Dr Deborah Calleja

She has a Bachelor of Applied Science in Osteopathy and studied at RMIT in Melbourne. Deborah is one of the long-standing osteopathic practitioners, having practised on the Gold Coast since 1994.

Over the past 30 years, she has undertaken various training to develop a well-rounded approach to treatment and patient care. She has undertaken training in chronic pain management, Barral visceral techniques(over 13 courses), cranial osteopathy, pregnancy, and tendon rehabilitation/sporting injuries.

She continues to undertake courses developing her skills and techniques and updating on current evidence based approaches to common pain conditions. Encompassing all this to help support her Osteopathic treatment approach when working with various pain/chronic health conditions.

Through this training and her experience, she wants to not only treat patients to relieve pain but also educate them in their own self-management and ultimately educate people to understand their bodies more. Knowledge is power.

Dr Deborah’s treatment approach varies from patient to patient. She uses several Osteopathic approaches, depending on the patient and the condition.

The treatment ranges from stretching, fascial work, and counter-strain for the soft tissues to gentle mobilisation and muscle energy techniques for specific joints.

Over the years of working as a Gold Coast Osteopath, she has developed a particular interest in craniosacral osteopathy and Barral visceral techniques. She has spent many hours attending courses and working with these approaches. She finds this approach assists in looking for causes and not simply treating symptoms. She often incorporates these more subtle approaches that work on the delicate, deeper tissues of the body when indicated.

Through the postgraduate courses she has undertaken, she has developed a special interest in treating the symptoms and mechanical drivers involved in conditions such as headaches, POTS, Chronic fatigue, long COVID, Fibromyalgia, and IBS. All these conditions can include dysregulation of the autonomic nervous system, impaired lymphatic/ glymphatic drainage, and restrictions within the body’s hard frame that impact optimal function.  This osteopathic approach is, in most instances, undertaken in collaboration with GPs who are interested in these conditions and other allied health practitioners.

In 2024, she undertook training to become a licensed Perrin Technique practitioner, the osteopathic treatment model to assist with symptoms of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome created by Dr. Raymond Perrin, DO, PhD.

Gold Coast Osteopath Dr Deborah enjoys an active lifestyle that involves running her beloved Rhodesian ridgeback and, in the last few years, open water swimming in our beautiful southern Gold Coast beaches and waterways.

She is also currently a clinical educator and a casual lecturer in the Master’s program teaching cranial, visceral, and other indirect approaches within the Osteopathic program at Southern Cross University. She utilizes her many years of experience in mentoring and guiding the Osteopaths of tomorrow.

Member of AHPRA

All our Osteopaths are government registered and comply with the requirements of AHPRA, the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency.

—————————————————————————————-

Perrin, R. N., Richards, J. D., Pentreath, V., & Percy, D. F. (2011). Muscle fatigue in chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME) and its response to a manual therapeutic approach: A pilot study. International Journal of Osteopathic Medicine, Volume3(issue 3), September 2011, Pages 96-105doi:10.1016/j.ijosm.2010.12.002

Larrimore, C., Ramnot, A., Jaghab, A., Sarduy, S., Guerrero, G., Troccoli, P., Hilton, K., & Bested, A. (2019). Understanding myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome and the emerging osteopathic approach: A narrative review. The Journal of the American Osteopathic Association, 119(7). https://doi.org/10.7556/jaoa.2019.081

Jacob, B., Sawhney, M., Sridhar, A., Jacob, B., Muller, J., Abu-Sbaih, R., & Yao, S. C. (2023). Potential therapeutic effects of adjunct osteopathic manipulative treatments in SARS-CoV-2 patients. Journal of Osteopathic Medicine, 123(7), 343–349. https://doi.org/10.1515/jom-2022-0207