I took my partner to West End Osteopathy in the hope that we would receive treatment for her persistently sore neck. The diagnoses was that the C6/C7 facet joint was locked and in muscle spasm. What we received were treatments that in fact exacerbated her condition and the next day she experienced far greater pain symptoms than prior to seeking treatment. The day after, the pain had become so severe that we returned to West End Osteopathy and sought further treatment to relieve the exacerbated symptoms again the treatment was ineffective. The following day the pain had become so bad that my partner was reduced to tears and immobility.
We were lucky enough that our neighbour is a retired acupuncturist with 40 years of experience and was the president of the Australian Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine Association. Despite being at a family reunion he graciously came to our rescue and when he learnt that we had been told to apply heat hourly to the affected area he informed us that the problem had been misdiagnosed and that the disk was in fact swollen. He advised us to apply ice to reduce the inflammation and then applied acupuncture to reduce swelling. He further informed us that if we had continued with applying heat as proscribed we ran the risk of rupturing the disk and necessitating surgery. After routinely applying ice as he proscribed the swelling and inflammation had reduced considerably, together with the pain.
We obtained an MRI scan, which confirmed our neighbour's diagnoses and showed that there was broad based disk protrusion in the C5/C6 spine, and tiny protrusions in C4/C5 and C6/C7. Our neighbour reassured us that there was no long-term damage and that with the correct treatment the problem should disappear in a matter of weeks. This statement was reflected in the MRI report.
I spoke that day with the practitioner responsible and informed her that we had sought a second opinion as we found that her treatment and recommendations ineffective and even detrimental. I told her that we had been applying ice instead of heat and that this treatment was effective. She disputed the efficacy of the second opinion and I reminded her that it had in fact reduced the swelling and pain, and that her theory, in this case, was incorrect. I requested a refund and was told that the practice manager would call me.
At 7.30 that evening I received a call from the practice manager who was very aggressive and spoke over the top of me whilst trying to belittle my experience with lengthy technical terms and attempted to invalidate the opinion of a practitioner with twice her years of experience. She told me that no one treats these types of injuries with ice and further that when we came to her practice we were not in fact paying for them to fix my partners problem, but for the knowledge and experience her practitioners had achieved through training. She added that we had no right to expect them to fix our problem but only that they would apply their training to the issue. When I disputed this she condescendingly informed me that I had a right to my difference of opinion. She refused to be responsible for the additional pain my partner had to endure and nor did she apologise for the pain caused.

The practice manager was correct when she said that I am entitled to my opinion, so if you are reading this review please take heed of this warning and benefit from my partners painful experience and choose another clinic to take care of your loved one. I implore you that if you care for your own health and the wellbeing of those you love, please avoid West End Osteopathy as they have shown little regard for my partners well being or for the additional pain they have caused her.

Approximate cost: $200

i was referred to see Dr Mark Kelly from a good friend & find out if he could help me with the after affects of a few head injuries resulting from some falls. i found him to be just as my friend had said - quick to find out my condition & to let me know if he can help me or not, i found him to be a rare practitioner of honesty & integrity who wasn't about to just use me to make money, making it clear that unless he could help me, we wouldn't go further. he even told me about the care plan i can get on medicare to see him for 5 sessions for FREE! :D he was careful & patient to talk me through the process of what he was doing in trying to treat me .. I highly recommend him as he was highly recommended to me!!

Approximate cost: $60