What is Occupational Physiotherapy?
Who Do Workplace Physiotherapists Work With?
Workplace or occupational physiotherapists work with both the injured worker and the workplace or GP to ensure a rapid return to work. They treat the injury as they would a normal injury, however they take into consideration the type of job they have, the complications with the job and the current condition of the injured worker.
Occupational physiotherapists commonly treat:

Workcover Physiotherapy
At Wilston Physiotherapy we treat patients who are both covered by Workcover and self insured. With a workcover certifcate from your GP or specialist that includes Physiotherapy on it, means we can treat you free of charge.
Minimise Workers Compensation Claims & Premiums
Did you know the more injuries you have or the longer your staff are off work the higher your Workcover premiums will be? Get your employees back to work faster or even better avoid costly Workcover claims altogether and keep your premiums to a minimum. If you wish to discuss a direct referral network for us to assess your workers, drop us a line and we are more than happy to discuss options with you.
In 2021-22, Australian Bureau of Statistics Work-related injuries survey data showed that 497,300 of the 14.1 million people who had worked during the last 12 months (or 3.5% of the working population) experienced a work-related injury or illness (reference).
Treatment Options
Occupational physio treatments use the diagnostic and treatment techniques used in physiotherapy. They use strapping or bracing to help support an injured or unstable joint which may enable you to continue working. They use mobilisations, stretches and other manual therapy applications to help restore the correct movement to the injured areas. A vital part of workplace physio or Workcover physio is conditioning. This strength training is much like pre-season training as in it prepares the body for the tasks at work. This will help identify any issues that you may have developed prior to your injury becoming apparent.

Pre-Employment Medicals
A pre-employment assessment is an important part of the hiring process. To understand a workers capabilities prior to hiring is important to understand what sort of role they may be suitable for. It outlines the limitations of the worker and can help them understand the physical reality of the job they have applied for. A pre-employment screening helps identify any underlying conditions, if a worker will be require to lift boxes from the floor in their job then it makes sense that prior to hiring this employee they should try lifting boxes equivalent to what they are required to do in their job.
Onsite Assessments
A physiotherapist can go to the workplace of the injured worker to fully understand the requirements of that job. This is a great option as it allows the physio to see what you have to do in your job. This also helps with your return to work planning so that you aren’t given roles that are likely to aggravate your injury. On these workplace assessment they are sometimes tips that can be given to improve the ergonomics of your role considerably with only a small adjustment from the employee.
Click to learn more about our Grange Physiotherapy clinic for your workplace injuries.