Physiotherapy and what’s inside my head…

I lose sight of the fact that not everyone knows my back story because I’ve worked as a physiotherapist for over three decades now (gulp…)!! So I thought I’d take a moment to introduce myself and reveal what I hadn’t realised I was in fact, hiding inside my head!

Life without pain…

How, when and why to move freely and without pain is my purpose in life. And that has been the case for a long while now.

Leadership in the NHS…

It all began at Teesside University in 1989, where I qualified as a physiotherapist. Swiftly followed (as it feels now) by 14 years gaining a wealth of experience in the NHS. This culminated in leading a dynamic team of 17 as Superintendent Physiotherapist, in the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital outpatient department. Here, part of my role was as the Upper Limb Clinical Specialist where I established and expanded physiotherapy services within Consultant Orthopaedic and fracture clinics, as well as in GP medical practices. It was an exciting and rewarding period in my life. A little manic but nonetheless an amazing time! 

Masters degree in Sports Science…

However, my passion and expertise with how the body moves efficiently and effortlessly snowballed while studying for my Masters degree at Loughborough University. My MSc gave me extensive knowledge with sports injuries and movement dysfunction and the psychological impact of living with pain and ill health. I uncovered, without connecting how you treat your body with how your body responds and feels, limits any long term health benefits and the ability to thrive.

Deep breath to go it alone…

But I needed the freedom to share this knowledge and to give people time to be heard and time to be treated as a whole person, gently but effectively. So I left the NHS to set up my rural physiotherapy practice, near Shrewsbury Shropshire in 2003.

For years people came to my practice for 121 consultations and to join my Simply Fit! and Simply Move!™ exercise classes. I realised my approach was not that of your typical physiotherapist. People discovered how to move, when and why to move without it hurting or by forcing their body beyond what felt right. What was resonating was reconnecting mind and body and tuning into the rhythm of one’s body, to enjoy intuitive pain free movement.

Life was good, business flourished and it was a great adventure because I was on this journey of discovery too. Overcoming the ill effects of living a hectic, device driven, movement limited life to overcome pain and recover from injury was as much a part of my life, as it was my clients.

Underpinning the success of my approach is my fascination and well frankly, my obsession with the evolutionary journey of our ancestors. They didn’t have to look for ways to exercise, to be strong and lithe and dextrous because the way they had to live, made it happen. Life was their gym and we can do the same.

So my constant joie de vivre, is to shout from the roof tops, that there is hope of being strong again, fit again, to walk the hills, dig the garden or simply move freely unhindered by pain and injury.

Life after COVID 19…

Then COVID hit.

You, my clients couldn’t come to me but wanted my advice and support from your homes. So from the first lockdown I moved my entire business online – STEEP learning curve…! My heartfelt thanks to you, who stood by me as we muddled through the virtual world together, to build strength, flexibility and confidence to live more of the life we wanted.

Simply Move!™ online programme…

An integral part of this new virtual business model, involved me designing, filming and producing a Simply Move!™ online programme, on my Mac computer at home.

All the key principles of what it is to be human to flourish and thrive in a way that is safe, intuitive, effective:

• How to tune into the rhythm of your body
• How to reconnect your mind and body
• How to move intuitively to be strong, supple, dextrous.

My Simply Move!™ programme was so successful in fact, I had it professionally filmed. Go me!

I designed it so it feels like you have me by your side as you build strength, flexibility and balance at your own pace, in your own home. What a journey to produce and what a journey to live by, to believe in your body again!

And all because like me, YOU wanted to make the most of your life with the body you’re in. Go us!

Me and my travels…

So there it is, my physio story from the North East Coast to the Shropshire Hills!

If you want to find out more about the origins of my philosophy and my personal experience, here is the link to my ‘About Me’ page:

https://rachelkiliphysiotherapy.com/about-rachel/

And so to end. This is my journey but I would love to know more about you and your journey, so do get in touch.

Rachel

Not your typical physiotherapist