At some stage you have probably meet someone, or even visited our clinic and have become intrigued as to how our Physio’s have got to where they are or wanted to know what motivates them to keep their high energy levels.

Catherine asks this weeks Barefoot Story questions to our very own Hannah, as we delve behind the scenes of travel, sport and physio.

Q1. You are a massive travel enthusiast and always seem to have an adventure planned.  What has been your favourite travel destination and why?

Travel has always been a huge part of my life thanks to my parents bringing us kids (myself and my two sisters) along on their adventures. I have a couple favourite trips:

  1. 2008 I was asked to play in the Gothia World Cup tournament in Sweden for a Scottish team. My family came along, we toured Europe and I was playing my favourite sport!

2. Italy is one of my favourite places overall – pasta, coffee, gelato, architecture, sun! I love visiting it. In the past, I’ve gone with my entire family, and more recently with my partner.

3. New Zealand is also high on my list! Planning another trip over next year 😊 It is such a gorgeous place!

4. Previously I would have had a beach trip up on this list but now that I live in Australia it is hard to compare other beaches to what we have in our backyard!

Q2: You have often said you always knew you wanted to be a Physio. What inspired this?

I knew that I was going to go into human movements as my undergrad, and even through high school, bio and sports med were my preferred subjects. I spent a lot of my spare time as a kid playing all kinds of sports. I definitely wanted to be involved in ensuring that people were able to partake in whatever activity they wanted.

I had only a couple serious injuries that I ended up going to physio for (two broken ankles), which gave me even more insight to how fulfilling this job could be. I went from surgery to crutches to rehab and back to soccer – something that when it is happening to you seems so difficult. I was excited to be that expert to help other people through similar journeys.

I also had no backup plan – physio was my only thought! It is a bit different in Canada as well with a 4 year undergrad and then a 2 year masters. The opportunity to go to Australia was there, and it’s been a great choice!

Q3: When not treating in the clinic you can usually be found on the soccer pitch or in the gym.  What keeps you motivated with all of the late night and early morning training sessions?

The late night soccer training seems ingrained. Back in Canada, it was easily 4 nights a week. I’ve been playing soccer for over 12 years and training has always been in the evening! Even if I seem tired, heading to soccer is a de-stressor and energizer (not great trying to sleep after).

Early morning gym sessions have come more recently. My gym has the classes I like at 5:30/6:30am and so I’ve adjusted my lifestyle to be able to get up early for these. It’s part of my ‘practice what I preach’ to clients!! It’s been fun challenging my body with new movements and load.

So there you go. We hope that you enjoyed getting to know Hannah just as much as we love having around the clinic.