Dry needling is a technique of manual therapy which is increasingly utilized across the health industry in order to treat the musculoskeltal system. Acupuncture needles are inserted in select areas of tension in the body in order to release tight muscles and fascia to restore better movement and function. It differs from acupuncture as it is not a form of eastern medicine. Dry needling is not aiming to unblock energy pathways to improve the flow of Qi (chi) through the body. There is no spiritual philosophy around it. Dry needling could be considered a western form of acupuncture even though many of the same points that are treated in dry needling correspond with acupuncture points.

Acupuncture needles are very thin and do not normally cause much pain. When they enter there may be a little pinprick feeling. Depending on the technique used the needles are inserted to a particular depth to release the tight muscle or fascia. Sometimes this can produce a twitch response in the muscle which is a quick muscle spasm indicating a trigger point has been released. Dry needling can produce some mild discomfort for up to 12-24 hours. However any short term mild pain that may be experienced is a small price to pay for the outstanding results that can be obtained from this technique.

You can reschedule at any time without charge before 24 hours of your appointment. However if you need to cancel or reschedule within 24hrs of the appointment time you will be required to pay a cancellation fee. There is a sliding scale for cancellations made within 24 hours of the scheduled appointment. 1st time- 50% of appointment fee (you will receive a credit of 50% of your prepaid booking fee that you can put toward your next appt) 2nd time- 75% of appointment fee ( you will receive a credit of 25% of your prepaid booking fee that you can put toward your next appt) 3rd time- full fee

To maximise the results of the session, the best thing that you can do is to take it easy for the rest of the day. Drink plenty of water, have an early healthy meal, have a quick bath of epsom salts and get to bed early enough to get a good nights rest. This is not always possible but try to do what you can to care for your body to get the most out of the treatment session and thereby returning you back to full health as fast as possible.

This is dependent on many factors such as the sport, type and severity of injury, level of player etc so this will need to be assessed on an individual basis.

Preparation Instructions At the time of booking you will be sent a form to fill out. Fill in this information as accurately as possilbe so that Allan can best understand your problem/issue. Setting up Try to find a private quiet place with adequate light for a video call. Set your phone or laptop up so that you are able to stand up in the frame. You should be able to fully see yourself in the frame from 1.5m away. Use a laptop if possible, because of the larger screensize. If using a phone, use a tripod if possible, otherwise just set it up in landscape mode (sideways) in a stable position pointing out to an open area of the room. Allow yourself 5-10 minutes before the call to prepare yourself so that you can be fully ready to go for when the call comes in. What to wear Women- tight fitting sports clothes or bikini or underwear Men- Underwear or tight fitting shorts The video call will commence at the time you have booked. An email will come in from Form Physio or Physitrack requesting you to open physitrack for a chat. Once you have opened the app the call will come in from Allan. To get the most out of the call make sure that you write down your questions that you would like answered. The call will last for approximately 10 minutes. Allan will then prepare your exercise program and send it to you by the end of the day. The program code will be sent to the email address you provided. Follow the link to download the PhysiAid App. Open the PhysiAid App and you should see that your exercise program has automatically loaded. If there are any problems, feel free to call.

Do you have Private Health Insurance Extras Cover? At Form we accept most private health insurance claims using our HICAPS terminal. Depending on your cover, you will receive a rebate of between approximately $20 and $70 per appointment. Most of the big companies such as Bupa will pay $20-$35 of the appointment fee for the most common levels of cover. ​ The majority of private health insurance companies allocate $400-$600 to be used for Physio, Osteo or Chiro per year. Each year this allocation gets reset on 1st January. You will need to consult your provider for details on your particular cover. ​ ​ We do things a little differently Because an appointment at Form is prepaid, you will have to wait till the appointment has been completed to make your claim. You can claim in 2 ways; ​ 1- Simply upload a copy of the receipt of your appointment that will be emailed to you following your appointment to your private health insurance company. ​ or ​ 2- Swipe your card at the end of your appointment and receive a credit that you can put toward future appointments. Most people will get a fully paid appointment after 3 or 4 appointments when using their private health insurance cards. A credit note will be emailed following each approved transaction so you can keep track of your balance.

If you are a medicare card holder and you have been suffering from a chronic health condition (more than 3 months), you may be eligible for a Chronic Disease Management Plan (CDM). If you qualify, you may be able receive a medicare rebate of $53.80 per session for up to 5 physiotherapy sessions per calendar year. You will need to consult your GP about whether you are eligible and if they provide care plans to their patients. ​ For more information please follow the link to Department of Health website; ​ https://www1.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/mbsprimarycare-chronicdisease-pdf-infosheet If you have received a management plan from your GP you can claim your rebate in 3 ways; 1. Process on the spot- bring in your paperwork that you received from you GP, a savings or cheque account card (credit cards are not accepted) and medicare card. We are able to process the payments on the spot. Please note that this process takes about 5 minutes which will come off your treatment time. ​ 2. Take your receipt to your closest medicare office ie Cairns Central or Smithfield and they can process your rebate ​ or ​ 3.Upload your receipt to the medicare website or app for your rebate. Follow this link for more information; https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/individuals/online-help/medicare/submit-medicare-claim-using-your-online-account

At Form, we are dedicated to bringing our clients back from pain and dysfunction to functional health. If you are currently receiving Workcover for a workplace injury you are welcome to utilise the outstanding expertise and level of care that we provide. However we do not deal directly with Workcover or any other insurance companies due to the constraints that they place upon us. If you choose to use our services it will be as a private paying customer. Normally you will be reimbursed the Workcover/Other Insurance rate (which means you will pay a small gap) when you present your physio receipt to them. You will need to talk to your case manager for more information about their particular reimbursement procedures.