Pain is a part of sport, but it shouldn’t define an athlete’s career. Dr Peter Roberts dives into performance-focused yet person-centred approaches to pain in sporting populations. From elite athletes to weekend warriors, this episode rethinks how we manage pain and keep people moving.

Dr Peter Roberts FACP is a Specialist Musculoskeletal Physiotherapist, an APA Titled Sports and Exercise Physiotherapist and an APA Titled Pain Physiotherapist with over 50 years of experience. After graduating in 1974, he gained initial experience at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, South Australia and then in Geoffrey Maitland’s practice—the founder of the Maitland approach. He has had extensive experience as a sport physiotherapist, including working with the Adelaide Ravens national netball team, the SA netball team, Tea Tree Gully district cricket team, Tango netball state league, South Australian Road Runners and the Australian track and field team in the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

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Sophie Shephard MACP is a Wagga Wagga-based APA Titled Pain Physiotherapist, the founder of Vive Pain and Fatigue and a PhD candidate at Charles Sturt University. She has a special interest in pain, fatigue and invisible illness stemming from her own lived experience of myalgic encephalomyelitis.

Matt Fa APAM is a Sydney-based physiotherapist with over a decade of experience across diverse clinical settings, currently he is working as senior physiotherapist in a tertiary pain centre within the Northern Sydney Local Health District. He has a passion for improving quality of life for people living with chronic pain and helping physiotherapists feel confident and supported in their practice.

Neurological injury changes how pain is experienced and expressed. Jane Bradshaw shares insights into chronic pain following neurological conditions and traumatic brain injury. This episode challenges assumptions and expands clinical thinking.

Jane Bradshaw MACP is an APA Titled Pain Physiotherapist with 40 years of experience working in gerontology, chronic pain and rehabilitation. She is currently working at the Be Pain Smart Clinic at the Royal North Shore Hospital, Sydney, a specialised clinic for people with chronic pain and spinal cord injury and/or traumatic brain injury. In 2021 Jane completed a Master of Health Service Management at the University of Tasmania and has researched the importance of kindness, listening and connection in chronic and complex care.

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Sophie Shephard MACP is a Wagga Wagga-based APA Titled Pain Physiotherapist, the founder of Vive Pain and Fatigue and a PhD candidate at Charles Sturt University. She has a special interest in pain, fatigue and invisible illness stemming from her own lived experience of myalgic encephalomyelitis.

Matt Fa APAM is a Sydney-based physiotherapist with over a decade of experience across diverse clinical settings, currently he is working as senior physiotherapist in a tertiary pain centre within the Northern Sydney Local Health District. He has a passion for improving quality of life for people living with chronic pain and helping physiotherapists feel confident and supported in their practice.

What happens when chronic pain walks into an acute care environment? In this episode, fast-paced medicine meets long-term complexity as Fred Estermann discusses the tensions, limitations and opportunities of managing persistent pain in emergency and hospital settings.

Fred Estermann APAM is a passionate and highly experienced physiotherapist who brings a wealth of knowledge from both acute and sub-acute hospital settings, including time spent in chronic pain clinics. Originally from Brazil, he now works in the emergency department, where he continues to apply his deep understanding of pain management in high-pressure environments.

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Sophie Shephard MACP is a Wagga Wagga-based APA Titled Pain Physiotherapist, the founder of Vive Pain and Fatigue and a PhD candidate at Charles Sturt University. She has a special interest in pain, fatigue and invisible illness stemming from her own lived experience of myalgic encephalomyelitis.

Matt Fa APAM is a Sydney-based physiotherapist with over a decade of experience across diverse clinical settings, currently he is working as senior physiotherapist in a tertiary pain centre within the Northern Sydney Local Health District. He has a passion for improving quality of life for people living with chronic pain and helping physiotherapists feel confident and supported in their practice.

Chronic pain doesn’t exist in a vacuum, especially in the workers' compensation system. David Elvish offers practical insights into the clinical, psychological and systemic pressures shaping recovery. A must-listen for navigating pain where health, work and policy collide.

David Elvish MACP is an APA Titled PainPhysiotherapist based in Newcastle, New South Wales who has worked in the field of vocationally-oriented injury and pain management for more than 30 years. David is currently a registrar in the specialist training program with the Australian College of Physiotherapists. He is also the managing director of Workplace Physiotherapy and co-director of Innervate Pain Management, working within a diverse interdisciplinary team. David has presented both nationally and internationally on the role of the physiotherapist in the management of patients with persistent pain.

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Sophie Shephard MACP is a Wagga Wagga-based APA Titled Pain Physiotherapist, the founder of Vive Pain and Fatigue and a PhD candidate at Charles Sturt University. She has a special interest in pain, fatigue and invisible illness stemming from her own lived experience of myalgic encephalomyelitis.

Matt Fa APAM is a Sydney-based physiotherapist with over a decade of experience across diverse clinical settings, currently he is working as senior physiotherapist in a tertiary pain centre within the Northern Sydney Local Health District. He has a passion for improving quality of life for people living with chronic pain and helping physiotherapists feel confident and supported in their practice.

How do you make sense of chronic pain when the patient is still growing? Andrew Gorrie explores the unique clinical, emotional and family dynamics of paediatric pain management. This episode shines a light on treating pain early and treating the whole child.

Andrew Gorrie is a pain physiotherapist in the interdisciplinary chronic and complex pain team in Sydney Children’s Hospital. In 2023 he completed a Master of Health Management and Leadership at the University of New South Wales. Andrew’s experience working in palliative care, congenital conditions and orthopaedics has influenced his approach to pain management. He has also been involved in numerous research projects focused on attrition from paediatric pain services, caregiver burden in paediatric chronic pain and somatosensory testing in paediatric chronic pain. 

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Sophie Shephard MACP is a Wagga Wagga-based APA Titled Pain Physiotherapist, the founder of Vive Pain and Fatigue and a PhD candidate at Charles Sturt University. She has a special interest in pain, fatigue and invisible illness stemming from her own lived experience of myalgic encephalomyelitis.

Matt Fa APAM is a Sydney-based physiotherapist with over a decade of experience across diverse clinical settings, currently he is working as senior physiotherapist in a tertiary pain centre within the Northern Sydney Local Health District. He has a passion for improving quality of life for people living with chronic pain and helping physiotherapists feel confident and supported in their practice.

Chronic pain in women is complex, under-recognised and often misunderstood. Jess Fishburn unpacks the realities of managing persistent pain in women’s health, with a sharp focus on the added challenges of rural care. A grounded conversation about equity, access and better outcomes.

Jessica Fishburn APAM is an experienced physiotherapist who works primarily in pelvic health and with patients experiencing persistent pain. Despite the challenges of rural isolation, she strives to achieve the best outcomes for every individual by using the latest evidence, technology and professional networks. Alongside her business partners, she is a director of Gen Health Hamilton (@gen_health_), a vibrant combined allied health clinic, and ProFeet Footwear Hamilton (@profeetfootwear_hamilton), a specialist podiatry shoe store.

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Sophie Shephard MACP is a Wagga Wagga-based APA Titled Pain Physiotherapist, the founder of Vive Pain and Fatigue and a PhD candidate at Charles Sturt University. She has a special interest in pain, fatigue and invisible illness stemming from her own lived experience of myalgic encephalomyelitis.

Matt Fa APAM is a Sydney-based physiotherapist with over a decade of experience across diverse clinical settings, currently he is working as senior physiotherapist in a tertiary pain centre within the Northern Sydney Local Health District. He has a passion for improving quality of life for people living with chronic pain and helping physiotherapists feel confident and supported in their practice.

In 'Pain in Practice', Season 2 of Physios on the Mic, Sophie Shephard MACP and Matthew Fa APAM explore approaches to chronic pain through a physiotherapy lens.

They chat with expert physiotherapists to unpack how clinicians can think about chronic pain to better support their patients.

Ep.1: Women’s Health—Jess Fishburn APAM

Ep.2: Paediatrics—Andrew Gorrie

Ep.3: Workers' Compensation—David Elvish MACP

Ep.4: Emergency—Fred Estermann APAM

Ep.5: Neuro/TBI—Jane Bradshaw MACP

Ep.6: Sports—Dr Peter Roberts FACP

Premiering March 2nd 2026 at 9:00am!

-----Sophie Shephard MACP is a Wagga Wagga-based APA Titled Pain Physiotherapist, the founder of Vive Pain and Fatigue and a PhD candidate at Charles Sturt University. She has a special interest in pain, fatigue and invisible illness stemming from her own lived experience of myalgic encephalomyelitis. Matt Fa APAM is a Sydney-based physiotherapist with over a decade of experience across diverse clinical settings, currently he is working as senior physiotherapist in a tertiary pain centre within the Northern Sydney Local Health District. He has a passion for improving quality of life for people living with chronic pain and helping physiotherapists feel confident and supported in their practice.

The APA’s latest white paper is more than a report—it’s a bold blueprint for shaping the future of our profession. It amplifies emerging voices and responds with meaningful action.

Launched at APASC25, this paper presents a vision for a profession that is inclusive, future-ready and built to last.

In this video, Ellen Webber, general manager of education at the Australian Physiotherapy Association, speaks with John Fitzgerald MACP, an APA Titled Sports and Exercise Physiotherapist and CEO of Active Rehabilitation Physiotherapy, and Calum Neish APAM, a graduate physiotherapist and the Early Career Representative on the APA's National Advisory Council.