Rehabilitation Medicine
Rehabilitation medicine is a person-centred medical specialty focused on assisting people to achieve their goals. It has the advantage of being a team based specialty that utilises the knowledge and skills of allied health practitioners with additional expertise to achieve better health and functional outcomes.
Rehabilitation medicine focuses on the whole person including their psychological and social well-being, not just their affected body part. The Australian Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine (AFRM) is the peak professional organisation for Rehabilitation Medicine education and training in Australia and New Zealand. It is a Faculty of the Royal Australian College of Physicians (RACP).
Dr Nathan Johns
Rehabilitation Physician
Dr Johns is a specialist Rehabilitation Medicine Physician with 20 years of expertise in managing chronic pain and disability. He is the Director of the Rehabilitation Medicine Group. He graduated from Monash University with a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery in 1996. He is a Fellow of the Australasian Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine (AFRM, RACP). He has speciality training and experience in all aspects of rehabilitation including pain management, neurological rehabilitation, orthopaedic rehabilitation, traumatic brain injury and the rehabilitation of Older Adults. Dr Johns is the Clinical Director of Rehabilitation Medicine, Aged Care, Palliative Care and Pain at Peninsula Health. His research interests include persistent post surgical pain and he is enrolled in PhD studies at Monash University. He is an adjunct lecturer at Monash University. Dr Johns consults on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons.
MULTIDISCIPLINARY PAIN REHABILITATION
Following a comprehensive medical assessment, we can prescribe a personalised pain rehabilitation program from a short physiotherapy 6 session course through to a comprehensive 12 week multidisciplinary course. We treat not only your pain, but you and the effects that pain has on your life. We have translated the latest research evidence to power our programs of neuroscience and health education, cognitive skill training and specific neuromuscular exercises. We aim to teach you how to reduce and control your pain, teach you to live without pain and take charge of your life again.
Injections or surgery are not required.
Other aims are to reduce medication use, improve your ability to perform functional activities such as sitting, standing and walking, improve sleep and mood, return to your usual daily activities, return to recreational activities and return to work.
Our programs do not involve passive therapies (such as needling, massage, manipulation and ultrasound). We use active strategies that engage people in education for pain and health promotion, we provide exercise programs for pain and fitness and teach cognitive strategies such as cognitive behavioural therapy for pain, sleep and mood.
We aim to teach self-management rather than encourage indefinite attendance however we do offer long term medical and allied health support, especially for people experiencing new conditions or exacerbations of an existing condition.
