Physio Foundations

Thihan is a highly experienced Sports Physiotherapist who has held roles with the Melbourne Renegades, Bangladesh Cricket, Hampshire Cricket, and most recently as the Rehabilitation Manager for the Sri Lankan Cricket Team. Thihan is also one of the hosts of the Physio Social Club Podcast. In this episode, we took a tangent from cricket, and discussed Thihan’s recent leg injury and his experiences...

Dr. Malia Ho is a sports podiatrist and Senior Lecturer within Monash University's Doctor of Podiatric Medicine course. With over two decades of experience in clinical practice, research, and education, Malia has a wealth of knowledge and insights. In this episode, Malia shares her unique journey from engineering to podiatry, revealing the pivotal moments and decisions that shaped her career. Mali...

Dr Luke Davies is a musculoskeletal physiotherapist, educator and researcher in the School of Primary and Allied Health Care at Monash University. His research focuses on telehealth for physiotherapy clinical practice and education. In this episode, we discussed how telehealth can be used within your clinical practice, and Luke’s tips for effective clinical care, in-person, or through technology....

James is one of the owners of The Second Visit, who provide mentoring for physiotherapists in private practice and a range of professional development courses. James is a highly experienced practitioner and practice owner, university lecturer and leader within a number of organisations and professional associations.  In this episode, James talked about the financial realities of running a private...

Abby De Kretser is the principal physiotherapist at Universal Practice in Fitzroy in Melbourne, Australia, and an anatomy facilitator with Monash University Physiotherapy. In this episode, we talked about managing hip, pelvic and spine conditions using Pilates and other exercise-based rehabilitation, and her experiences teaching applied anatomy. Thanks Abby for a great conversation. In this episod...

Christina Ekegren is a Senior Research Fellow at the Rehabilitation, Ageing, and Independent Living (RAIL) Research Centre at Monash University, Melbourne, Australia. Her research focuses on physical activity for hospitalised patients, older adults, and people recovering from traumatic injury.  In this episode, we discussed Christina’s research on strategies for helping people stay physically acti...

Dimitrie joins me again to discuss her strategies for managing complexity in the clinic as a new graduate physiotherapist. This is part 12 of the new graduate series on the podcast. Enjoy! In this episode: 0:00 About this episode 2:30 Experience in the first days of working as a new graduate physiotherapist 5:30 What happens when the routine approach doesn’t work? When is it time to try something...

Dimitrie Damos in a physiotherapist from Perth, Western Australia who was my mentee for the Australian Physiotherapy Association’s mentoring program in 2023.  We talked about her special interest area and postgraduate training in pelvic health and incontinence, working under pressure and the importance of maintaining a broad skillset even when training in a specialty area. We finished with Dimi's...

Mick Girdwood is a physiotherapist, researcher, and PhD candidate. We spoke about his research on knee injuries and osteoarthritis, and their association with the strength of the hip and knee muscles. We finished with a discussion about outcome measures you can use in the clinic and the importance of considering the goals and activities that are most important to the patient/person. Thanks, Mick f...

Jaap is back again and this time we discussed ways to publish research as a practitioner in the clinic, focusing on case studies and literature reviews related to your special interest areas. In this episode: 0:00 About this episode 2:15 What research have you done in your clinic and how did you achieve this? 7:00 Using publications to get into a PhD 8:15 How does having publications help you as a...

This week I had a conversation with new graduate physiotherapist Tom Peers-Barlow about his experiences moving from the public sector into private practice. We discussed ways you can get involved in research as a new graduate practitioner and strategies for managing feelings of nervousness when you first start working as a health professional. Tom shared his tips for how to set yourself up with go...

This week I spoke to Jaap Switters about chronic pelvic pain and the range of contributing factors and management strategies that practitioners can use to help people in the clinic. Jaap is an osteopath and physiotherapist based in Vienna, Austria who specialises in male chronic pelvic pain and associated conditions. Jaap is also a university educator and researcher with a series of research publi...

This week I welcomed back Dr Luke Nelson to the Physio Foundations podcast to talk about running and running-related injuries.   In this episode: 0:00 About this episode 1:00 Welcome back Luke to Physio Foundations 2:15 Luke’s background and interests 6:00 What are some of the first things you look at when assessing a runner? 12:10 What are common running-related injuries? 14:29 Running speed/surf...

Tim is the program director for the physical health suite of programs at Torrens University, a rehab specialist at Complete Physio Exercise and Performance in Melbourne, Australia and a PhD candidate in the area of tendinopathy. In this episode, Tim talks about finding your purpose as a health professional.  Thanks Tim for a great conversation. In this episode: 0:00 About this episode 2:27 About T...

Pat joins me to talk about his tips for studying and learning in physiotherapy. This is an episode for students and new graduates who want to further develop their learning and professional development.  This is Pat’s third time on the podcast – thanks Pat for a great conversation.   In this episode: 0:00 About this episode 1:34 Welcome back Pat 3:09 About Pat – teaching interests and responsibili...

Jordan Rutherford is a physiotherapist with the Professional Golf Association of Australasia and the director of Launch Health in Melbourne, Australia.  In part 2 of our conversation we talked about working with professional golfers for performance and injury management and using objective measures such as handheld dynamometers.   In this episode: 0:00 About this episode 1:51 What it’s like being...

Jordan Rutherford is a physiotherapist with the Professional Golf Association of Australasia and the director of Launch Health in Melbourne, Australia.  He is one of our teaching staff in Monash University Physiotherapy working in the first year of our undergraduate program.  We talked about Jordan’s experiences in starting a private practice and his reflections on working in physiotherapy educati...

On this episode I had a conversation with recently graduated physiotherapist and PhD Candidate Jess Coventry about networking as a student and early career practitioner, and how to find mentors. We spoke about Jess’ experience seeking specific skills, finding mentors, networking at university, and her first couple of years of clinical practice leading up to the start of her PhD. Thanks Jess for a...

On this episode I had a conversation with recently graduated physiotherapist Seven Shan about her experiences studying, living and working in Australia as an international student, and now an Australian health professional. I asked Seven for her tips for success in study and work, particularly for international students or people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. In this epis...

This is part 2 of my conversation with physiotherapist Dr Udari Colombage from Monash University Physiotherapy. We talked about pelvic health and pelvic floor dysfunction in women with breast cancer and Udari’s PhD research findings, with key take-home messages for you to use in the clinic.   In this episode: 0:00 Welcome back Udari 1:25 Overview of pelvic floor disorders and their management – Ud...

This week I spoke with physiotherapist and recent PhD graduate Dr Udari Colombage from Monash University Physiotherapy about pelvic floor dysfunction and her pathway from graduate, to PhD student, to early career researcher. Note that this episode contains content that may not be suitable for children; for example, discussions of surgery for breast cancer, incontinence and sexual dysfunction.    I...

This week I had a conversation with Advanced Musculoskeletal Physiotherapist Matt Donnelly from Monash Health in Melbourne, Australia. We talked about the role of Advanced Musculoskeletal Physiotherapists in emergency departments, how advanced practice roles help people higher quality care, and how his career and experience led him to this role. We also talked about Matt’s tips for students on cli...

This week I spoke to new graduate physiotherapist Jun Soong about the benefits of working in a non-metropolitan health care system as a new graduate physiotherapist, developing your own style of practice, and how he is setting up the next stages of his career. We also spoke about transitioning from university to working life, planning overseas travel as a health professional and why he is going ba...

On the 50th episode of the Physio Foundations podcast I had a conversation with Associate Professor Christian Osadnik from Monash University Physiotherapy about the various ways you can get involved in research as a clinician, and the research-specific knowledge and skills that should form the foundation of your practice. If you enjoyed this conversation, please share it with a friend or on your s...

This week I spoke to new graduate physiotherapist Oliver Wong about his experiences transitioning from university to working life, how to develop confidence and develop your professional ‘character’ and why he thinks a career brainstorm is better than a career plan. Thanks Oli for a great conversation. If you found this episode helpful, please follow Physio Foundations in your favourite podcast ep...