When you were told one thing and want it checked
Physiotherapy Second Opinion
Written by the Phoenix clinical leads.Clinically reviewed by Louise Yow, Principal Physiotherapist & Director, AHPC A1300363H.Last reviewed 30 October 2026.
Twelve appointments in, and the back still catches when you bend to tie your shoes. Or the surgeon has said “operate”, and you want to know what else was properly tried first.
One 45-minute Assessment & Treatment with a senior physiotherapist who has not seen you before. We read the scans and reports you already have, examine the problem from scratch, treat it in the same appointment, and put what we found in writing. For a back, neck, shoulder, hip, knee, ankle or foot. $230, nett, no GST. No referral needed.
One 45-minute appointment. $230, nett, no GST. Bring your scan reports, any letter from your doctor, and the plan you were given.
Who asks for one
The thought that brings people here
Nobody books a second opinion on a good day. They book it after a moment like one of these:
- “I have done the exercises for two months. I still cannot carry my child up the stairs.”
- “The MRI says slipped disc. The surgeon says operate. I want to know if anything else was looked at properly first.”
- “Every physio gives me a different sheet of exercises, and nothing changes.”
- “I was told it is just age.”
- “The review said the knee is fine. I still go down the MRT stairs one step at a time.”
If one of those is yours, you are not being difficult. You are asking a fair question about your own body.
Why it stays stuck
The same plan keeps getting the same result
Most plans are built on the first examination. If that examination asked the right questions, the plan works. If the problem has changed since, or one part of it was never tested, the plan keeps treating what was found in week one while the thing that actually limits you sits untouched.
So the days carry on looking the same. You sit at the edge of the office chair because leaning back hurts. You take MC on the days it flares. The surgery date is in the diary, and you are not sure anyone has measured what is actually wrong, or only how much it hurts.
The belief that keeps people waiting is “give it more time and it will settle”. Sometimes it does. When it has not settled in the weeks you have already given it, more of the same is not a new plan. Pain going down is not the same as the problem being solved: strength, range and control are the last things to come back, and they only come back when someone measures and trains them.
Nobody has to have made a mistake for this to happen. Problems change, and a fresh examination is how you find out whether the plan still fits.
What happens
One appointment: the history, a fresh examination, and treatment
Finding the real problem is half the battle. Treating it is the other half. Both happen in the same 45 minutes.
1. Everything you have been told
We read your scan reports, any doctor’s or surgeon’s letter, and the plan you have been following, before we touch anything. You do not start from zero.
2. The examination, from scratch
Range, strength and control measured against your other side. Nerve tests where the pain travels. How you bend, lift, sit, climb and walk, so we see the movement that actually fails rather than the one that is easy to test on a couch.
3. Treatment in the same appointment
Hands-on work, joint mobilization and exercise, at a load the problem can take. Then we check again, because what changes when we treat it tells us as much as the scan.
4. What you leave with
- What we found, and where it agrees or differs from what you were told
- Which stage of recovery you are actually in, and what is limiting you
- A written plan, and what the next stage requires
- On request, a short written summary for your doctor or surgeon
We do not decide whether you should have surgery. That stays between you and your surgeon. A full physical examination and a trial of treatment are often exactly what a surgeon wants to know about, though, and you will have both in writing.
After the appointment
Three ways it can go, and all three are fine
We agree with your plan
We say so plainly, and you continue where you are, with more confidence in what you are doing.
We find something different
We show you what, and what the next stage needs. You can do that with us or take the written plan to your current therapist.
It needs a doctor
If the examination points to something that needs imaging or medical review, we refer you back to your doctor with our findings.
Before you book
When to see a doctor first
- Go to the emergency department now for numbness between the legs or around the back passage, new trouble passing urine or stool, or leg weakness that is getting worse.
- See a doctor the same day for back or neck pain with a fever, or pain that started after a significant fall or road accident.
- See a doctor soon for pain at night that does not change with position, weight loss you cannot explain, or a past history of cancer.
Who you see
A senior physiotherapist matched to the problem
Every appointment is one to one with the physiotherapist, for the full 45 minutes. No therapy assistants.
Fairuuz Saleh
Knees after ACL reconstruction and the long road back to sport, hip pain including labral tears, and the lower back problems that drive both. Over 1,000 cases since 1997.
Zita Sham
Shoulders that stopped short after a rotator cuff injury or repair, achilles tendinopathy, and ankle and foot injuries that will not settle.
Shiv Mohan Banka
Shoulder and knee problems, spinal dysfunction, and exercise rehabilitation where muscle imbalance is holding the joint back.
Ching Yee
Knees and hips after joint replacement, including the ones that plateaued before full range came back. 200 total knee replacements since 2016.
The offer
What it costs
Second Opinion
Per 45-minute appointment, nett, no GST. The Second Opinion is one Assessment & Treatment. If you carry on with us, your therapist confirms the plan in writing. If you carry on elsewhere, you take the findings with you.
- Your scans, reports and previous plan read before we start
- Range, strength and control measured against your other side
- Treatment in the same appointment
- Your stage, what limits you, and a written plan
Questions we get asked
Questions about a second opinion
Do I need a referral for a second opinion?
No. You can book a Second Opinion at Phoenix Rehab without a doctor’s referral. Bring the scans, reports and plan you already have, so the physiotherapist starts from everything that has been found so far rather than from zero.
Can you tell me whether to have surgery?
No. Whether to operate is a decision between you and your surgeon. What a physiotherapist can give you is a full physical examination, a trial of treatment in the same appointment, and a written summary of what moved and what did not. Many surgeons find that useful when they plan.
Will you tell my current physiotherapist or surgeon?
Only if you want us to. On request, we write a short summary of the findings that you can pass to your doctor, surgeon or current therapist.
What should I bring?
Your scan reports and images (MRI, X-ray or ultrasound), any letter from your doctor or surgeon, and the exercises or plan you have been given. If you have a brace or support, bring it.
What if you find the same thing I was already told?
Then we tell you so, plainly, and you continue where you are with more confidence in the plan. A second opinion that agrees with the first is still a useful answer.
Is this for hand, wrist or elbow problems too?
Hand, wrist and elbow problems are seen by our hand therapists, who work only on the finger, hand, wrist, forearm and elbow. Mention it in your message and we route you to the right person.
Tell us what you were told
Two lines are enough: what the problem is, and what you were told about it. Phoebe replies with a clinic and two times. Bring your scan reports and any letter from your doctor.
Case counts on this page are clinician-reported experience, not predictions for your recovery. Physiotherapists assess, treat, exercise, educate and refer; doctors diagnose, inject, prescribe and order imaging. The decision to have surgery is yours and your surgeon’s.
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