Atkinson Physiotherapy

As an experienced physiotherapist for over fifteen years, my desire to form Atkinson Physiotherapy grew from my motivation to bring the same level of care I have provided to elite sports athletes, military personnel and the general public. Having worked in a wide variety of clinical settings treating all aspects of musculoskeletal injuries, I have always been determined to one day run my own specialist physiotherapy service to the East Durham area.

My journey into the health and wellbeing field began in 1998 following the completion of my sports science degree at Sunderland University, I then began working as a personal trainer gaining experience of planning and delivering personal exercise programs from athletes to the general public. During this time I began to gain an interest into helping people further when faced with clients suffering various types of injuries during exercise and everyday life. I then embarked on my physiotherapy degree, completing this in 2004 at the University of Northumbria at Newcastle.

Very early into my physiotherapy career I began my journey working with Sunderland football club. Combining my knowledge of sports science and physiotherapy skills with the academy and the first team full time professional footballers. I found this period of my career a good foundation for my future development to work under pressure dealing with many types of sporting injuries; including severe cases of trauma during live games, to the challenge of rehabilitating long-term injuries and returning players back to the return competitive games.

I enjoyed the mix of working with competitive footballers combined working with local private physiotherapy companies, slowly developing my skills to work in the private sector, often treating office based workers, occupational health support, and supporting primary care services within GP medical practices.

When the opportunity arose in 2009 to work for the British Military overseas in Germany and the Netherlands, I looked at this as another key area of my personal development to live abroad and experience a different culture, combined with the challenge of working with the military. During this time I gained experience working within a multi-disciplinary team of sports doctors, specialist mental health staff, and physical training instructors. A challenging but rewarding experience, preparing military personnel for tours to Afghanistan, with the added task of treating physical injuries combined with the mental health aspects associated following a tour abroad.

On my return to the UK, I continued to gain experience in the private sector, specialising with the assessment and treatment of running based injuries from half marathon to ultra-based marathon runners. I also take immense pride in helping anyone in all walks of life who is struggling with the aim of restoring their day to day function and quality of life, with emphasis on what goals the person is aiming to achieve from their rehabilitation.

I have a continued drive and determination to help people improve their health and wellbeing, with the focus on patient centred goals; combining diagnostic assessments and a wide range of treatment techniques to achieve their goals.