Do you know what a TA is?

No?

That’s ok. A lot of people aren’t quite sure either.

A TA, Therapy Assistant, AHA or Allied Health Assistant is someone who can help to complement your exercise program that you have been performing with your Physiotherapist or Exercise Physiologist at Neurological Physiotherapy Geelong.

Here at NPG we currently have three TA’s - Carly, Ella and Mark - who are able to assist you to achieve your therapy goals either at your home or in our new clinic. You will still have the support of your therapist, who works very closely with the TA to tailor a program suited to you. Our TA’s have a combined total of over 20 years experience in the industry across hospital and rehabilitation settings.

Now you know what a TA is, the next question is…why might you use a TA as part of your therapy program?

Some of the benefits of working with our awesome TAs include:

Reduced cost of sessions, which may mean you can:
- Have more time in your session
- Have more frequent sessions
- Access 1:1 support where otherwise this might not be feasible.

Having more time to perform physical activity leads to better outcomes both physically (achieving that walking goal faster!) and for your general health (eg. better diabetes or blood pressure control).
Greater flexibility in session days and times
Social bonus of establishing a positive ongoing relationship with another healthcare professional.
TAs are fantastic motivators and will get you moving much more than you might do on your own!

Having a TA involved in your care also facilitates a direct link with your therapist in case of any issues along the way. The TA’s are in close contact with the rest of the team and will provide immediate feedback to help with arranging additional supports or aids that are required. They can also quickly identify if there are any changes in your mobility or function and alert the therapist. Working with a TA doesn’t mean that you won't see your therapist, it just means that they will come along to sessions when required, e.g. for progressions of programs, change to programs (different modalities including hydrotherapy), or to review for your outcome measures prior to report writing and plan reviews (NDIS clients). When funding allows, you may be able to have both regular 1:1 physiotherapy or EP as well as regular TA sessions.

The most recent World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines on physical activity and sedentary behaviour (2020) recommends at least 150 minutes per week, with strength training on at least two days and multicomponent activities for balance and strength in older adults on at least three days.

By adding a TA program on top of your treatment plan you may be able to achieve these goals of 150 minutes of physical activity per week in a controlled and monitored environment.

Don’t believe me? Here is some client feedback:

"They make me work hard and are enjoyable people to be with!" – N

“Ella is very professional and high quality” – H

“ Carly brings out the best in Matt” – J