North City Physiotherapy

Fantastic experience: I booked in with Abhi following an injury to my elbow. The treatment course Abhi recommended involved several sessions of dry needling of the elbow and shoulder. As someone with an overwhelming phobia of needles, tackling this treatment plan was a major undertaking for me. I am very grateful to Abhi for his patience and willingness to listen as we worked through these phobias together. I was welcome to bring a support person to every session, and brought my partner for the first two sessions. By the third treatment, I was completely comfortable going it alone. The results of the treatment have been amazing, both in their immediate physical effects, but also in the emotional effects of the "exposure therapy" that dry needling represents for those with needle phobia. Everyone will have a different a experience, but for me, with Abhi's support, the process has been as close to stress free as possible. I've always felt supported and understood. Abhi took his time and introduced the procedures gently, working over several sessions and never pushing beyond my comfort level. The treatments themselves are very gentle, with little more than mild discomfort. Afterwards it feels like you've had a very rough massage - a little sore, but not unpleasant. Beyond treating the injury, Abhi has been full of practical advice on how to keep the body performing at his best. The more of these changes I implement, the better I feel. I'm truly grateful to Abhi for knowledge, professionalism, support, and willingness to share his wisdom.

Fantastic experience: Abhi has been treating me for six months, I trapped the Radial nerve, the biggest nerve in the upper body. Physio hasn’t been just about healing the injury, it is also about healing the mind. I have had personal experience with mental health for over 30 years, dealing with anything can be so difficult, imagine losing the use of your entire arm for at least six months, the effect mentally is extraordinary. Now this is where Abhi comes in, quite literally a miracle worker, he knows the muscles and nervous system of a body so masterfully it’s no wonder he has been a physio for olympians, and when I read that on his Bio I was even more relieved. For mental wellbeing, Abhi has taken time during every weekly session to understand how I am, his psychological approach is so very subtle but has just as much a positive effect as the dry needling he does. I need understanding of what is being done, why it’s being done, how it’s meant to feel and Abhi invests his time in understanding and knowing his patient. My journey with Abhi will take sometime because I really injured my Radial nerve, and he has personalised my sessions so I feel relieved psychologically, emotionally and physically. Lastly, I previously attended physio locally, what they did is take a brief history, do generalised treatment but invest no time in the patient. It’s so easy to see why Johnsonville Physio has a five star rating, it’s so easy to understand why Abhi is so popular. p.s. I have to mention receptionist Alex, his phone manner and customer service skills have to be experienced; I’ve been in customer service for over 35 years, medical and trauma sector for almost 15 and Alex is someone who really cares about people.

Fantastic experience: I started working with Abhi after bailing at the skate park and tearing my MCL pretty bad. I couldn't walk, flex or bear weight, and would wake up in pain if I rolled over in the night. We spent the first few weeks focusing on the healing process, tons of dry needling and discussing how to keep a clear head space while being grounded. As it healed we started scaling up, introducing exercises to rebuild strength and stability. We've since been working on preventative exercises, diet, gym habits to promote longevity and improved mobility. Eight weeks after the tear, I'm long-distance running, lifting, jumping, skating and mountain biking again. Totally recommend working with Abhi, massive thanks!

Fantastic experience: TL;DR: highly recommend Abhi D’Costa at North City physio. Dealt with a chronic injury over many years and went through multiple physiotherapists with little results. Since working with Abhi over the last couple months, specifically Dry needling, I have seen better results than all my other treatments put together. My injury started with a hyper extension of my big toe on my right foot at age 22. The injury damaged my MCL and restricted range of motion in my big toe joint. Basically I walked with a limp for a while and then my gait altered because of the restricted toe range of motion. I did physio with Willis street physio first. These visits resulted in sports massages and exercises. This didn't really resolve my issue and I was prone to injury again and again. I bounced from this physio to Wellington Sports Medicine, multiple physios and cortisone shots twice. I ended up seeing a specialist at Southern cross hospital and doing MRIs (Twice) it showed slight damage to the top on the bone in the big toe joint (Not the end off your toe). After the first MRI, I basically gave up on activity that put load on the joint. I took up biking. This is 6 years after initial injury and plenty of treatment, time to accept my lot. 1 year into biking all is pretty well but I do have niggly little issues; (pain / tightness in Toe and ankle), right leg is weaker than left etc. One day my ankle locks up and I can't move my knee forward over my foot. My partner had recently had a chronic back issue fixed by the local physio (Abhi). Whilst my faith in physios is somewhat shaken over my last few years of experience, I don't have much of a choice as I can't walk properly and can't ride my bike. I start my treatment with Abhi. I like this dude already, he inspires confidence. Abhi tells me, he's gonna fix me and at that point I don't doubt him. 20 mins later, full function of my ankle again. At the end of that session he tells me he has a plan for me. I'm gonna work with him for at least the next 6 months. He tells me his suspicions on how many different areas on my body are impacted from the chronic injury and books me in for the next week. Over the next couple months we have deep dived into multiple muscle groups. The treatment is dry needling with prescribed stretches and exercises. I was previously scared of needles (substantially) now I look forward to it. - My big toe feels practically fixed. - Ankle mobility better than its ever been. - Work on my glutes and their activation has had me more balanced and stable than I can remember - Tightness in my calf and lateral thigh fixed. - I understand what the hell is going on (Abhi is a good teacher) List goes on. I would have never seen these results, understood my body and it's injuries unless I had met Abhi. He is pretty intense and passionate and would never give any of his clients less than his best and it shows through. A mixture of great results and his attitude has had me a regular patient for months now and I really don't see a future where I won't be continually knocking on his door.

Fantastic experience: I have had an exceptional experience with North City Physio and in particular Abhi. Initially I was being treated for an issue with my hamstring and calf, which Abhi managed to treat successfully and get me ready for cricket season through the use of dry needling and manipulation. After suffering a shoulder subluxation, Abhi managed to get me back on the park after only 6 weeks through his detailed recovery plan and hands on approach to recovery. Dry needling and exercises reduced pain, increased mobility and led to my shoulder strength returning to get me back playing in a very short period of time. Cant recommend him highly enough, along with the admin staff at the Johnsonville branch who are just fantastic.