Hip and knee

Hip and knee care in Wollongong

Orthopaedic assessment and treatment for arthritis, joint replacement, sports injury and fractures, with physiotherapy, exercise physiology, imaging and nursing connected across the pathway.

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A referral is generally required for an orthopaedic appointment. Physiotherapy and exercise physiology can generally be booked directly.

Dr Anil Goudar, orthopaedic surgeon specialising in hip and knee care

Clinical leadDr Anil GoudarHip and knee orthopaedic surgeon

Multiple ways to startBegin with a referred specialist assessment, or book allied health or injury care directly. The patient services team can help you choose.

Connected decisionsAssessment, imaging, non-operative care and surgical planning are considered around the same goals.

Recovery within the pathwayPhysiotherapy, exercise physiology, nursing and nutrition can remain connected before and after treatment.

How the pathway can work

Begin with the clinician who best fits the problem.

Some people begin directly with physiotherapy after a knee injury or with exercise physiology to build capacity. Others arrive with a GP referral for joint replacement or a complex diagnosis.

Specialist assessment

Orthopaedic assessment for diagnosis and a clear explanation of the problem, covering non-operative management and joint replacement or reconstruction where it is warranted. A current referral is generally required.

Physiotherapy

Direct assessment, symptom management, prehabilitation and rehabilitation for hip and knee conditions.

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Whichever way you start, on-site X-ray and ultrasound, exercise rehabilitation and nursing care connect to the same plan rather than being a separate referral.

Specialist depth for decisions that need it

Dr Anil Goudar

Dr Goudar provides non-operative and operative care for hip and knee conditions, including joint replacement, sports injuries, fractures and selected bone and soft-tissue conditions.

Hip arthritisKnee arthritisHip replacementKnee replacementSports kneeFractures

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Conditions and treatment pathways

Care matched to the diagnosis and the life around it.

Hip arthritis

Pain, stiffness and reduced mobility managed through education, exercise, medication, selected injections or surgery where appropriate.

Knee arthritis

A staged pathway that considers strength, weight-bearing tolerance, non-operative care and replacement decisions.

Total hip replacement

Assessment, shared decision-making, preparation, surgery and coordinated rehabilitation for suitable patients.

Knee replacement

Individualised planning, including robot-assisted or computer-navigated approaches where clinically appropriate.

ACL and meniscus injuries

Clinical assessment, imaging where useful, rehabilitation and specialist decision-making when instability or mechanical symptoms persist.

Sports knee injuries

Acute and overuse problems managed around safe return to training, work and sport.

Hip and knee fractures

Assessment, treatment planning and recovery support for suitable injuries and post-traumatic problems.

Selected bone and soft-tissue conditions

Specialist review and appropriate investigation where a lesion, mass or unusual clinical finding requires further assessment.

Wrap-around care, on site

Down the corridor, not across town

Hip and knee care runs long — before a decision is made, and well after it. Imaging, conditioning, rehabilitation and nutrition support sit alongside the surgical opinion in the same building, so preparing for treatment and recovering from it are handled by people who already know the plan.

Alicia FreySenior Physiotherapist

Caitlin BeattyExercise Physiologist

Sally LivockDietitian

Brenda MavundukureRadiographer

On-site X-ray, physiotherapy, exercise physiology and dietetics are all part of the same pathway. See the full team or read more about imaging and investigations.

How it works in practice

Three routes through the same team

Which one applies depends on the joint and the diagnosis, not on where you happen to start. The people above appear in all three.

Route one · With surgery

A knee that has reached joint replacement

A GP referral brings you to Dr Anil Goudar, with X-ray on site where it is needed to assess the joint and plan the operation.
Before surgery, exercise physiology builds the strength that recovery draws on. Dietetics and medical optimisation are used where they will make the operation safer.
After surgery, nursing supports the early weeks and physiotherapy follows the surgeon’s protocol in the same building, with review by the surgeon built into the plan.
Exercise physiology carries the work through to stairs, driving, work and walking distance — the part of recovery that decides how the joint actually feels a year later.

Involved: orthopaedic surgeon · imaging · exercise physiology · dietetics · nursing · physiotherapy

Route two · Without surgery

Hip or knee arthritis that is not ready for an operation

Specialist review with imaging where it answers the question. A joint can be arthritic and still be some way from the point where replacement is the right answer.
The plan is built around load, strength and function rather than a date for surgery.
Physiotherapy and exercise physiology do the work. Dietetics is involved where weight is part of the load going through the joint. An injection may be used where it is clinically appropriate.
The joint is reviewed over time. If it changes, the surgical conversation restarts with the same team rather than a new one.

Involved: orthopaedic surgeon · imaging · physiotherapy · exercise physiology · dietetics

Route three · Straight to allied health

Knee pain that has not been assessed

Physiotherapy or exercise physiology can be booked directly. No GP referral is needed to be assessed.
Assessment comes first, with imaging on site if it would change what is done.
For many people the pathway ends here, with treatment continuing under the clinician who did the assessment.
If a surgical opinion is warranted, Patient Services arranges it and works with your GP on the referral, rather than leaving you to start the process yourself.

Involved: physiotherapy · exercise physiology · imaging · orthopaedic surgeon where needed

These are illustrations of how the model works, not treatment plans. Your pathway depends on your diagnosis and is decided with your clinician.

One plan

From assessment to meaningful movement.

Understand the condition

Start with the relevant clinician and clarify the symptoms, function and goals.

Build non-operative care

Physiotherapy, exercise, education and other options are matched to the clinical picture.

Make treatment decisions

Specialist review supports decisions about procedures or surgery when they become relevant.

Coordinate recovery

Nursing, allied health and follow-up remain connected to the treatment plan.

Your next step

Choose the right Hip and Knee route.

The patient services team can help when referral status or the best first appointment is unclear.

Specialist appointmentReferral generally required Allied healthDirect booking available Recent injuryCheck clinic suitability Not sureCall the patient services team