Exercise Prescription in Sydney CBD.
A generic exercise sheet with stick figures and no context isn’t a program. It’s a placeholder. At City Physio, every physiotherapist is trained in specific, individualised exercise programming — built around your diagnosis, your goals, your schedule, and your body.
Exercise prescription is not a bolt-on at the end of an appointment. For most presentations, it’s the active ingredient in recovery. The manual therapy gets you out of pain and restores movement. The exercise program is what changes the underlying system — building the strength, control, and load capacity that stops the problem coming back.
Exercise programming isn’t one-size-fits-all — and neither is the way we deliver it. Depending on where you are and what you need, we take one of four approaches.
You train. You have a program. Something’s niggling and you need to know what to back off, what to keep, and what to change. We’ll work within your existing routine to keep you moving safely while the injury resolves.
Your program is fine — it’s just missing the specific rehab component your injury needs. We’ll write the specific exercises, set the parameters, and integrate them so they complement rather than compete with what you’re already doing.
For post-surgical rehab, complex injuries, or presentations requiring a structured progression from baseline to full capacity — we design the whole plan, phase it appropriately, and progress it as you recover.
Sometimes you don’t need a twelve-week program. You need two or three specific exercises to get out of pain, get moving again, and get on with your life. We can do that too — efficiently, precisely, without overcomplicating it.
The range is broader than most people expect. Our physiotherapists write specific programs across all of the following — and this is far from exhaustive.
Jaw retraining programs are almost entirely absent from exercise prescription at the vast majority of physiotherapy clinics. The TMJ has specific movement patterns that can be retrained, specific stabilising muscles that can be progressively loaded, and specific motor control deficits that respond to targeted exercise. Our Principal Physiotherapist Nicola Michell holds a Masters in Pain Management with a speciality in orofacial pain — and she writes jaw retraining programs that go considerably beyond “massage your masseter and stop clenching.”
The difference isn’t just the range of presentations we cover. It’s the level of specificity we bring to each one.
A program for a runner returning from Achilles tendinopathy is not the same as a program for a desk worker with Achilles pain. The load parameters, the exercise selection, the progression rate, the integration with their existing training volume — all of these differ, and all of them matter. Getting them right is the difference between a program that works and one that looks right on paper but doesn’t produce results.
Every exercise prescription at City Physio includes:
One of the genuine advantages of being under one roof at 25 Martin Place is the integration between our physiotherapy and Pilates teams. For patients whose rehab goals align with clinical Pilates — a significant proportion — we coordinate directly with our Pilates instructor to ensure your studio sessions build on your physiotherapy program rather than duplicate or contradict it.
Your goals are tracked across both. Your progression is planned together. Two disciplines, one system, one building.
We work with your other practitioners, not against them. Where appropriate, we’ll communicate directly with your coach or training team to ensure the rehab program and training load are aligned — because conflicting instructions are one of the most common reasons rehabilitation stalls.
Exercise prescription — what you actually want to know.
Do I need a referral?
No referral required — book directly online. A GP or specialist referral may be relevant if you’re claiming under a care plan, workers compensation, or CTP insurance.
Can you write me a program if I already train with a PT or coach?
Yes. We can write a targeted rehab component that integrates with your existing training, modify your current program to work around an injury, or communicate directly with your coach to make sure the two programs are pulling in the same direction.
What is oral myofunctional exercise?
Targeted programs for the muscles of the jaw, tongue, and orofacial region — used to retrain movement patterns, improve jaw opening mechanics, and address the muscle imbalances driving TMJ dysfunction and orofacial pain. Prescribed and progressed by physiotherapists with specific training in this area. Our Principal Physiotherapist Nicola Michell holds a Masters in Pain Management with an orofacial speciality.
How long does ACL rehabilitation take?
Nine to twelve months for full return to sport, depending on graft type, surgical outcome, the sport being returned to, and individual recovery rate. The program is phased with objective criteria determining when you move from one stage to the next — not just a timeline on a calendar.
Can exercise prescription help with chronic pain?
Yes. Graded exercise is an evidence-based component of chronic pain management — working through central sensitisation modulation, improving physical capacity, and reducing the fear-avoidance patterns that typically accompany long-standing pain. Programs are carefully titrated to avoid flares while building tolerance and function progressively.
Do I need to come in regularly to follow a home exercise program?
Depends on the presentation. Many patients follow a home or gym program between appointments, reviewing every two to four weeks for progression. Post-surgical and complex presentations typically need more frequent review early on. We’ll recommend a cadence that makes clinical sense — not one that maximises your appointment count.
Exercise prescription often works alongside:
Ready for a program that’s actually built for you?
Book an assessment at City Physio. We’ll work out what’s driving the problem and build an exercise program around that — not around a template.
hello@cityphysio.com.au · Shop 10, Level 6, 25 Martin Place
— The City Physio team