Do I need a referral to see a chiropractor?

No. Chiropractic is a direct-access profession in Australia, so you can book straight in. A referral is only required for certain Medicare chronic disease management plans, DVA and workers compensation claims.

What happens at a first chiropractic appointment?

The first visit is mostly assessment: a history of your symptoms and what aggravates them, a physical examination of movement, joint function and strength, and where appropriate a neurological or orthopaedic screen. You will get a working diagnosis explained in plain terms and a treatment plan with a timeframe before any hands-on treatment begins.

Does chiropractic adjustment hurt?

Most people describe an adjustment as a brief pressure followed by relief. Some soreness for a day afterwards is common, particularly after a first visit, and settles on its own. If you would prefer low-force techniques over manual adjusting, say so — there are effective alternatives and we use them regularly.

How many appointments will I need?

That depends on how long the problem has been there and what is driving it. An acute, recent complaint often changes within a handful of visits; a long-standing one takes longer. We will give you an expected number at the first appointment and reassess against it rather than open-ended care.

Is chiropractic covered by Medicare?

Only under a Chronic Disease Management plan arranged by your GP, which covers up to five allied health visits per calendar year across all providers. Otherwise chiropractic is a private service claimable through extras cover.

Can I claim on private health insurance?

Yes. HICAPS is available at both clinics, so your rebate is processed at the appointment and you pay only the gap. What you get back depends on your fund and level of extras cover, and on how much of your annual limit you have already used.

Where are you located and when are you open?

Marrickville is at Shop 1/20-22 Station St and is open seven days. Wetherill Park is at Unit 2/442-446 Victoria St and is open six days — we are closed there on Thursdays. Bookings are taken separately for each clinic.

Chiropractic Care Explained: What to Expect

What a chiropractor actually does

A chiropractor assesses and treats problems of the joints, muscles and nerves — most often of the spine, but also of the shoulder, hip, knee, ankle and jaw. The work is diagnostic before it is hands-on: what hurts, what provokes it, how the joint moves under load, and whether the pattern fits a mechanical problem at all. Where it does not, the right answer is a referral, and you should expect to be told so.

Chiropractic care in Marrickville, Australia

What happens at a first appointment

The first visit is mostly assessment, and it should take longer than the ones that follow. Expect a history — when it started, what makes it worse, what you need to get back to — followed by a physical examination that tests movement, joint function and strength rather than assuming them, and where relevant an orthopaedic or neurological screen.

You should leave with three things: a working diagnosis in plain language, a treatment plan with a timeframe attached, and something to do between appointments. If a practitioner cannot tell you roughly how many visits they expect and what change to look for, that is a fair reason to ask again.

Treatment itself may include joint manipulation or low-force adjusting, soft tissue work, dry needling, taping and loading exercise. Manual therapy relieves symptoms; the exercise is what tends to keep them away, which is why the two are prescribed together rather than one instead of the other.

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How long does a course of care take?

It depends on how long the problem has been there and what is driving it. A recent, acute complaint often changes noticeably within a handful of visits. Something that has been building for years usually takes longer, and the honest answer at the first appointment is a range with a review point in it — not an open-ended plan.

What should not happen is indefinite treatment with no reassessment. If you are not tracking against what was predicted, the diagnosis or the plan needs to change rather than the same session being repeated. Where chiropractic is not the right pathway, or where imaging or a medical opinion is needed first, you should be referred on.

Fees, rebates and what to bring

Hyperhealth provides treatments like chiro adjustment.

Conditions chiropractic is used for

The list below is what chiropractors see most, alongside the techniques used to treat them. It is not a claim that every problem responds — mechanical pain generally does, and anything that does not fit that picture belongs with another practitioner.

Arthritis
Disc herniation
Headaches and migraines
Neck pain
Joint pain
Leg length discrepancy
Myofascial pain

Postural dysfunction
Sciatica
Strains and sprains
Work and sport related injuries
Diabetic Foot Care
Foot and Ankle Pain/Musculoskeletal Injuries
Spinal adjustments

Dry needling / Medical acupuncture
Instrumented assisted soft tissue mobilisation
Joint manipulation
Kinesio taping
Low level laser / Light therapy
Prehab and rehabilitation
Myofascial release

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Adjustment techniques, and why they differ

There is no single technique that suits every person or every joint. Which one is used depends on the diagnosis, the joint involved, and how much force you are comfortable with — which is a legitimate thing to have a preference about, and worth saying out loud at the first appointment.

Diversified and Gonstead

Hands-on adjusting of a specific spinal or pelvic segment, aimed at restoring movement at a joint that has stopped moving well. This is the approach most people picture, and the one that produces the audible release — which is gas leaving the joint, not anything moving back into place.

Instrument-assisted (Activator)

A handheld instrument delivers a small, controlled impulse instead of a manual thrust. It suits people who would rather avoid manual adjusting, those with osteoporosis or inflammatory joint disease, older patients, and anyone treating an extremity joint such as a wrist or ankle.

Flexion-distraction

A table-based technique that applies gentle traction and segmental movement rather than a thrust. It is commonly used for disc-related pain and for lumbar spinal stenosis, where the aim is to reduce load on the disc and nerve root rather than to move a joint quickly.

Soft tissue and rehabilitation

Myofascial release, instrument-assisted soft tissue work, dry needling and medical acupuncture, taping, and a loading programme you take home. Adjustments change how a joint moves on the day; loading changes what the tissue can tolerate, which is what determines whether the change lasts.

When it is worth seeing a chiropractor

Low back pain — from lifting, a sedentary day, an old injury, or no obvious cause at all
Neck pain and stiffness, including pain that has followed a change in desk setup or sleep position
Headaches with a neck component, where movement of the neck reproduces or eases the symptom
Jaw pain and clicking
Shoulder, elbow and forearm pain from repetitive load
Hip and pelvic pain, including during and after pregnancy
Knee and ankle problems, sporting or otherwise
Returning to activity after an injury, a surgery, or a long period of doing very little

Some symptoms need medical assessment first rather than manual therapy: unexplained weight loss, fever alongside back pain, a recent significant trauma, progressive weakness in a limb, or any change in bladder or bowel control. If any of those apply, see a doctor before booking.

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Frequently asked questions

Where you can book chiropractic care

Chiropractic runs at both Hyper Health clinics. The pages below cover the practical side of each one — the address, how to get there, opening hours and who you would be seeing.

Chiropractic across Sydney's Inner West

Our Marrickville clinic is a short trip from these suburbs. Pick yours to see what chiropractic at Hyper Health looks like locally.

Chiropractic care: what it is and what to expect