WHEN we hear the word Botox, we automatically think of smoothing wrinkles and faces that don’t move, but Botox (Botulinum Toxin) has many medical uses you may not know about.

For many years now, Botox has been used to help kids with spasticity and dystonia or 'tight muscles' which may have been caused by Cerebral Palsy, Brain Injury or Spinal Cord Injury.

Traditionally, this service has been limited only to public children’s hospitals in major cities, causing long waiting lists and potentially very serious long-term health effects.

One Hunter Based service is determined to change that.

“These public health organisations are wonderful services staffed by amazing teams, but they just cant keep up with the demands,”  Carly Stewart, Occupational Therapist and founder of Beyond Boundaries Rehab said.

Carly enjoyed working at the John Hunter Children’s Hospital Cerebral Palsy and Movement Disorders Clinic for several years, but believes there is not enough funding to service the community without extensive waiting lists.

“I figured if we could find a way to develop a cutting edge service in a private space, then not only can we offer a service, free of waiting lists to those who have private health cover, but by doing this we can free up some space for those on the public waiting lists for those who cannot access private services.”

The service’s growth has been in collaboration with clients, right down to pricing reviews and out of pocket costs are kept quite low.

Beyond Boundaries Rehab is Australia’s only private interdisciplinary rehab and tone management clinic.

“We have seen kids who have been working on the same goal – to simply hold a spoon to feed themselves or kick a ball and run with their peers at soccer, and just never get there, because their muscles are just too tight,” Carly said.

In addition to it’s healthy hips surveillance program, saliva management, and orthotic reviews, the tone management focus of the clinic is where suitable clients can access Botox injections for kids with spasticity or dystonia, which is interfering with their ability to participate in daily activities or reach their goals.

These are done at Warners Bay Private Hospital, and with private health cover are very affordable.

“At Beyond Boundaries Rehab, we just all work together. We have a direct line of communication with specialists, and can ensure all therapies are working collaboratively to meet your goals,” said Carly.

Beyond Boundaries Rehab also offers a complete package of programs including Leading Allied Health Therapies, Therapy Assistants, Bootcamp, Hydro and a collaboration with women’s fitness support group She Can.