Stephanie is a passionate and active physiotherapist who is fascinated with the beauty of movement and the challenge of pushing limits. She has a great personality in working with children and teenagers and has a special interest in managing acute sports injuries, lower back and shoulder conditions.
Tell us a bit about yourself
I grew up in Sydney, just outside of Penrith on a 6.5 acre farm. So me and my sisters grew up riding horses, on motorbikes and generally being active! I began dancing at the age of 2, as my Grandmother was a dance teacher and owned her own dance studio – and I’ve continued dancing ever since!
I began my career in modelling and always had a focus on health, fitness and nutrition. Planning for the future, I studied personal training and joined the fitness industry alongside outside of work. I was inspired by the physiology and anatomy aspects of the course and was particularly blown away by the knowledge of my tutor (who was a Physio) and thought I want to know what he knows! which ultimately led to my decision to return to Physio as a mature student.
What motivated you to become a Physiotherapist, and what do you love about your work and this industry?
I am fascinated with the human body, how it moves, the connections between different areas and its’ resilience and ability to regenerate.
During my time as a personal trainer, I enjoyed helping people achieve their goals – whether it was gaining strength or endurance or losing weight – but I wanted to provide extra support for those with injuries and delve deeper to have the extra anatomical understanding. So I love that aspect of being a Physio and that I’m now able to help people recover from their injuries and educate them about their body.
What do you do at Movement Laboratory?
I’m a Physiotherapist, strength and conditioning coach and personal trainer, particularly working with athletes and dancers.
I’m currently taking private clinical conditioning classes with a rehab focus and will begin teaching classes in April.
I’ll also be dry needling from February!
What are your special areas of interests? What interests you most about these areas?
Brain and nervous system – I find the brain and the nervous system so fascinating. It’s like an electrical system running through our bodies with a complex control centre. It is constantly working without us having to really think about it. But when something in this system isn’t working the way that it should it can sometimes be a challenge to figure out why.
Hands – We use our hands every day for just about every task. You can tell a lot about a person just by looking at their hands, the type of work they do, their habits, whether they play an instrument or even if their circulation is poor. An injury to our hands can greatly impact our lifestyle. As small as our hands are, an injury to our hands can limit our capacity to do even small day to day tasks.
Knee – I don’t really know why I like the knee. I think because from the outside it looks like a simple joint moving in only one plane but when you look deeper there is so much going on at the knee. Also because the knee is in the middle of your leg it is often affected by what is happening at the hip and ankle.
Sport – I’ve always enjoyed playing sports growing up and love the physical demands that sports place on our bodies.
What is your philosophy on physiotherapy and movement?
To me, physiotherapy is the study of movement. Restoring movement that has been lost, teaching and training optimal movement patterns and learning how movement affects the body.
What do you like to do outside of the clinic?
I play the piano, attend ballet classes, travel, snowboarding, hiking, camping and spending time with my family!
What/who inspires you?
The people around me. My friends, family and colleagues. I think each person has something unique which can inspire others.
What’s your career goal for Physiotherapy?
I would like to be an expert in my field. To specialise in one particular area and continue to learn and perfect that practice.
