The real driver of your pain often isn't where you feel it.
Feeling frustrated by nagging injuries and discomfort? Let's get you back to your best.
Headaches, sciatica, a stiff neck, a back that keeps flaring up. The spot that hurts is usually the symptom, not the cause. Here's how we find what's actually going on, and what to do about it.
The first appointment is where you get real answers: a full hour, a proper diagnosis, and a plan. New patients $130 (normally $150).
Same story, different spot.
Whatever brought you here, the pattern is usually the same: the pain shows up in one place, but it's being driven by something somewhere else.
Headaches
In most cases we see, the pain isn't actually coming from your head. It's driven by the first few joints of the upper neck and tension through the suboccipital muscles at the base of the skull. That can sensitise the nerves and feed forward into a headache. And that neck tension is usually secondary to posture and a forward head position from long hours at a desk.
Sciatica and leg pain
The single most important step is working out which of the three common causes it is: a disc, foraminal stenosis (a bony change in the spine), or tension through the piriformis. They are treated very differently. And even when it does stem from the back, there's almost always a weakness or movement pattern that overloaded the back until it broke down. Treat only the symptom and you miss that.
Back, neck, shoulder, hip
From desk-related stiffness to a shoulder that won't lift or a hip that's tight, the area that hurts is usually compensating for something else that's stuck or not moving the way it should. Find that, and the picture changes.
Posture and desk strain
Hours at a desk pull you into a forward head and rounded position, and over time your body adapts to it. That sustained load is behind a lot of the necks, headaches, and upper backs we see. We assess how you actually move and stand, then work out what needs to change so the load comes off the painful area.
Most of our patients have already tried something. Generic physio. Stretching sheets. Rest. Waiting it out. They come to us when the pain keeps coming back, because the thing actually driving it was never addressed.
How we actually work.
Most clinics treat the symptom. Your back hurts, they rub your back. Your neck hurts, they rub your neck. The trouble is that until the real driver is addressed, the pain has every reason to keep coming back.
So we do two things. First we put the fire out, settling the pain that brought you in. Then we work on the root cause, the weakness or movement pattern underneath it, so we're aiming for lasting change rather than a short-term fix.
We also go deeper than the body part. We want to understand your life, what you believe about your pain, and how it's affecting you day to day. That fuller picture is what lets us treat you properly rather than guess.
It's why we're called Matrix Health and Performance. The goal isn't just to get you out of pain. It's to get you moving and performing better in everyday life.
Booking is how you get the answer.
You don't need to work out what's wrong before you come in. That's the whole point of the first appointment: one full hour to find the real driver, treat it, and show you the way forward.
Full diagnosis.
We take a complete history, run a movement screen, and identify the joints, muscles, and patterns that are driving your pain.
Hands-on treatment.
Joint mobilisation, soft tissue work, and dry needling if it's clinically appropriate. A thorough, tailored treatment session built around what we find.
Your plan.
You leave knowing what's causing the pain, what we're going to do about it, and exactly what to do at home between sessions.
New patients pay $130 (normally $150). One hour. One appointment.
Book My First AppointmentWho you'll be seeing.
Our osteopaths have a combined 15+ years of clinical experience treating over 50 conditions, from headaches and neck pain to lower back pain, sciatic-type pain, and post-injury recovery.
We treat the full range. You don't need to know exactly what's wrong before you book. That's our job.
East Ivanhoe. A short drive from Ivanhoe, Heidelberg, Eaglemont, Rosanna, and Bulleen.
Open weekdays and Saturday mornings.
Phone: 03 9372 0460
Website: www.matrixhp.com.au
Book your first appointment.
Choose a time that suits you below. New patients pay $130 for the first session, normally $150.
Ready to find out what's actually going on?
Pain that's stuck around for weeks or months rarely sorts itself out. The longer it sits, the more the rest of your body compensates for it. One full hour is usually all it takes to get a clear answer and a plan.
New patients pay $130 for the first session, normally $150.