Grow Physio

The way you talk to your athletes during rehab can’t be a forgotten skill.

Research is clear that the language used in clinical settings directly affects an athlete’s confidence towards their recovery expectations, and psychological readiness for return to sport. And the majority of physiotherapists who work with athletes were never taught how to communicate in a way that is supportive.

“I was hoping you would be further along.” “Don’t push through pain.” “Your ACL is torn.”

These examples aren’t malicious or ill-intended! But if we put ourselves in the athlete’s position, they land hard. And sometimes they can do more damage than we realize.

The words you choose can sometimes make or break an athlete’s recovery experience. They can act as contributors to heightened fear, or your words can build trust. They can make rehab feel like punishment or like progress. Encouraging or discouraging.

You have more influence over the recovery experience than you think! Your physio skills are one thing, how you deliver them is another!

Socially, January marks the new year for most of us. But in my professional opinion? 👀

May is the sports and physio’s “New Year,” and most people completely miss the opportunity to reset and focus!

In May, we have the end of many sports seasons. Athletes transition leagues. Trades start to take place. Both the calendar and energy reset after a busy push to all the finish lines (aka those big championship games)! But if you’re not intentional about this window, you’ll hit pre-season in the same spot you ended the last season.

Here are 5 things to do now so next season looks different.

What’s the one thing you’re working on this off-season?

Your degree will get you the certificate/passport that allows you to knock on the door. But how do you secure that first job or keep your practice fresh with new ideas or tap into the skills of experienced clinicians with the latest practical skills and research?

Being able to tap into clinicians that take you under their wing, support and often deeply change your approach or perspectives to injury management are rare and tough to come by? Unfortunately, there’s also a load of nonsense and charlatans that are teaching some very ‘questionable’ practice that makes it hard to know who does have that ‘magic pill’... FYI it doesn’t usually exist!

Never stop learning from the best and luckily the sports physio world is full of brilliant minds doing groundbreaking work in very specific areas and spending their time and effort sharing what they’ve learning over decades working in the top of their field with people just like you.

There’s too many to mention but these are the educators I trust, the ones doing inspiring and incredible thingsthat I keep coming back to and the ones I think every physio or sports therapists working with injuries and athletes should know about.

Who’s on your list? Drop them below.

End of school/summer ‘break’ is just around the corner and the first instinct is to decompress. Close the textbooks, stop thinking about anatomy, exams, clinical placements and pretend university doesn’t exist for a few weeks. And you ABSOLUTELY should do some of that... no questions asked.

But (always a BUT) here’s the thing we don’t really discuss in the classroom: the students who come back in September ahead of the curve aren’t the ones who rested the hardest. They’re the ones who used their downtime to do a little bit of extra work and build out of uni experiences that goes a long way to build you as a person... and a clinician.

Not necessarily grinding 12 hours a day. Not burning out before the year even starts.

Just being intentional and staying in touch with their education and wider opportunities that would better you as a therapists... even if it’s random small talk you’ll have to fill while treating patients in the future so it doesn’t even need to directly link to the degree or course you’re doing!

You don’t get to graduate as half a clinician. The summer is your chance to gently build the version of yourself that shows up to your next year ready and more resilient. Pick up a volunteer role, a job, placement and learning what you can from it, even if it’s not your dream role.

Perhaps review that tricky anatomy until it comes naturally and stops feeling like a foreign language. It means thinking about where you are in your degree and starting to connect the dots instead of treating every unit or lesson like it’s its own standalone.
Grow Physio Academy exists for exactly this. For the students and clinicians who want more than what school hands them. Check the link in bio if that’s you.

What’s one thing you’re planning that you’re excited about or wish you’d done differently over a break gone by? Drop it below.

The physiotherapy equipment market is saturated.

If you’re not careful, you may be missing out on some game-changing equipment that your patients, clients and athletes will add clarity but no-one wants to spend thousands on tools that you don’t need or won’t actually be used as they’re too complicated, time-consuming or just not fit for purpose.

These are the pieces of kit that have actually delivered every time for me, chosen for clinical value, not just hype!

From diagnostic ultrasound and shockwave therapy to objective strength and range of motion testing, the right equipment doesn’t just support your practice. It elevates the standard of care and clarity you’re able to provide.

You deserve tools that back up your great work with appropriate data (not too much!) and let’s be honest, your clients deserve more than guesswork.

Save this post and share it with a colleague... and for further clarity watch the tutorial on different technology in the market and ask questions as I’ve come across most great gizmos and gimmicks working in elite sport where people are chasing those 1%ers.

Ready to develop the clinical knowledge to match your toolkit? Grow Physio Academy exists for exactly that. Link in bio.