotherapy appointments and exercise programs via telehealth. This means that we communicate with you through a video link on your computer screen. We recommend attending your first appointment in person. If you would like to attend subsequent appointments via telehealth, you can discuss whether this option is suitable for you with your physiotherapist.
Health professional referral:
To come to the Physiotherapy Outpatient Department you will need to have your local doctor (GP) or treating specialist write you a referral letter explaining your relevant surgical and medical history. The referral may then be mailed, emailed or faxed to us or you can bring it into our department in person.
To make or cancel an appointment please telephone 9382 6540.
We try to see all of our patients as quickly as possible. However, we have a large number of patients seeking treatment. Appointments are offered based on urgency. Urgent conditions are generally given an appointment within a few days of receiving the referral. Non-urgent conditions may need to go on a waiting list. It can take up to 2 months for non-urgent conditions to receive an appointment.
Can I chose the day and time I attend appointments?
We will try to find appointment times that suit your availability. Our hours of operation however are 8:30am - 4:00pm Monday to Friday. We do not offer weekend treatments.
Self-referral for Physiotherapy services:
We are a teaching hospital and you may be asked to be involved in research or for a student to be present at your appointment. You have a right to say no. If you do so, this will not impact in any way on the services we will provide. All physiotherapists in our team are committed to achieving the best possible health outcome for you and complete regular supervision with a senior or specialist physiotherapist. You can ask your physiotherapist if your care can be reviewed with a senior or specialist physiotherapist and your physiotherapist might suggest this from time to time.
Please let us know if you need an interpreter. You can contact us telephoning the Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS) on 131 450. Tell the operator what language you speak and then ask the interpreter to set up a telephone conversation between you, an interpreter, and the healthcare professional you want to speak with.
Read about other women's experiences of Physiotherapy by following the link below.
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