A proper look at how you move
Standing posture, gait, breathing, how you hinge and rotate under load. The compensations driving your pain usually show up here long before they show up on a scan.
Pain management · Malvern East, Melbourne
Pain management that goes after the cause, not just the sore spot.
One-on-one movement coaching in Malvern East for people stuck in long-term pain. I’m a qualified personal trainer with specialist certification in human biomechanics, and I retrain the movement loading the painful area, so relief has a reason to hold instead of wearing off by Thursday.
Real client · before & after
- ★★★★★ 5.0 on Google
- Cert III & IV Personal Trainer
- Certified in human biomechanics
- In-studio or online
- No lock-in
Real client · real result
Cass had nerve-pain attacks 2–3 days a week. Nobody could tell her why.
10+
Practitioners and specialists tried, with scans that showed nothing
4
Sessions before the intense nerve-pain attacks stopped
Almost zero pain
Most days, after 3 months of weekly sessions
“Before Michael I had an exhaustive list of specialists trying to figure out the random nerve pain I was experiencing… no one really knew, and the scans showed nothing! After my FIRST session with Michael, the pain eased significantly. After FOUR sessions with him I was no longer having the intense nerve pain attacks. Now, after 3 months of weekly sessions, I am at almost zero pain most days… fundamentally, no one was addressing how I’ve held and moved my body my whole life.”
★★★★★ Cass Holeczy · Google review
You’ve done everything you were told. It still hurts.
Pain that never fully switches off: quiet some days, a full stop on others.
A folder of different diagnoses from different practitioners, and no version that explains it all.
Scans that show nothing, or show something that doesn’t match how you actually feel.
Hundreds of dollars across physios, chiros, osteos and myos, with relief that never sticks.
Being told to manage it, live with it, or consider surgery, when nobody has looked at how you move.
Pain rarely starts where you feel it. The painful area is usually the part that gave in first under a loading pattern you repeat thousands of times a day, standing, walking, breathing, sitting. Change the pattern and that tissue finally gets a reason to feel different.
Chase the pattern, not the symptom.
I’m Michael, a qualified personal trainer (Cert III & IV) certified through Functional Patterns as a Human Biomechanics Specialist (Level 2). To be clear about what this is: it’s coaching, not treatment. I don’t diagnose and I don’t treat. What I do is read how your body organises itself and retrain it, which is the part most people in pain have never had looked at.
Root cause, not the sore spot
Rather than rubbing the painful area for an hour of relief, we change the inputs feeding it, so the tissue that’s been taking the load stops copping it every day.
Yours to keep
Hands-on cueing plus short homework, so the change goes home with you. The aim is you needing me less over time, not booking in forever.
I spent two years in daily pain, and got out of it.
On paper I was in great shape: an Ironman under my belt and Olympic weightlifting in the gym. But being fit isn’t the same as moving well, and mine caught up with me. I spent two years in daily hip pain with an FAI diagnosis, months of physios, podiatrists and chiros, and lasting relief never came. By late 2021 my physio was preparing me for surgery.
I didn’t manage it, and I didn’t get operated on. I retrained how I move: my gait, my breathing, how I load. It took me out of pain and past where I was as an athlete, further than most people in pain are ever told is possible. Same runner, same treadmill, here’s the difference.
Before
After
That’s why I take chronic pain personally. I’m not handing you a theory I read about, I’m coaching you through what I did myself.
Three steps, and the first one is free.
No contracts, no hard sell, and no being told to just live with it.
1
Send me the form
Tell me what’s going on and how long you’ve had it, using the form at the bottom of this page. I’ll get back to you to lock in a time.
Start here →
2
Come in for your initial consultation
60 minutes, free. A thorough assessment: your history, your posture, your gait and how you load, so we find what’s actually driving the pain. Or, if you’d rather feel it than hear it, we spend the time training instead. Your call.
Then this →
3
Train weekly, and hold the ground
Coaching, progression and short homework, week by week, so the change sticks instead of wearing off between appointments.
Send my enquiry →Inside your sessions.
Everyone’s pain history is different, but this is what working with me includes.
- A proper starting point — your history, previous diagnoses, what aggravates it, and a movement and gait screen instead of a guess.
- 1-on-1 coaching, every session — no group classes, no shared attention, no program emailed to you.
- Hands-on release and cueing — so you feel the change in the session, not weeks later.
- Load added when you’re ready for it — strength built on mechanics you can repeat well, at a pace your body accepts.
- Homework that takes minutes — short, specific work so progress isn’t limited to session time.
- Diet and weight-management support, if you want it — practical coaching on food quality, portions and the habits around eating, which matters when extra load is part of the picture.
- In-studio or online — a private, fully equipped studio in Malvern East, or remote coaching if you’re elsewhere.
Free · 60-minute consultation · no obligation
Not one-offs.
“Osteos and physios didn’t really help my hip after a skiing accident that I really struggled to recover from 2 years ago. After 3 months of training Functional Patterns with Mick just once a week… my day-to-day movement is undeniably improving quickly.”
★★★★★ Alexander Parker · Google review
“I had shoulder, hip and knee issues and Michael was absolutely fantastic. He is super knowledgeable on general PT and Functional Patterns, and allowed me to gradually move pain free! Truly couldn’t recommend him enough.”
★★★★★ Oliver Bryant · Google review
“I’ve been managing a lower back and glute injury for three years. Training with Michael has allowed me to slowly restore function and strength through his meticulous and specific style of training.”
★★★★★ Dilana Nagasinghe · Google review
This is for you if…
- You’ve had pain for months or years and the treatments that help never hold for long.
- Your scans came back clear, or the diagnosis never quite explained how you feel.
- You’ve been told to manage it or live with it, and you’re not ready to accept that.
- You want to get strong again without the pain flaring every time you push.
- You’d rather learn to move well than book maintenance appointments forever.
Hip pain specifically? There’s a page for that: my own hip pain story and how I train it
Quick answers before you start.
Is this treatment for my pain?
No, and I’ll always be straight with you about that. This is movement coaching, not medical treatment, diagnosis or advice. I coach how you stand, walk, breathe and load, so the painful area stops getting loaded the same way. Plenty of clients work with me alongside their doctor, physio or specialist.
My scans came back clear. Can you still help?
That’s a common starting point here. A scan shows structure at one moment; it doesn’t show how you load that structure thousands of times a day. The movement and gait assessment looks at the inputs, which is often where the pattern behind the pain turns up.
How long before I feel a difference?
It depends on how long you’ve had it and what’s driving it. Some people notice a change inside the first few sessions, others take longer, and outcomes vary. I won’t promise you a timeline. That’s exactly why the initial consultation is free, so you can judge it for yourself before spending anything.
Do I need a referral?
No referral needed. This is coaching, so you can book straight in. If you’re under medical care we work alongside it, never instead of it.
Where are you, and do you coach online?
The private studio is in Malvern East in south-east Melbourne, close to Carnegie, Caulfield, Ormond, Glen Huntly and Glen Iris. I also coach clients online, with video-based movement assessment.
What actually happens in the free consultation?
It’s a full 60 minutes at no charge. The default is a thorough assessment: your history, what you’ve already tried and what aggravates it, then a movement and gait assessment where we look at everything, and I show you exactly what I’m seeing. If you’d rather use the time training, say so and we’ll train. Either way you leave knowing what I’d work on with you, and there’s no obligation to book anything.
What does it cost after the consultation?
Ongoing one-on-one sessions are booked as you go, with no lock-in contract. We’ll go through the options and pricing together in your consultation, so there are no surprises.
Limited-time offer
Been burned before? Then let me take the risk.
If you’ve spent years and a small fortune on your pain, another promise isn’t worth much. So I’m giving you a full 60-minute consultation for free. That’s a thorough assessment where we look at everything, your history, your posture, your gait and how you load, and I tell you straight what I’d work on. Prefer to spend the time training instead? We can do that. Either way it’s 60 real minutes, not a rushed sales chat, and there’s no obligation to book a thing afterwards.
Free 60-min consultation
$49 deposit
Pick a time below and it’s yours, no code and no waiting on a reply.
Pick a time →
Claim your free 60-minute consultation
Pick a time that suits you below and it’s booked, no back and forth. A $49 deposit holds your spot. It is credited to your first session if you decide to train with me, and refunded in full if you don’t.
Rather send a message first?
Tell me what’s going on and how long it’s been going on for, and I’ll come back to you, usually within 48 hours.
Get in Touch
Malvern East · south-east Melbourne. This is one-on-one movement coaching to help you move and feel better. It is not medical advice, diagnosis or treatment, and it is not a substitute for care from your doctor or allied health practitioner. Outcomes vary from person to person. If your pain is new, severe, or changing, please see a medical professional first; if you’re already under care, we can work alongside it.