Physio Palmerston NT? What Raj Found When Nothing Else Helped

By Chris Lalor, Certified Senior Iyengar Yoga Teacher and Certified Yoga Therapist, and Dr Stuart McGill, Yoga Teacher, Flametree Yoga Darwin

Physiotherapy Palmerston NT or yoga: the short answer

Looking at physiotherapy in Palmerston NT for a back, neck or shoulder that will not settle? Think about yoga as well, or instead. In a trial of 320 adults with long-term low back pain, 12 weekly yoga classes did as well as 15 physio visits. Yoga is also something people enjoy, so they keep doing it. Our nearest studio is about 10 minutes from Palmerston at Coolalinga, there are live online classes, and 12 classes cost a newcomer $59.50.

The page in short:

• Raj tried the health professionals, physios included. Yoga is what changed things for him.
• 12 yoga classes did as well as 15 physio visits (320 people).
• Yoga builds strength and flexibility together.
• 12 hours of yoga cost less than one typical physio hour.
• A class does the motivating for you.

What was missing for Raj?

If you have looked at our Palmerston yoga page, you may have seen Raj. He is the man in the yellow top.

In his twenties, running a trucking business in Canada, Raj hurt his lower back lifting. He was told he had a slipped disc and sciatica (pain running down the leg from the sciatic nerve). For several years he was mostly in bed. He could not lift his child. As we wrote on our physio page, Raj tried all the health professionals, Darwin physios among them, and nothing helped.

What was missing was not effort or good care. It was something he could do himself, every week, at a level his back could take. When he finally came to a Flametree class, he says, “the modified postures stopped me hurting myself”. He found big relief in Gentle Yoga with Chris, and in time he realised: “I can get better.” Today he runs two businesses.

His story is his own experience, not a promise. The full version, with a short video, is on our yoga for back pain page. We teach yoga, so we have an interest here, and we would rather say so.

We teach Iyengar yoga. Mr BKS Iyengar was the 20th-century teacher who did more than anyone to set down traditional Indian yoga, through his books and his teaching, and he pioneered props such as chairs, blocks and belts. His style is sometimes called modern classical yoga.

Physiotherapy Palmerston NT alternative: strong legs, open shoulders

What does the research say about physio and yoga?

In a 2017 US trial of 320 adults with long-term low back pain, 12 weekly yoga classes did as well as 15 physiotherapy visits for pain and daily function, and the gains held at one year. That was yoga in general, not Iyengar yoga. The longer story, Stuart’s own, is in Considering Physio? Try Yoga First, Not Last!, and more trials are on our Chiro Darwin? page.

Why does yoga help stiff backs and shoulders?

Whatever a physio does for you, yoga is likely to do some portion of it, sometimes more, and it can sit alongside it. Yoga builds strength and flexibility at the same time, and you need both. Your own body is the weight, so muscles and bones work together. It also builds balance, calm and better sleep.

What we find in class: flexibility comes from extending your range of motion (how far a joint can move). That happens when you learn to straighten your limbs. Straight legs take strain off the lower back, and straight arms overhead are what a stiff shoulder slowly wins back.

We use standing poses, twists, forward bends, supported backbends, restorative poses with props, and pranayama (yogic breathing), all adjusted to the person, as they were for Raj. See our benefits of yoga page, with Dr Timothy McCall’s list.

Blocks bring the floor up to you

What does it cost, and will you actually do it?

In our experience an hour with a physio often costs $100 or more, sometimes a little less with a rebate, and often there is no rebate at all. At Flametree a newcomer gets 12 classes for $59.50. That is about 12 hours of yoga for less than one hour of physio.

Then come the home exercises. Physios themselves say getting people to do them is the hard part. A review of 20 studies in physiotherapy clinics notes that not doing the treatment and exercises could be as high as 70 percent. Many people find the exercises boring, and who can blame them?

A class is different. A teacher takes you through it, in the studio or live online, so the work gets done. People find yoga engaging, so they come back. And there is the group effect: in a trial of 627 older adults in exercise classes, the groups set up to help people feel connected attended more often.

You also make friends. In 148 studies with 308,849 people, those with stronger social ties had a 50 percent higher chance of survival. That is a link, not proof, but a weekly class is an easy way to stay connected, and that helps head off loneliness.

Yoga near Palmerston NT, and online

Classes in Palmerston itself are paused for now (we used to teach at the Gray Community Hall). Our nearest studio is at Coolalinga Central, Shop T31, 425 Stuart Highway, opposite Coles, about 10 minutes’ drive up the highway from Palmerston. It runs seven Beginner 1 classes a week, one every day, with evening classes on Mondays and Wednesdays and the rest in the morning. Times and details are on our Yoga Coolalinga page, and the full picture for Palmerston people is on our Palmerston yoga page.

Gentle Yoga, the class where Raj found big relief, runs live online on Friday mornings, so you can join it from home in Rosebery, Bakewell or Zuccoli. Yoga as well as physio, or instead: that is your choice.

Play sport? See Yoga For Sport, with pages for golf, running, swimming and footy.

Seated forward bends, with a chair to help

How do I start?

2 free classes, plus 2 free ebooks. New to Flametree? Choose 2 free ebooks and get 2 free classes, at Coolalinga, Woolner or live online.

Or just come along, at the studio or online, and your first class is free. That is one free class. Register first and you get two free classes and two free ebooks, plus a few short reminders and tips to help you get started. So registering gets you more, and walking in is always welcome. See class times.

Want more classes? The beginner deal gives you 12 classes for $59.50, studio or online, with a 14-day money-back guarantee.

Physiotherapy Palmerston NT and yoga: questions people ask

Is there an alternative to physiotherapy in Palmerston NT?

Many people try yoga as well as physio, or instead. Flametree classes in Palmerston are paused, but our Coolalinga studio, about 10 minutes away, runs seven beginner classes a week, and there are live online classes too.

Is yoga as good as physio for back pain?

In a trial of 320 adults with long-term low back pain, 12 weekly yoga classes did as well as 15 physiotherapy visits for pain and daily function, and the gains held at one year.

Can I do yoga while I am seeing a physio?

Yes. Many people do both. Tell your yoga teacher what you are working on and the poses will be adapted for you. Feel free to check with your professional advisers if you wish, but also give yoga a try.

How much does yoga cost near Palmerston?

Your first class is free if you are new. The beginner deal gives 12 classes for $59.50, at Coolalinga, Woolner or live online.

Can I do yoga from home in Palmerston?

Yes. Flametree runs live online classes over Zoom every week, including beginner classes and Gentle Yoga, so you can join from home.

Sources

• Saper RB and colleagues. Yoga, physical therapy, or education for chronic low back pain: a randomized noninferiority trial. Annals of Internal Medicine, 2017 (320 people).
• Jack K and colleagues. Barriers to treatment adherence in physiotherapy outpatient clinics: a systematic review. Manual Therapy, 2010.
• Beauchamp MR and colleagues. Group-based physical activity for older adults (GOAL) randomized controlled trial: exercise adherence outcomes. Health Psychology, 2018 (627 people).
• Holt-Lunstad J, Smith TB, Layton JB. Social relationships and mortality risk: a meta-analytic review. PLoS Medicine, 2010 (148 studies, 308,849 people).
• Raj’s story: What The Research Says, And Raj’s Story and Considering Physio? Try Yoga First, Not Last!

Flametree Yoga Studio, Coolalinga, Darwin and live online, for Palmerston NT. General information only, not personal health advice.