Yes — Santia Loubser Physiotherapy is registered with major medical aids and bills at 100% of medical aid rates. We recommend contacting your scheme before your appointment to confirm your available physiotherapy benefits and whether a GP referral is required by your plan.
Our cash rates are:
Medical aid patients are billed at 100% of their scheme rates. Sessions are booked as 60 minute slots by default, as most conditions require that time to treat properly. If your session is shorter, you won’t be charged for the full hour.
No — physiotherapists are first-line practitioners, which means you can book directly without a GP referral. Some medical aid schemes do require a referral for billing purposes, so it’s worth checking with your scheme before your first appointment.
Your first session begins with a thorough assessment — we take a detailed history, listen carefully to your symptoms and how they’re affecting your life, and conduct a physical examination. Treatment begins in that first session too.
Your response to treatment is itself part of how we understand your condition. We observe how your body responds, how your symptoms behave, and use that information alongside our assessment to refine our clinical picture.
Over the first few sessions we’re able to confirm what we’re dealing with, establish whether physiotherapy is the right approach for you, and give you a realistic picture of your recovery. If we establish that your condition is better managed elsewhere, we’ll tell you and refer you on — we’d rather do that than keep you coming back without meaningful progress. It’s an approach that respects your time and your money.
Comfortable, loose-fitting clothing that allows easy access to the area being treated. If you’re coming for a lower limb or back problem, shorts are ideal. For shoulder or neck treatment, a vest top or loose shirt works well.
This varies depending on the nature and severity of your condition. Some acute injuries resolve in two to three sessions, while more complex or chronic conditions may require longer.
We’ll give you a realistic expectation at your first appointment and reassess regularly — the goal is always to get you better as efficiently as possible, not to keep you coming back unnecessarily.
Not necessarily — and this is one of the most important things to understand about pain and the body. Research consistently shows that many findings on X-rays and MRIs — bulging discs, degenerative changes, ‘wear and tear’ — are extremely common in people who have no pain at all. These are often incidental findings that don’t explain your pain or predict your outcome.
Similarly, having had pain for a long time does not mean it is permanent or untreatable. Chronic pain is complex, but it is rarely beyond help.
If you’ve been told your pain is structural, or that there’s nothing that can be done, come in for an assessment. We’ll take the time to go through what your scans and your doctors have told you, explore what those findings actually mean for your specific situation — and what they don’t mean. You may be surprised by what’s possible.
We’re based at Office 3, Live Right Office Suite, 1st Floor, Riverside Mall, Main Road, Rondebosch. Parking is available in the Riverside Mall parking area or on street along Main Road.
Monday – Thursday: 08:00 – 17:00
Friday: 08:00 – 14:00
Saturday: By availability — please enquire via WhatsApp
We require at least 4 hours’ notice for cancellations or rescheduling. Late cancellations or missed appointments may be charged a R500 fee. This allows us to offer the appointment to another patient who may need it.
Yes — sports and running injuries are a core part of what we do at Santia Loubser Physiotherapy. We treat everything from acute muscle strains and ligament sprains to overuse injuries and post-injury return to sport rehabilitation. We work with everyone from UCT student athletes to recreational runners and competitive endurance athletes.
Absolutely. Back pain is one of the most common conditions we treat and physiotherapy is widely recommended as a first-line treatment. You don’t need to be injured playing sport or have had surgery to benefit — if pain is affecting your daily life, work or sleep, that’s reason enough to come in.
Home visits are available by prior arrangement for patients in the local area. Please contact us directly via WhatsApp to discuss.