Physio Foundations

By Perraton.Physio

Welcome to the Physio Foundations podcast, a podcast about the foundational knowledge and skills that lie beneath expert clinical practice.

Hosted by Luke Perraton, PhD, physiotherapist and physiothe... more

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FAQs about Physio Foundations:

How many episodes does Physio Foundations have?

The podcast currently has 97 episodes available.

Physio Foundations episodes:

January 31, 2024Dimitrie Damos part 2 – Managing complexity in the clinic as a new graduate physiotherapist - New grad series Part 12
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 different?
9:30 What allows you to have the confidence to make mistakes?
14:45 What to people want when they see a physio?
15:13 Balancing ‘high value’ and ‘low value’ treatment
18:44 Referring to other health professionals – good practice tips
23:05 Going to court – the importance of taking good notes and medical records
27:27 ‘Tell me your story’ starting sessions with open questions. Maintaining rapport when taking notes.
36:00 Final thoughts

Physio Foundations Podcast Summaries: You can find articles based on Physio Foundations podcast episodes at Perraton.Physio or on the Perraton Physio Linked In page.
Visit our YouTube channel for more: https://www.youtube.com/@PerratonPhysio
Join the conversation on social media @PerratonPhysio
For a list of episodes, transcripts and associated blogs, visit www.perraton.physio/physiofoundations
Follow @PerratonPhysio on Facebook, X (Twitter), Instagram and Linked In.
This is a discussion aimed at health professionals and health professional students. Always seek the guidance of a qualified health professional with any questions you may have regarding your health or a medical condition.
...more
41min
January 10, 2024Dimitrie Damos – Working under pressure, pelvic health and incontinence, mentoring and the importance of maintaining broad knowledge and skills - New grad series Part 11
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 tips for students. Thanks Dimi for a great conversation.
In this episode:
0:00 About this episode and welcome Dimitrie
2:20 About Dimi – what led you to pursue a career in physiotherapy?
4:40 Developing a special interest area prior to graduating.
6:35 Starting a masters in pelvic health and continence
8:25 How do you balance work and study? Working well under pressure.
10:55 High pressure careers – matching career choices with professional skills and personalities
13:30 Integrating new skills from masters training
15:15 Balancing different types of clinical work
19:05 Tips for students
22:45 Mentoring
27:25 The most important foundational knowledge and skills – have a structure so you don’t miss things
Physio Foundations Podcast Summaries: You can find articles based on Physio Foundations podcast episodes at Perraton.Physio or on the Perraton Physio Linked In page.
Visit our YouTube channel for more: https://www.youtube.com/@PerratonPhysio
Join the conversation on social media @PerratonPhysio
For a list of episodes, transcripts and associated blogs, visit www.perraton.physio/physiofoundations
Follow @PerratonPhysio on Facebook, X (Twitter), Instagram and Linked In.
This is a discussion aimed at health professionals and health professional students. Always seek the guidance of a qualified health professional with any questions you may have regarding your health or a medical condition.
...more
35min
December 22, 2023Mick Girdwood – knee injuries, osteoarthritis and relationship with hip and knee muscle strength
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 for a great conversation.
In this episode:
0:00 About this episode and welcome Mick
1:55 What drew you to physiotherapy?
9:00 Journey into research – how did this start?
11:27 Mick’s PhD in ACL injuries and getting started as a research assistant
18:00 Knee research
23:20 Hip and knee strength – association with patient outcomes
25:55 Change in strength over time after ACL injury
30:57 Outcome measures for ACL injury – what’s important to the patient? Goal setting and re-measuring against goals
35:20 Hop strengths are not tests of strength – considering movement confidence and other patient outcomes
41:29 Final thoughts
You can read more about Mick and his research here
Physio Foundations Podcast Summaries: You can find articles based on Physio Foundations podcast episodes at Perraton.Physio or on the Perraton Physio Linked In page.
Visit our YouTube channel for more: https://www.youtube.com/@PerratonPhysio
Join the conversation on social media @PerratonPhysio
For a list of episodes, transcripts and associated blogs, visit www.perraton.physio/physiofoundations
Follow @PerratonPhysio on Facebook, X (Twitter), Instagram and Linked In.
This is a discussion aimed at health professionals and health professional students. Always seek the guidance of a qualified health professional with any questions you may have regarding your health or a medical condition.
...more
46min
December 14, 2023Jaap Switters - ‘Do your own research’. How to publish scientific research as a practitioner in a clinic
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 clinician? Challenging beliefs and biases, developing expertise through the process of doing research
14:50 Does publishing a case study help improve your clinical data collection processes?
19:00 Meaningful clinical change – using patient reported outcome measures in the clinic
24:00 Why are case studies important? External generalisability and personalised interventions
28:50 Jaap’s case studies – working through the process of collecting the data, consent and publication
43:00 What’s next? Would you do a PhD? Other benefits to being research active. The realities of publishing research
52:43 Final thoughts
Read more about Jaap here.
Jaap’s research - discussed during the episode
Physio Foundations Podcast Summaries: You can find articles based on Physio Foundations podcast episodes at Perraton.Physio or on the Perraton Physio Linked In page.
Visit our YouTube channel for more: https://www.youtube.com/@PerratonPhysio
Join the conversation on social media @PerratonPhysio
For a list of episodes, transcripts and associated blogs, visit www.perraton.physio/physiofoundations
Follow @PerratonPhysio on Facebook, X (Twitter), Instagram and Linked In.
This is a discussion aimed at health professionals and health professional students. Always seek the guidance of a qualified health professional with any questions you may have regarding your health or a medical condition.
...more
56min
December 04, 2023Moving into private practice and getting started in research, with Tom Peers-Barlow – New Grad Series Part 11
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 good habits for lifelong learning and getting the most out of your clinical career. Thanks Tom for a great conversation.
In this episode:
0:00 About this episode and welcome Tom
2:10 Tom’s background and interests
5:15 How did you feel when you first started in private practice?
8:20 How did hospital work and university help prepare you for private practice?
10:45 Adapting to stress – the positive aspects of stress
12:10 Transitioning from university to working life
16:50 Strategies for when you are feeling overwhelmed
19:50 Simulated clinical work at university – making mistakes in a safe environment as a way of learning and prompting discussion
22:20 Tips for students – get as much exposure to your areas of interest as possible and use all the learning resources
25:26 Strategies for managing distractions and staying focused
31:30 What is it like learning as a professional vs learning as a student?
34:00 How do you get started in research as a new grad? Developing special interest areas
42:30 Thinking about formal research training, masters and PhD
50:05 Final thoughts: If you don’t understand something, look it up. Stay curious.
Physio Foundations Podcast Summaries: You can find articles based on Physio Foundations podcast episodes at Perraton.Physio or on the Perraton Physio Linked In page.
Visit our YouTube channel for more: https://www.youtube.com/@PerratonPhysio
Join the conversation on social media @PerratonPhysio
For a list of episodes, transcripts and associated blogs, visit www.perraton.physio/physiofoundations
Follow @PerratonPhysio on Facebook, X (Twitter), Instagram and Linked In.
This is a discussion aimed at health professionals and health professional students. Always seek the guidance of a qualified health professional with any questions you may have regarding your health or a medical condition.
...more
54min
November 28, 2023Jaap Switters – Male chronic pelvic pain – contributing factors and management strategies.
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 publications on chronic pelvic pain and associated conditions.
In this episode:
0:00 About this episode
3:07 Welcome back Jaap, background and interests
4:20 Definition of male chronic pelvic pain and the noisy neighbours analogy
7:30 What causes chronic pelvic pain? The dodgy garlic kebab analogy
12:10 How acute stress contributes to chronic pelvic pain. The alarm system analogy
18:00 Can new graduate practitioners help men with chronic pelvic pain, and if so, where do they start?
19:25 Negative findings on investigations is a good thing!
21:20 Red flags and contributing factors for chronic pelvic pain
26:15 Overactive bladder – understanding normal frequency of urination and screening questions to use in the clinic
32:30 Education strategies related to fluid intake, nocturia and retraining the nervous system
37:20 Bladder health and retraining
41:00 Incontinence
44:58 Summary and tips for managing chronic pelvic pain in the clinic – the flat tyre analogy
49:41 Bringing it all together and what’s next

Read more about Jaap here.
Physio Foundations Podcast Summaries: You can find articles based on Physio Foundations podcast episodes at Perraton.Physio or on the Perraton Physio Linked In page.
Visit our YouTube channel for more: https://www.youtube.com/@PerratonPhysio
Join the conversation on social media @PerratonPhysio
For a list of episodes, transcripts and associated blogs, visit www.perraton.physio/physiofoundations
Follow @PerratonPhysio on Facebook, X (Twitter), Instagram and Linked In.
This is a discussion aimed at health professionals and health professional students. Always seek the guidance of a qualified health professional with any questions you may have regarding your health or a medical condition.
...more
54min
November 20, 2023Dr Luke Nelson – Managing running-related injuries
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/surfaces and how they relate to injuries?
17:10 Using smart watches and technology to explore training loads in the clinic
21:20 When injuries are more complex and chronic – differing management strategies
25:40 Medial tibial stress syndrome – management strategies and tips
30:00 Prognosis and expectations – how long will it take? When to focus on performance more than pain
35:05 When should you not run with pain? Bone stress injuries discussion
39:00 Unhelpful messages for runners
40:20 When do you refer for investigations or to other professionals?
45:05 RED-S Relative energy deficiency in sport – athlete fuelling and recovery, key take-aways
48:50 Luke’s sub-3 marathon and upcoming 1500 metre track race
55:35 Final thoughts

Find Luke on Instagram @SportsChiroLuke
Physio Foundations Podcast Summaries: You can find articles based on Physio Foundations podcast episodes at Perraton.Physio or on the Perraton Physio Linked In page.
Visit our YouTube channel for more: https://www.youtube.com/@PerratonPhysio
Join the conversation on social media @PerratonPhysio
For a list of episodes, transcripts and associated blogs, visit www.perraton.physio/physiofoundations
Follow @PerratonPhysio on Facebook, X (Twitter), Instagram and Linked In.
This is a discussion aimed at health professionals and health professional students. Always seek the guidance of a qualified health professional with any questions you may have regarding your health or a medical condition.
...more
59min
November 13, 2023Tim Trevail - How do you find your purpose as a health professional?
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 Tim
7:30 Finding you purpose and the meaning for your you do, the concept of Ikigai
8:10 Australian physiotherapy workforce survey; 55-60% are leaving the profession within 10 years of graduating – exploring reasons for this
10:45 What does the world need and what is your mission?
11:50 What are you good at?
12:32 What do you love? What do you feel enthusiastic about doing?
13:05 What can you be paid for?
17:53 Working through Tim’s Ikigai and finding his purpose as a health professional
22:57 What if you don’t have the passion for the profession yet?
27:39 How soon is too soon to specialise? Planning your pathway to specialisation. What is a specialist?
33:50 Talking to new grads and students about ‘putting yourself out there’ on social media and professionally.
40:40 Workshopping Physio Foundations – where I fit in and what is my purpose?
49:40 Summary – where to from here?
Find Tim on Instagram @blackbeltrehab
Find out more at timtrevail.com
We mentioned the book ‘So good they can’t ignore you’ by Cal Newport
Physio Foundations Podcast Summaries: You can find articles based on Physio Foundations podcast episodes at Perraton.Physio or on the Perraton Physio Linked In page.
Visit our YouTube channel for more: https://www.youtube.com/@PerratonPhysio
Join the conversation on social media @PerratonPhysio
For a list of episodes, transcripts and associated blogs, visit www.perraton.physio/physiofoundations
Follow @PerratonPhysio on Facebook, X (Twitter), Instagram and Linked In.
This is a discussion aimed at health professionals and health professional students. Always seek the guidance of a qualified health professional with any questions you may have regarding your health or a medical condition.
...more
58min
October 31, 2023Patrick Vallance - tips for studying and learning for students and new graduates.
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 responsibilities
5:55 Pat’s tips for success in studying – use the resources that are available to you
10:05 Pitfalls when studying – don’t just listen to lecture recordings. Appraise the quality of the information you are provided with
13:49 Hot tips – practice your skills but also think about the clinical applications and ask questions
17:00 What are the most important knowledge and skills for a physiotherapist? Challenging yourself and reflection on strengths and weaknesses
22:15 What are the most satisfying parts of physiotherapy education?
25:15 What gets you out of bed in the morning?
28:05 What if you are lacking enthusiasm? Thinking of the bigger picture
31:40 Keep your mind open for new opportunities. The importance of curiosity
36:00 Final thoughts – find balance, consider sleep, distractions and plan breaks

Connect with Pat on Twitter @Physio_Pat
Physio Foundations Podcast Summaries: You can find articles based on Physio Foundations podcast episodes on the Perraton Physio Linked In page.
Visit our YouTube channel for more: https://www.youtube.com/@PerratonPhysio
For a list of episodes, transcripts and associated blogs, visit www.perraton.physio/physiofoundations
Follow @PerratonPhysio on Facebook, X (Twitter), Instagram and Linked In.

This is a discussion aimed at health professionals and health professional students. Always seek the guidance of a qualified health professional with any questions you may have regarding your health or a medical condition.
...more
45min
October 17, 2023Jordan Rutherford part 2 – Working with professional golfers for performance and injury management.
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 a physiotherapist working in professional golf and how Jordan got started
4:40 The hard yards in professional golf
6:19 Millimetres and degrees is the difference between the fairway and the trees
7:25 What injuries do golfers get?
9:00 What preparation do golfers do before they start hitting?
9:56 How do you avoid coaching when you play golf yourself?
11:50 Could you assess somebody and predict their most likely injuries and performance?
14:00 Strength and conditioning for performance in golf – objective measures for what is important for performance
16:30 Collecting data and doing research in your clinic
19:50 Handheld dynamometers, force plates and other objective measures Jordan uses in the clinic.
24:17 How you set up your handheld dynamometer testing and your instructions will affect the quality of your measurement
27:50 When to use force, torque or body-weight normalised torque
29:59 Final thoughts? Develop your own way of helping people and find the people you can help

This is a discussion aimed at health professionals and health professional students. Always seek the guidance of a qualified health professional with any questions you may have regarding your health or a medical condition.
Visit our YouTube channel for more: https://www.youtube.com/@PerratonPhysio
Join the conversation on social media @PerratonPhysio
For a list of episodes and episode summaries visit www.perraton.physio/physiofoundations
Follow @PerratonPhysio on Facebook, X, Instagram and Linked In.
Always seek the guidance of a qualified health professional with any questions you may have regarding your health or a medical condition.
...more
33min

FAQs about Physio Foundations:

How many episodes does Physio Foundations have?

The podcast currently has 97 episodes available.