Physiotherapy Through Movement
Human evolution shows us you are designed to move to thrive. It’s movement that connects you with you, mind, body and soul AND with the world around you.
Movement without pain and stiffness gives you life.
Movement
Your ancestors pre industrialisation (and mine!) moved their whole body in multiple ways throughout their daily lives. They lived with their body reaching, climbing, crouching, squatting for food and materials to survive. The need to find time to exercise to be strong, supple, dextrous, energised AND focused, arose through their movements of life.
Today?
We’ve never been so busy not moving! Tension, pain and stiffness has become a part of who we are. A daily walk, yoga practice or exercise plan is of value. However, it’s not enough to counter the ill effects of the repetitive forwards and down postures and positions that make up much of the day (computers, cooking, gardening, craft, DIY, driving…..)
Be reassured, this doesn’t mean throwing cartwheels or leaping into the air on a daily basis!
But
To live more of the life you love with the body you’re in, move your whole body as it’s naturally designed. This powers and protects you in everything you do. For me and now for my clients, this is simply part of being who we are.
It can be for you too.
My whole approach is underpinned by:
~ Movement of the whole body from my Physiotherapy training
~ The science of movement through my MSc in Sport Science
~ Human evolution demonstrating how you are designed to thrive through movement, throughout your day.
My personal experience
Believe it or not, I was a slouchy physio for years. Really! That is until I realised the negative impact it was having. ‘Straightening up’ felt so hard and unnatural so I sought out the reasons why. This was the starting point of my Physiotherapy through movement, founded in human evolution journey!
Exercise and gym workouts often left me weary and sore, more than invigorated and strong. I discovered as I watched myself (and my clients) how often I held my breathe and my body stiff and taut, in nearly everything I did.
Rewiring beliefs about exercise
So what was at the root of me pushing to my limits, ignoring what my body was telling me?
I realised, hard wired for me and my clients, was the old adage “no pain no gain”. Push hard, push long, just keep going regardless. Looking a little deeper, many exercise principles assumed today are from the results of studies written by men for young men.
Move with confidence and ease
Today I move with confidence and ease feeling strong, supple and dextrous. I feel more connected with my body than I have done in years. I’ll endeavour to show how you too can move, as you’re naturally designed for life.
Your body can then power and protect you, to restore movement for life after injury, illness, arthritis and surgery. I call my approach Simply Move!™
Simply Move!™
Simply Move!™ is Physiotherapy through movement, as you’re naturally designed, founded in human evolution. Small but mighty changes in how you use and move your whole body, restores the strength, suppleness and resilience needed for life.
It’s not about finding more time to exercise!
To Simply Move!™ is to breathe, hold and move with your body as you’re naturally designed, in what you’re already doing, only differently.
Regardless of age, it’s possible to adopt small but mighty changes while walking to the shops, climbing stairs, standing up from you desk, to chopping your veggies!
Naturally move yourself back to confidently walking the hills, digging the garden or to simply move freely, unhindered by pain and stiffness.
Overview Of My Professional Career
To this day I love what I do more than ever! This is how it all began:
My physiotherapy expertise is the culmination of a wide and varied career path within the UK’s NHS, private practice and Australia’s heath service. Qualifying at Teesside University in 1989, led to working in a number of teaching hospitals including Bedford General Hospital, Nottingham City Hospital, Birmingham Children’s Hospital, Northern General Hospital Sheffield, John Radcliffe Hospital Oxford and Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney Australia.
Establishing and running a physiotherapy clinic for the inmates at Lowdham Grange prison taught me a thing or two. For one, what we’re born into is an accident of birth and for some, that’s hell in all its forms. For two, it’s not what you know but how you deliver what you know!
These wide and varied opportunities resulted in my appointment as Superintendent Physiotherapist for the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital Physiotherapy outpatient department in 2002. I led a team of 17 staff including clinical and administrative personnel. As Upper Limb Clinical Specialist I established and expanded physiotherapy services within Consultant Orthopaedic and fracture clinics as well as GP medical practices. At the formerly named Welti Health and Fitness Club, now The Shrewsbury Club, I also established and ran physiotherapy clinics.
However, it was while studying for my Masters degree in Sports Science at Loughborough University in 1995, my passion and expertise with how the body functions efficiently and effortlessly, began. My MSc gave me extensive experience with sports injuries, movement dysfunction and the associated psychological impact of living with pain and ill health. Connecting how you move your body with how your body responds and feels, maximises your ability to make the most of the body you’re in, to live more of the life you want.
With this wealth of experience I wanted the freedom to share this knowledge and give people time to be heard and time to be treated as a whole person, gently but effectively for life. To do this, I left the NHS in 2003 to set up my much loved rural physiotherapy practice, near Shrewsbury Shropshire.
What People Say
About Me
Back to full capacity
My lifestyle was also addressed and changes made to allow me to continue my life.
A deep understanding of the mechanisms causing pain
