By Design Physio

By Design Physio North Hobart Physiotherapy Live a life by design. Move better. Feel stronger. Live by design. Book your appointment now.

By Design Physio is a musculoskeletal physiotherapy clinic in North Hobart focused on helping you move better, get stronger, and live pain-free. We specialize in the assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of conditions affecting your muscles, joints, bones and nerves. Our physiotherapists use evidence-based treatment including targeted exercise prescription, hands-on therapy, joint mobilizations, massage, and education to help you understand your body and feel confident in your movement. Whether you’re dealing with everyday aches, a new injury, or long-standing pain, our goal is to reduce pain, restore function, and improve your quality of life.

02/04/2026

What does “core” actually mean?

It’s not just abs.

Your core is your trunk - everything that helps you create stability and transfer force between your upper and lower body.

Think:
breathing
bracing
control
movement

Core strength isn’t about doing endless sit-ups - it’s about how well you can control your body under load.

That can look like:
holding position (planks, carrying groceries)
resisting movement (anti-rotation, anti-extension, a windy day)
or creating movement (flexion, rotation, extension, bending ect)

So when should you work on it?

If you feel unstable
If you can’t control positions under load
If pain shows up when you move, lift, or train

That’s your cue.

Because a strong core isn’t about looking strong - it’s about moving strong.

02/04/2026

I’m Marissa - Co-Founder & Lead Physio at By Design.

I’m passionate about movement, and I genuinely love teaching people how to move better - not just to get out of pain, but to unlock parts of their life they didn’t think were possible again.

For me, it’s never just about fixing an injury.
It’s about building strength, confidence, and giving you a clear path forward.

01/04/2026

What actually happens in your first session at By Design?

We don’t just jump into treatment.

We start with your expectations and goals - what you actually want to get back to and what success looks like for you.

Then we understand your story. What’s been going on, what you’re feeling, what movements bring it on, what you’ve tried before, what’s worked (so we can do more of it) and what hasn’t (so we stop wasting time).

Because without this, we’re guessing.

With it, we build a clear plan. Made for you.

And that’s how we get you results faster.

Not random treatment.
Not generic exercises.
Especially not a piece of paper with some pictures on it.

A structured plan, designed around you.

31/03/2026

Morning stiffness?

Not always a red flag.

If you wake up feeling tight, stiff, a bit restricted… but it eases after some warmth, movement, or a general warm up - that’s often your body just needing to “get going.”

Think:
• joints stiff from being still
• muscles needing circulation
• tissues warming up

👉 If it improves as you move = usually good to go.

But…

If it doesn’t ease
If it lingers or worsens
If it’s starting to concern you

That’s your cue to get it checked.

The goal isn’t just to push through - it’s to understand why it’s there and what to do next… and ultimately feel comfortable 💪🏻

26/03/2026

Most people either push too hard or not hard enough.

That’s where RPE comes in. RPE stands for Rate of Perceived Exertion.

It’s a simple way to understand how hard you’re actually working, not just what the program says.
0 to 2 feels like nothing. Warm up, easy movement.
3 to 4 is light effort. You could keep going for a long time.
5 to 6 is moderate. You’re working, but still in control.
7 to 8 is hard. You’re getting challenged, but form stays solid.
9 is very hard. One more rep left in the tank.
10 is max effort. Nothing left.

Most of your training should sit around 6 to 8.
That’s where you build strength, capacity, and consistency without burning out or flaring things up.

If you’re always at a 9 or 10, you’ll eventually hit a wall.

If you’re always at a 3 or 4, you’re probably not progressing.

The goal isn’t to go hard all the time. It’s to train at the right intensity for where you’re at.

23/03/2026

Hanging isn’t just something kids do on monkey bars - it’s one of the simplest ways to look after your shoulders and upper body.

When you hang, you’re giving your shoulders a break from compression. It creates space in the joint, helps with circulation, and can reduce that stiff, tight feeling a lot of people carry from sitting or training.

It also builds real strength. Your grip, forearms, and shoulders all have to work together just to hold you there. Over time, that carries over into better pulling strength, better control, and more resilient shoulders.

For a lot of people, it’s also a really easy entry point. No complicated technique, no heavy weights. Just you, a bar, and time under tension.

Start simple. Even 3-5 seconds at a time can be enough to get benefit.

If your shoulders feel tight, weak, or just not quite right, hanging can be a really good place to start.

22/03/2026

Does your teen play sport and complain of knee pain just below the kneecap?

It could be Osgood-Schlatter’s - a common growth-related condition where the knee gets irritated with repeated load.
It will present as patella tendinosis initially, but without correct loading, will be persistent and even start to look aesthetically different.

The key isn’t to stop everything… it’s to load it properly:
✔️ Keep them active (don’t shut sport down completely)
✔️ Modify volume + intensity (not all sessions need to be max effort)
✔️ Build strength through quads, hips, and calves
✔️ Use pain as a guide (not something to ignore or fear)

Done right, loading actually helps settle symptoms and builds resilience long-term, keeping them playing!

19/03/2026

Scans can be helpful - but they’re only one part of the picture.
Pain is more complex than what shows up on imaging.
We focus on education, movement, and building real, long-term change.

There’s something powerful about a space that’s been set up with intention. Not just clean for the sake of appearance, b...
17/03/2026

There’s something powerful about a space that’s been set up with intention. Not just clean for the sake of appearance, but organised in a way that makes thinking clearer, movement smoother, and care more deliberate. Every band, every weight, every surface has its place - not by accident, but by design. It’s a reflection of how we approach our work: considered, consistent, and built to support both the practitioner and the person in front of them.

Consistency in the small things is what allows us to deliver in the big moments. When the environment is calm, structured, and repeatable, it creates a level of trust you can feel the moment you walk in. This is the standard we hold behind the scenes - because the quality of care isn’t just in what we do, it’s in everything that surrounds it.

📸 Samantha Ford’s office

14/03/2026

Workshop time ⏰ 💪🏻

Physio Marissa was out .new.fitness this morning for part 2 of the ‘pain-free functional athlete’ series.
Last workshop was all about the hips; hinging and squatting. While this was more shoulders; bench and pull-ups.

The team gained some gems;
💎 when to push through pain, and when to hold back
💎 how to sequentially activate shoulder muscles to get stronger faster
💎 how to bulletproof the shoulders
💎 when and how to calm an annoyed shoulder
💎 why set up is the most important step

Workshops are only 60min, filled with simple and practical skills, all while being coached in real time!

Does your gym need to host one of these?!
Send us a 📧 and we’ll do the rest!

13/03/2026

When working with lifters and athletes, pain isn’t always a red flag.

Sometimes pain is information - not injury.

Completely stopping training can actually make things worse:
• Loss of strength
• Reduced tissue capacity
• Increased sensitivity

At By Design, we use a traffic light system to guide decision-making:

🟢 Green – Safe to train as planned
🟡 Yellow – Modify load, volume, or frequency
🔴 Red – Regress or temporarily offload

Instead of saying “stop,” we ask:
• Is it tolerable?
• Does it settle quickly?
• Is it improving over time?

We then adjust:
• Training frequency
• Training volume
• Exercise selection
• Intensity

The goal isn’t to avoid all discomfort.

The goal is to train intelligently — so you build capacity while managing symptoms.

Pain isn’t the enemy.
Mismanaged load is.

12/03/2026

Cross-country MTB isn’t just about riding more. It’s about training smarter across the season.

Pre-season:
Build strength. Build capacity. Build durability.
This is where you earn your engine.

In-season:
Maintain intensity on the bike.
Reduce gym load.
Prioritise hydration, nutrition, sleep, and stress management.

Post-race:
Refuel properly. Recover properly. Reflect properly.
Identify what you executed well — and what needs sharpening.

Performance isn’t random.
It’s structured.

Train for the phase you’re in, not the phase you wish you were in.

Address

37 Tasma Street
Hobart, TAS
7000

Opening Hours

Monday 7am - 7pm
Tuesday 7am - 7pm
Wednesday 7am - 7pm
Thursday 7am - 7pm
Friday 7am - 7pm

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