Alison Gould

 

Alison has a Master’s Degree in Sports and Exercise Medicine and was a visiting lecturer in Physiotherapy at the University of Brighton. Her excellent academic credentials are backed up by experience gained working as a physio (since 2000) in the UK’s National Health Service, for the Ministry of Defence, in county rugby clubs and as part of the highly skilled medical team in one of the UK’s leading sports medicine clinics.

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The first step towards designing a solid rehab programme lies in establishing an accurate diagnosis. Since 2007, Alison has been part of the highly skilled multi-disciplinary sports medicine team at Sportswise. Working alongside people like Professor Nick Webborn OBE has not only honed her diagnostic skills but also helped her to stay abreast of the latest research and techniques, allowing her to recognise when an athlete may benefit from the combined input of more than one professional or a clinical procedure e.g. injections or shockwave. Her time spent as a lecturer has taught her how to turn the theoretical evidence into clinical practice.

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Alison loves the complete rehab process, helping patients throughout their recovery from the initial injury all the way through to getting them ready for intense physical activity. Working for the Ministry of Defence and in rugby clubs helped her to hone these rehab skills. “Working with highly motivated soldiers and marines who sometimes need reining in rather than motivation to do exercise has taught me how best to treat active people, such as runners, who are keen to get back to their usual levels of fitness and training as soon as possible.” It further helped her build a large repertoire of rehab options, using a variety of equipment.

 

But she realises that going to the gym is not for everyone and has further qualified herself in using low tech rehab options like Pilates. “I feel that rehab is individual and it is important to find an exercise that suits the person in front of you. If you are more interested in Pilates or exercises that can be done anywhere with little or no equipment, then this approach is very useful. Pilates helps people gain more awareness of their body and control over different areas of the body or muscle groups by working both sides of the body.” 

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Sports injuries are not the first things that come to mind when you think of the NHS, but her experience in this setting has given her a solid musculoskeletal grounding and the ability to recognise when a patient’s “injury” symptoms may actually be caused by a different health condition that require onward referral and further investigation.