The isolation has also meant, for many Yolngu people, services such as a physiotherapy have been out of reach, leaving some to battle conditions and injuries for decades.

But a team of physiotherapists from Canberra is working hard to change that and improve the health of disadvantaged people in rural Australia by volunteering services to remote communities in areas such as Palm Island and north-east Arnhem Land.

Staff from Gungahlin-based Sport & Spinal Physiotherapy have partnered with not-for-profit organisation SOS Health Foundation, which connects physio and allied health workers with volunteer opportunities, and have just completed their fourth outreach mission – to the Yolngu homelands on the Gove Peninsula in the Northern Territory.

The outreach missions have been so rewarding, the Canberra physiotherapy practice plans on starting a similar program in small villages in Nepal, with the first trip set for November.

Sport & Spinal Physiotherapy practice principal Craig Honeybrook said the outreach missions were borne out of wanting to give something back and make a difference to the lives of disadvantaged people.

Speaking about the latest mission to north-east Arnhem Land, Mr Honeybrook said many communities in the Yolngu homelands had only basic housing, a school, a health clinic and possibly an airstrip, but the nearest town for main services, Nhulunbuy, was a three or four-hour drive away.

He said many of the people had had little or no access to services such as physiotherapy, with some revealing they had suffered conditions and injuries for decades.

He was particularly struck by a case involving a man who fell off his bike at the age of 12, but because the injury was not treated, the man's leg was 3 centimetres shorter than the other. Despite severe hip osteoarthritis, the man's only complaint was a "little bit of back pain".

Mr Honeybrook said the Yolngu people were "stoic" and tended to endure painful injuries, which he claimed could have easily been fixed had they been treated earlier and more regularly with physiotherapy.

For Mr Honeybrook, the cliche that giving is more rewarding than receiving, rings true.

"With volunteering, you always get back more than you give, generally," he said.

"Each person that has come up there has had a good time, enjoyed their experience and the big thing is it's making a difference. I would say it's a significant difference in the health of the people in the homelands."

Mr Honeybrook said the missions had also been great for staff morale, giving them something they found rewarding and could look forward to.

Mr Honeybrook said living in Canberra, it was easy to forget how difficult it can be for people in remote communities to access some services.

He said the next outreach mission, planned for November, would go a little further afield. The team – including a physiotherapist, dentist and even teachers – is set to visit Maidi village in the Dhading district, a six-hour drive from Kathmandu.

The idea came about after he spoke to a friend who owns a trekking company.

Mr Honeybrook has used his practice's outreach missions to encourage other Canberra businesses to get involved in volunteering.

"We focus on helping people in health because that's what we do. In Canberra, it's a nice place to live, it's got great services and people do pretty well but in some of these other places, they're quite disadvantaged," he said. "These remote communities could use any help that any Canberra businesses could offer."