Nicholas Filippakis - Musculoskeletal Therapy & Integrative Health

Multimodality Integrative Health Practitioner degree qualified in medical science, natural medicine and musculoskeletal therapy.

Commonly Treated Conditions:

• Back Pain
• Neck & Shoulder Pain
• Migraines
• Foot Pain
• Jaw Pain (including TMJ Dysfunction)
• Nerve Pain (Including Sciatica, Trigeminal Neuropathy and Radiculopathies)
• Chronic Pain & Inflammation
• Arthritis
• Disc Injury
• Sports Injury
• Autoimmune Conditions i.e. RA or Psoriasis
• Depression & Stress
• Providing Natural Health Care options for all your major health concerns. 

Services Provided:

Cold Laser Therapy Therapeutic Laser can help many patients achieve drug-free, non-invasive pain therapy for a range of common conditions. Laser is useful for restoring normal cellular function. It can provide resolution to non healing wounds. In addition to direct healing applications, low level lasers also provide an alternative needle-free acupuncture or myofascial dry needling options.

Infrared Thermal Imaging is also available as an adjunct to the physical examination. This may be particularly useful in the visual mapping of thermal physiology changes in more complex chronic pain conditions, it also a very useful tool as a general body scan in many health conditions.

Musculoskeletal Therapy (also known as Myotherapy) is a branch of manual medicine focused on the treatment and rehabilitation of musculoskeletal pain and injury associated conditions.
Myotherapy is also a very effective form of physical therapy treatment for most common musculoskeletal conditions that result from improper posture, poor biomechanics and injury. In short: Myotherapy helps people in pain to move better, feel better and learn effective ways to manage pain and discomfort.  

Myotherapy integrates hands on remedial massage modalities and extends to more specialised range of soft tissue manipulation techniques including: muscle energy techniques, cupping, dry needling, nerve and joint mobilisation techniques. Treatment can also include stretching, nutritional advice, exercise prescription, postural advice and education, hot and cold therapy, ultrasound and electrotherapy such as TENS & EMS. 

Treatment specific modalities may include:

Myofascial Dry Needling like acupuncture but involves insertion of a filiform needle into tissue (muscle, tendon, ligament, bursae, fat pad) that is either causing or contributing to pain. The needle initiates both a local response (at the point of insertion) and neurological response (at the spinal cord) which has analgesic effects and promotes local healing.

Electromuscular Dry Needling a similar technique to Myofascial Dry Needling, with the addition of electrotherapy. An electrical current is applied to the muscle and/or tendons via the inserted microfilament needles at varied frequency, dependent on the presenting condition and desired results. This helps to reduce the sensitivity of those nerves, giving relief from symptoms, increasing range of motion and reducing neural tension.

Auriculotherapy & Vagus Nerve Stimulation  Vagus nerve stimulation via the external ear using electronic devices has been shown to increase the "relaxation response" of the parasympathetic nervous system and reduce fight-or-flight stress responses driven by the sympathetic nervous system. Conditions which may be treated include for chronic pain & inflammation, depression, anxiety, stress, insomnia, migraines, gut issues, autoimmune conditions, addictions and more.

Overall the treatment outcomes aim to  promote wellbeing, improve sleep, treat anxiety and tension, and enhance a range of systemic body functions.

Studies show that massage therapy can have a profound affect on mood, with anxiety reduction being one of the well-established effects. Evidence for the effectiveness of massage in promoting mental health crosses multiple presenting conditions and populations.