1 /5 Katie Batty: I hate leaving bad reviews but I think its important to also let people know so they dont waste $1000 like I did. I booked online to get help with headaches and migraines. It wasnt clear from the booking if I was seeing a doctor or other kind of medical worker. The website just said "Senior Practitioner". It seems theyve updated it since then which is good. However, I went in not knowing if I would get a Medicare rebate or not. Only when paying did I realise I had since a physiotherapist - I had to ask reception.
Darren was very thorough, and I was really impressed with the first appointment. He was able to narrow down the cause of my headaches very succinctly. I was signed up for 5 weeks of treatment. If it takes that long to fix, thats okay as long as you get results. However, this is clearly one of those places where they dont fix you so you keep coming back for more sessions. I understand things take multiple sessions, but he kept promising more exercises "next time". I never got anything different from the first initial exercises which were very basic. Usually physios like to build on these after a couple of sessions.
Things improved with my headaches at first but then I was just doing the same exercises with no improvement. I dont mind spending money to fix a problem. I had delayed other health treatment to take care of my headaches first. However, after 5 weeks I was still no better off (other than the initial first weeks improvement) and had spent a lot of money.
Finally I was at the end of the 5 week program and I thought I was done and could commence the other health treatment I had delayed. However, this is when Darren suggested I come back for treatment for other health issues. I had chosen this place only for headache treatment (they have two different websites, one aimed at headache solutions). Darren suggested some treatments for my other health conditions. I know these conditions very well and they require treatment from specialists. This clinic does not specialist in my other health conditions.
Darren suggested a treatment I had done in the past which had been very dangerous for my body and led to 6 weeks sick leave from my job. When I told him this treatment had been very bad for me, he still said we should try it. Thats when I knew I had reached my limit. I had already spent over $1000, my headaches werent better, and now I was being told to come back for a treatment I had explicitly said was dangerous for my health condition.
I know mine wasnt an isolated case as my partner went for some treatment (I recommended it early on) and he kept getting sold to come back, sign up for pilates classes, etc. He is now seeing a physio elsewhere and they are fixing the problems in about three sessions, which is much better. I continue to suffer from headaches and am hoping to eventually find a place that will help me.