RX Physiotherapy

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(+61) 423 252 749

Physiotherapy for Women's Health

Join our personalised, one-on-one sessions to effectively manage Women's Health Conditions

BOOK your initial appointment today

What is Women's Health Physiotherapy?

 

Women’s Health Physiotherapy is a specialised area of physio that focuses on the unique needs of women during pregnancy, after childbirth, and throughout different stages of life. It addresses the changes your body goes through—helping you manage pain, restore strength, and move with confidence.

Why Choose Our Women's Health Physiotherapy Services in the Shellharbour Region?

We understand that every woman’s journey through pregnancy, post-natal recovery, and beyond is unique. Our team combines professional expertise with genuine care to provide personalised physiotherapy that supports women at every stage of life.

We create tailored treatment plans that focus on:

  • Reducing pain and discomfort during pregnancy

  • Supporting safe recovery after birth

  • Restoring strength, stability, and confidence in movement

  • Managing long-term pelvic and abdominal conditions with evidence-based strategies

Our physiotherapists stay up to date with the latest women’s health research, ensuring you receive the most effective and compassionate care. As a trusted local clinic, we’re dedicated to helping you feel supported, empowered, and ready to enjoy the activities you love.

Our Personalised Rehabilitation Programme

Our one-on-one physiotherapy programs are designed to support women through pregnancy, post-natal recovery, and beyond. Led by experienced women’s health physiotherapists, we focus on building strength, restoring core and pelvic stability, and managing pain with a personalised approach that fits your lifestyle.

Located in Shellharbour region, our clinic offers a safe, supportive, and private environment where you can focus on your health and recovery with expert guidance. Whether you’re managing pregnancy-related pain, recovering after birth, or looking to return to exercise safely, we’re here to help you feel strong and confident again.

BOOK your initial appointment today

Or call us at (+61) 423 252 749

Duration

Your first session is a comprehensive one-hour consultation, giving us the time to explore your full health history, understand your goals, and create a personalised treatment plan tailored to your stage of pregnancy or post-natal recovery.

Follow-up sessions are then used to track your progress, reassess your needs, and progress your treatment plan safely and effectively. This ensures you’re supported every step of the way—whether your focus is reducing pain, rebuilding strength, or confidently returning to movement.

Location

Sessions are conducted at RX Physiotherapy, located at 1/35 Shellharbour Road, Lake Illawarra, NSW 2528. Our modern facility is fully equipped to provide a comprehensive rehabilitation experience.

Frequency

This will be advised by your physiotherapist. We are focused on empowering you with the tools to manage your body long term. We aren’t focused on quick fixes. 

Our Approach to Rehabilitation

At RX Physiotherapy, we believe in a personalised approach to rehabilitation. Here’s how our programme works:

We begin with a thorough initial consultation to understand your unique needs, symptoms, and goals. This allows us to design a personalised women’s health physiotherapy plan—whether that’s easing pregnancy-related pain, supporting post-natal recovery, rebuilding core and pelvic floor strength, or managing long-term pelvic conditions.

Your progress is closely monitored throughout the programme, with regular assessments to ensure that the approach remains effective and adaptive to your needs.

Based on your assessment, we create a customised physiotherapy plan that focuses on restoring strength, improving stability, and supporting safe recovery. Each session is tailored to your stage of pregnancy or post-natal journey, addressing your unique challenges and goals—whether that’s reducing pain, rebuilding core and pelvic function, or confidently returning to exercise.

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What conditions / challenges do we treat

Each personalised rehab session is designed to maximise your recovery:

Pelvic girdle and lower back pain during pregnancy

Pregnancy often brings changes to posture and movement that can cause pelvic girdle or lower back pain. Our physiotherapists provide safe, tailored strategies to reduce discomfort, improve mobility, and help you move with confidence throughout pregnancy.

Abdominal separation

Diastasis recti, or abdominal muscle separation, is common during and after pregnancy. We offer expert assessment and guided exercises to restore core strength, promote healing, and support your return to daily activities.

Wrist and hand conditions

Hormonal changes and lifting demands can lead to wrist and hand pain, including carpal tunnel syndrome and De Quervain’s. Our treatment helps reduce pain, protect your joints, and keep you active in both parenting and everyday life.

Post- natal recovery and safe return to exercise

After childbirth, rebuilding strength and confidence is essential. We provide step-by-step guidance to restore pelvic floor and core health, ensuring a safe and gradual return to exercise, work, and the activities you love.

Note: These are just a few of the things we treat, get in touch to understand more!

Your Recovery Goals

Improved Pelvic and Core Stability

Strengthen your pelvic floor, core, and surrounding muscles to support your joints, reduce pregnancy or post-natal discomfort, and prevent strain during daily activities.

Enhanced Mobility and Function

Increase flexibility and movement capacity to make everyday tasks—lifting, carrying, bending, or exercising—easier and more comfortable.

Pain Management and Comfort

Learn techniques to reduce pelvic, abdominal, and musculoskeletal pain during pregnancy or post-natal recovery, helping you feel more confident and comfortable in your body.

Restored Strength and Confidence

Rebuild overall strength in your core, hips, and upper body to support recovery, improve posture, and regain confidence in movement after childbirth.

Expected Outcomes

Improved Quality of Life                        

Regain confidence in your body’s strength and movement, enabling a more active, comfortable, and fulfilling daily life during pregnancy and after childbirth.

Reduced Pain and Discomfort

Experience relief from pelvic, abdominal, or musculoskeletal pain through targeted physiotherapy strategies designed for women’s health.

Enhanced Daily Function and Movement

Stronger core, hips, and pelvic floor muscles make everyday activities—lifting your baby, bending, walking, or exercising—easier and more comfortable.

Better Long-Term Physical Health

Improved stability and strength reduce the risk of future aches, injuries, or strain, supporting ongoing wellness throughout pregnancy, post-natal recovery, and beyond.

Listen to Our Podcast

Join physiotherapists as they share practical tips, recovery strategies, and the latest developments in hypermobility rehabilitation. With personal experience and professional expertise, April offers a unique perspective on managing these conditions. Tune in to stay informed and empowered on your journey to better health.

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Dr. April Patterson

Physiotherapist

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Dr. April Patterson graduated from Bond University with a Doctor of Physiotherapy degree and founded RX Physiotherapy in 2019 with a vision to provide exceptional, personalised care. As a physiotherapist living with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS), hypermobility, and Temporomandibular Joint (TMJ) issues, April brings a rare combination of personal insight and professional expertise to her practice. Her own experiences with these conditions fuel her passion for understanding and treating them, allowing her to empathise deeply with her patients and guide them with authenticity and compassion.

April has a huge passion for in EDS, Hypermobility Spectrum Disorders (HSD), and TMJ dysfunction, while also treating all joints and musculoskeletal conditions. She personally conducts initial assessments to understand each patient’s story, goals, and challenges before referring them to her highly skilled team for ongoing care. Her holistic, evidence-based approach blends manual therapy, strength and conditioning, pain management, and education to help clients regain function, confidence, and independence.

As Managing Director, April maintains the highest standard of care through weekly team sessions to review progress, provide guidance, and support professional development. This ensures that every patient receives structured, personalised care, while allowing her to focus on leadership, strategy, and advancing the clinic’s mission.

Outside the clinic, April enjoys hitting the gym, cooking, and spending quality time with her partner, her two dachshunds and two cats.

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Ms. Laura Flemming

Physiotherapist

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Laura is a senior physiotherapist with six years of experience across hospital, private practice, community, and sports settings. She began her career at Wollongong Hospital before moving to Sydney, where she expanded her skills in musculoskeletal rehab, neurological rehab, and community-based care. During this time she became a Level 1 Strength and Conditioning Coach and worked with junior representative soccer teams in the St George region. Now back in the Illawarra, she’s excited to support her local community again.

Laura’s approach is grounded in understanding the individual—what they value, what they hope to achieve, and how their condition impacts their life. She focuses on meaningful outcomes through a blend of manual therapy, strength training, pain management, patient education, and personalised rehabilitation programs. Her experience spans acute and chronic injuries, post-operative rehab, strength and endurance training, falls prevention, and neurological conditions including stroke and brain injury.

She has a strong interest in working with people with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS) and Hypermobility Spectrum Disorder (HSD), and she brings extensive experience supporting participants within the NDIS. She also specialises in treating TMJ/jaw dysfunction, helping clients reduce pain, improve mobility, and address the muscular and biomechanical factors contributing to their symptoms. Her calm, collaborative style helps clients feel understood, supported, and confident navigating long-term conditions.

Outside the clinic, you’ll find Laura hiking up mountains, writing music, playing soccer, or training for the occasional triathlon or running event.

Whether you’re managing pain, recovering from an injury, or navigating a complex condition like EDS, HSD, or TMJ dysfunction, Laura can help with all joints and musculoskeletal concerns, guiding you with structure, clarity, and genuine care.

Mr. Trent Cooksley

Physiotherapist

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Trent is a physiotherapist who genuinely cares about people — the kind who listens properly, meets you where you’re at, and helps you feel comfortable from the moment you walk in. He has that big brother energy; calm, thoughtful, easy to talk to, and always looking out for you. His focus is simple — helping you move better, feel stronger, and get back to the things that matter to you, whether that’s training, sport, work, or living life without pain.

He treats a wide range of musculoskeletal conditions, including shoulder, knee, lower back, neck, and ankle injuries, and works with people of all ages and activity levels. Trent’s approach is hands-on, structured, and tailored to the individual. He’s not about quick fixes or generic programs — he takes the time to understand your body, your goals, and what’s been holding you back, then builds a clear plan to help you move forward with confidence.

Born and raised in Wollongong, Trent grew up immersed in sport. He played soccer with the Woonona Sharks and was involved in everything from tennis and golf to swimming, footy, cricket, and AFL. As a teenager, golf became his focus, earning him a place in the IAS Golf Program and later a college golf scholarship in Abilene, Texas. Experiencing injuries firsthand — and seeing how physiotherapy restored his performance — shaped the way he now supports others through injury, rehab, and long-term recovery.

Outside the clinic, Trent is easygoing, down-to-earth, and approachable. You’ll find him on the golf course, in the surf, or catching up with friends. That same calm, supportive energy carries into his sessions, helping clients feel at ease, understood, and supported every step of the way.

If you’re dealing with pain, injury, or ongoing frustration with your body, Trent is someone you can trust to have your back — and help you move with clarity, confidence, and strength again.

Ms. Emily Yorkston

Physiotherapist

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Emily is a senior physiotherapist with extensive experience across musculoskeletal, neurological, orthopaedic, women’s health, and paediatric physiotherapy. She has worked in a wide range of clinical settings, including rural outreach programs and allied health leadership roles, which have shaped her holistic, collaborative, and genuinely client-centred approach to care.

Emily is a highly empathetic physiotherapist with lived experience of Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS), giving her a rare and deeply personal understanding of the physical, emotional, and day-to-day challenges faced by people living with complex and chronic conditions. She has a strong clinical interest in hypermobility (HSD, EDS), TMJ and jaw dysfunction and women’s health, and has completed APA Women’s Health Level 1 training. Emily is skilled in assessing and treating all joints and a broad range of musculoskeletal presentations, from everyday pain to complex, multi-system conditions.

She is passionate about helping clients achieve meaningful, sustainable, long-term outcomes. Emily combines personalised rehab programs, hands-on manual therapy, and targeted rehabilitation strategies to improve function, build confidence, and restore independence. Her care is structured, evidence-based, and highly individualised, ensuring every client feels informed, supported, and actively involved in their recovery.

Outside the clinic, Emily enjoys travelling and exploring new experiences, bringing fresh perspective and energy back into her work. She is known for her warm, calm, and motivating style, helping clients feel safe, understood, and empowered throughout their rehabilitation journey.

If you’re living with pain, recovering from injury, or navigating a complex condition such as EDS, HSD, TMJ dysfunction, women’s health concerns, or any musculoskeletal issue, you don’t have to do it alone. Book an appointment with Emily today to receive thoughtful, personalised care and take the next step toward moving with greater comfort, confidence, and trust in your body again.

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Mr Reece Nikitaras

Physiotherapist

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Reece Nikitaras is deeply passionate about optimising human movement and enhancing quality of life through targeted rehabilitation and evidence-based therapeutic techniques. His journey into physiotherapy was driven by a genuine desire to help individuals overcome physical barriers and reach their full potential.

As an avid runner, Reece brings both personal insight and clinical expertise to the treatment of running-related injuries. He is particularly dedicated to helping runners recover from injury, prevent future setbacks, and elevate their performance. Reece has developed a comprehensive running assessment protocol designed to identify biomechanical inefficiencies and areas of weakness, allowing for tailored interventions that support long-term improvement and injury prevention.

Reece also holds a strong clinical interest in knee rehabilitation, with an in-depth understanding of knee biomechanics and the complex nature of knee injuries. He implements highly specialised, results-driven treatment plans to restore function and accelerate recovery in clients dealing with knee concerns.

Always eager to stay at the forefront of his field, Reece consistently seeks out new knowledge and incorporates the latest advancements in physiotherapy research into his practice. His commitment to continuous learning ensures he delivers the highest standard of care to every patient.

Outside of the clinic, Reece enjoys travelling, spending time at the beach, and playing a round of golf.