Evidence-based care at Vantage Point
Sports Injury Rehabilitation in Bondi Junction
Staged rehabilitation for sports injuries, with your return to training and play based on measured milestones rather than the calendar.
- APA Musculoskeletal Physiotherapists
- Experience across AFL, rugby, swimming, triathlon and basketball
- In-house VALD strength testing
Injuries We Treat
Choose your injury to learn more.
Lower body
3 areasHip & Groin
Groin strains, hip impingement and tendon pain around the hip.
Hip physiotherapyKnee
ACL and ligament injuries, meniscus tears, kneecap and tendon pain, including our ACL program.
Knee physiotherapyAnkle & Foot
Ankle sprains, Achilles pain, heel and plantar fascia pain, and bone stress injuries.
Also for athletes
Running & Swimming Assessment
Video analysis of how you run or swim, to find what is loading the sore area and adjust your technique and training.
How it worksConcussion Management
Dizziness, balance problems and a graded return to sport after a head knock.
Vestibular physiotherapyClinical Exercise
Supervised strength programs with VALD strength testing, including prehab before surgery or the season.
How we testA collaborative approach
Your Coach, Your Club and Your Doctor, Working From One Plan
A return to sport goes better when everyone involved knows where you are up to. With your permission, we keep your coach, strength and conditioning staff, sports physician and GP updated.
That way your training load at the club matches your stage of rehabilitation, and nobody is guessing.
What we share
Clear communication at every stage
- Your diagnosis and plan after your first assessment
- What you can and cannot do at training this week
- Your test results at each milestone
- Referral to a sports physician or for imaging when it is needed
Clubs we support
Dunbar Rovers Football Club and Maccabi Basketball Club.
Your rehabilitation
Five Stages, Each With a Clear Goal
Every consultation is 45 minutes. You move to the next stage when you meet its goal, not because a set number of weeks has passed, and timeframes vary with your injury and your sport.
- 1
Settle
A thorough assessment and diagnosis, then calming pain and swelling while you keep as much training as is safe.
Goal: A clear diagnosis and a settled injury
- 2
Restore
Regain range of movement, muscle activation and normal walking, running or arm use.
Goal: Comfortable everyday movement
- 3
Strengthen
Progressive loading, with VALD dynamometry to measure strength against your other side and track it over time.
Goal: Strength targets met
- 4
Return to training
Running, change of direction, jumping and sport-specific drills, built up in step with your club sessions.
Goal: Full training without a flare-up
- 5
Return to play
A final round of testing before match play, and a plan to keep you there, including injury prevention exercises.
Goal: Back to competition
Objective testing
Progress You Can See in Numbers
Feeling ready and being ready are not always the same. Testing shows when you can safely step up your training.
In the clinic
VALD dynamometry
- Measures the strength of individual muscle groups, such as the hamstrings, quadriceps, hip, groin and shoulder
- Compares your injured side with your other side
- Repeated at each stage, so you, your coach and your club can see change over time
Arranged offsite
The rest of the VALD suite
- Force plate testing for jumping, landing and balance
- Booked when your stage and goals call for it, usually before a return to play
- Results come straight back into your plan
Video analysis
Running & Swimming Assessment
Pain that only shows up when you run or swim often comes from how the load is spread through your body. We film you and slow it down, then put what we see together with your strength results.
- Running: how your foot lands, your stride and how your hips and knees control each step
- Swimming: your stroke, breathing pattern and shoulder position through each phase
- Clear changes to technique and training load, shared with your coach if you like
The research
Why We Use Milestones, Not Timeframes
Return to sport
Meeting the milestones mattered more than the date
Professional athletes who went back to training after ACL reconstruction without passing all six discharge tests, covering strength, hopping and agility, were about four times more likely to rupture their graft (Kyritsis et al., 2016).
Ankle sprains
Balance training lowered repeat sprains
Athletes who completed an 8-week home balance program after an ankle sprain had fewer repeat sprains over the following year (22% compared with 33%) (Hupperets et al., 2009).
Hamstring strains
One exercise halved hamstring injuries
Across 8,459 athletes, injury prevention programs that included the Nordic hamstring exercise had about half the rate of hamstring injuries (van Dyk et al., 2019).
Football
A structured warm-up reduced injuries
Teams that used the FIFA 11+ warm-up program had 39% fewer injuries overall than teams that did not (Thorborg et al., 2017).
Tendon pain
Staying active did not slow recovery
People with Achilles tendon pain who kept running and jumping, guided by a pain-monitoring model, improved just as much over 12 months as those who stopped these activities for 6 weeks (Silbernagel et al., 2007).
Tendon pain
Heavy, slow strength work helped
Heavy slow resistance training and eccentric training both reduced Achilles tendon pain over 12 weeks, with results maintained at 1 year. More people completed their sessions with heavy slow training (92% compared with 78%) (Beyer et al., 2015).
Shoulder
A warm-up program protected throwing shoulders
In 660 elite handball players, teams that added a shoulder injury prevention program to their warm-ups had a 28% lower risk of shoulder problems over the season (Andersson et al., 2017).
Elbow
Physiotherapy held up over the long term
For tennis elbow, 94% of people treated with physiotherapy (mobilisation and exercise) reported success at 1 year, compared with 68% after a corticosteroid injection. The injection gave faster relief at 6 weeks, but 72% of that group relapsed (Bisset et al., 2006).
Time since injury tells us when tissue has had a chance to heal. It does not tell us whether you are ready. That is why each stage of your rehabilitation ends with a milestone you meet and we measure, and why your plan includes exercises to lower the chance of the injury coming back.
Fees and funding
Consultations and Rebates
Every consultation is 45 minutes. Recovery from a sports injury varies in length, and so does the number of consultations you need, so we discuss your plan with you at your first visit.
Book an AppointmentWays to claim
- Private health: rebates claimed on the spot with HICAPS
- Medicare: rebates with a GP referral
- Workers compensation: fees set by SIRA, with approvals coordinated with your case manager
- CTP: fees set by SIRA
Common Questions
Do I need a referral or a scan before I come in?
No. You can book directly without a referral, unless you are claiming through Medicare, workers compensation or CTP. Most sports injuries do not need a scan. If your assessment suggests imaging would change your plan, we arrange it through your GP or a sports physician.
How long until I can play again?
It depends on the injury, your sport and how quickly you meet each stage's goal. We give you an estimate at your first visit and review it as you progress, and your return is based on test results rather than a set date.
Can I keep training while I recover?
Usually, yes. We work out what you can safely keep doing, such as training other body parts, modified drills or cross-training, so you stay as fit as possible while the injury recovers.
Will you talk to my coach or club?
With your permission, yes. We share your plan, what you can do at training and your test results with your coach, strength and conditioning staff or sports physician.
Can I claim my physio through private health?
Yes. Rebates are claimed on the spot with HICAPS. Medicare rebates are available with a GP referral, and workers compensation and CTP claims are accepted once approved.
What research is this page based on?
The studies referenced on this page are listed below.
- Andersson SH, Bahr R, Clarsen B, Myklebust G. Preventing overuse shoulder injuries among throwing athletes: a cluster-randomised controlled trial in 660 elite handball players. Br J Sports Med. 2017;51(14):1073–1080.
- Beyer R, Kongsgaard M, Hougs Kjaer B, Ohlenschlaeger T, Kjaer M, Magnusson SP. Heavy slow resistance versus eccentric training as treatment for Achilles tendinopathy: a randomized controlled trial. Am J Sports Med. 2015;43(7):1704–1711.
- Bisset L, Beller E, Jull G, Brooks P, Darnell R, Vicenzino B. Mobilisation with movement and exercise, corticosteroid injection, or wait and see for tennis elbow: randomised trial. BMJ. 2006;333(7575):939.
- Hupperets MDW, Verhagen EALM, van Mechelen W. Effect of unsupervised home based proprioceptive training on recurrences of ankle sprain: randomised controlled trial. BMJ. 2009;339:b2684.
- Kyritsis P, Bahr R, Landreau P, Miladi R, Witvrouw E. Likelihood of ACL graft rupture: not meeting six clinical discharge criteria before return to sport is associated with a four times greater risk of rupture. Br J Sports Med. 2016;50(15):946–951.
- Silbernagel KG, Thomeé R, Eriksson BI, Karlsson J. Continued sports activity, using a pain-monitoring model, during rehabilitation in patients with Achilles tendinopathy: a randomized controlled study. Am J Sports Med. 2007;35(6):897–906.
- Thorborg K, Krommes KK, Esteve E, Clausen MB, Bartels EM, Rathleff MS. Effect of specific exercise-based football injury prevention programmes on the overall injury rate in football: a systematic review and meta-analysis of the FIFA 11 and 11+ programmes. Br J Sports Med. 2017;51(7):562–571.
- van Dyk N, Behan FP, Whiteley R. Including the Nordic hamstring exercise in injury prevention programmes halves the rate of hamstring injuries: a systematic review and meta-analysis of 8459 athletes. Br J Sports Med. 2019;53(21):1362–1370.
- Clinically reviewed by David Cohen and Zachary Ehrenfeld, APA Musculoskeletal Physiotherapists and Directors of Vantage Point Physiotherapy. Last reviewed October 2026.
