Physio and rehab terms, explained in plain English
The words you hear in a physiotherapy appointment, a strength test or a health fund claim, explained in a sentence or two by the Adapt team in North Sydney. Each definition says how the term applies at Adapt and links to the page with more detail, from strength testing to fees and rebates.
Testing and measurement
- Force plate
- A platform that measures the force you push into the ground. Adapt uses VALD ForceDecks during jumps and other selected movements when a measurement will help your physiotherapist plan.
- ForceFrame
- A VALD device that measures isometric strength, how hard one muscle group can push or pull, one side at a time, often around the hip, knee or shoulder.
- Limb symmetry
- A comparison of strength or force between your left and right sides. It is one input to a rehab decision, read alongside the clinical review.
- Isometric strength
- Force produced while a muscle works without the joint moving, such as pushing against a fixed frame.
- Range of motion
- How far a joint moves. Your physiotherapist checks it at assessments and reviews, especially after surgery.
Words written into your program
Your program in the Adapt app uses a few training words, such as sets, repetitions and load. Your coach explains each one on the floor in your first supervised session, and your physiotherapist adjusts them at each review.
What does AHPRA-registered mean?
The physiotherapist is registered with the Physiotherapy Board of Australia through Ahpra, which is required to practise, and anyone can check a registration on the public register.
Our physiotherapistsRehab and training
- Progressive loading
- A planned rise in exercise demand, such as heavier load, more sets or a harder variation, made as you tolerate the current level. At Adapt your physiotherapist writes those steps into the program and the coaching team applies them in gym-based physiotherapy.
- Program block
- A stretch of training that keeps the same exercises and targets until the plan is rewritten. At Adapt the next block is set at your physiotherapy review and then loaded into the Adapt app, as set out in how gym-based physio works.
- Physiotherapy review
- An appointment with your physiotherapist that checks the current block and sets the next one. At Adapt it is a priced physio consult, separate from a supervised gym session.
- Supervised session
- Time on the gym floor where a coach takes you through the program your physiotherapist wrote. At Adapt these sessions sit between reviews in gym-based physiotherapy and are not claimable on extras.
- Prehab
- Strength and movement work done before a planned operation, following your surgeon's protocol. At Adapt rehab after surgery continues from that protocol, and gym sessions start when your physiotherapist allows it.
- Return to sport
- The point in rehab when an athlete resumes training and then competition, usually in stages. At Adapt sports physio appointments base the next stage on strength, movement and the sport, alongside your surgeon's guidance, rather than time since injury alone.
- Load management
- How much work a tissue or joint is asked to handle, and how that amount is changed across the week. At Adapt your physiotherapist sets it in the program, and coaches keep supervised sessions inside that plan.
Your physiotherapist explains the plan in plain words
Your physiotherapist explains the findings, the plan and any term on a report at the assessment and each review, during a physiotherapy appointment at Adapt.
Book a physio
Fees and claiming
- Extras cover
- Private health cover for out-of-hospital services such as physiotherapy, often with a yearly limit. At Adapt a physio appointment may be claimable on extras that include physio, while supervised gym sessions, the Adapt app and strength testing are not, as set out on fees and rebates.
- Gap payment
- The amount you pay after your fund pays its benefit for an eligible appointment. At Adapt the fee is confirmed before you book, so you know the full amount, and your fund sets the benefit, as described on fees and rebates.
- Bulk billing
- A Medicare arrangement where the practitioner bills Medicare and you pay nothing at the time. Adapt appointments are private, so you pay the fee and claim extras yourself if your cover includes physio.
- GP care plan
- A plan your GP can write for a chronic condition, which may include Medicare benefits for some allied health visits. Tell the Adapt team before you book and we will confirm how it applies to your visit.
- HICAPS
- A system some clinics use to send a claim to your health fund at the time of payment, so you pay only the gap that day. Adapt issues a receipt at the end of each appointment for you to claim through your fund.
- Cancellation fee
- A fee that may apply if you miss an appointment or cancel inside 24 hours. At Adapt, give at least 24 hours notice by phone or email and there is no fee to move or cancel.
Words from your surgeon's report
Bring your surgeon's report to your assessment and your physiotherapist will explain any term you do not recognise. Those words then shape rehab after surgery on the gym floor.
Conditions and surgery
- ACL reconstruction
- A graft that replaces a torn anterior cruciate ligament in the knee. At Adapt ACL rehab follows the surgeon's protocol, with strength testing used when a measurement will inform the next phase.
- Total knee replacement
- Surgery that replaces the worn surfaces of the knee with a prosthesis. At Adapt knee replacement rehab follows the surgeon's protocol, and gym sessions start when that protocol and your physiotherapist allow it.
- Rotator cuff
- The group of tendons that help lift and rotate the shoulder. At Adapt a rotator cuff problem is assessed in shoulder rehab, then loaded through a written program.
- Sciatica
- Pain, tingling or numbness that travels down the leg, often from the lower back. At Adapt it is assessed as part of back pain and sciatica care, then loaded as your physiotherapist directs.
- Post-operative protocol
- The written limits your surgeon sets after an operation, covering movement, load and when gym work can start. At Adapt rehab after surgery follows that protocol first.
- Weight bearing
- How much weight you are allowed to put through a leg after surgery or injury. At Adapt your physiotherapist confirms the surgeon's instruction as part of rehab after surgery, before gym sessions start.
- Musculoskeletal
- The muscles, bones, joints and related tissues that physiotherapy most often assesses and treats. At Adapt this is the work of the physiotherapy team, covering the presentations listed under conditions, with rehab continuing on the gym floor when it fits the plan.
Questions about these terms
Book a physioIs a gym-based check-in the same as a standard physio appointment?
A follow-up at Adapt is a standard physiotherapy appointment, while a review in gym-based physio checks progress against the program and sets the next block. Coaches then work from that updated plan between reviews.
Does a jump test at Adapt measure general fitness?
No, a force plate test measures force for a clinical or training decision rather than general fitness. At Adapt your physiotherapist uses VALD ForceDecks when that measurement will inform the next step, as explained in strength testing.
What does "not claimable" mean on my invoice?
It means extras cover does not pay for that item, such as a supervised gym session or strength testing. Physio consults may be claimable depending on your fund, as set out on fees and rebates.
What does my surgeon mean if I can put weight through the leg as comfort allows?
You may put as much weight through the leg as comfort allows, within your surgeon's protocol. Your physiotherapist confirms what that means for walking, stairs and gym sessions at Adapt.
What is the difference between a sprain and a strain?
A sprain affects a ligament and a strain affects a muscle or tendon. Your physiotherapist can assess which you have at Adapt and write the program around the tissue involved.
Why does my physiotherapist talk about load?
Load is how much work a body part is asked to handle in a session or a week. Your physiotherapist changes it gradually as you tolerate more, which is why the word comes up when sets, rest or session count change.