Main Interests: Hockey, Concussion, Acute Sporting Injuries, Dance, Basketball & Pilates
Olivia completed her Bachelor of Physiotherapy at Charles Sturt University in Albury in 2018. Prior to Physiotherapy, Olivia gained experience as a sports trainer for local AFL and state basketball teams, sparking her interest in sports Physiotherapy. She was also a keen dancer and basketballer growing up, fostering a love for both team and individual sport. Since this time, she has acquired a wide range of experience working in a smaller town private practice.
Olivia is GLA:D (Good Life with Arthritis for Hips and Knees) accredited and trained in DMA Clinical Pilates, Complete Concussion Management and dry needling. She has followed her passion for sports injury management by completing a Masters of Sports and Exercise Physiotherapy through La Trobe University.
While Olivia enjoys working with all sporting codes, she is currently proud to work with Hockey Australia’s Masters program for National, Trans Tasman and World Cup teams for domestic and international tournaments.
She is a big believer in empowering athletes to understand their own health and take charge of their recovery journey.
Outside work, Olivia is swapping her waterskiing on the Lake to time at the beach! As she has recently moved to the Gold Coast, she and her husband are soaking up the sun as much as possible and are excited to take their fur baby to explore the GC. She also loves travelling, cooking her grandmother’s famous recipes and the regular Pilates class.
Olivia’s Story:
I was born and bred in Albury, on the border of NSW and Victoria. Both my Mum and Dad grew up in towns with a population size smaller than 100 people! So Albury was the big smoke. We are a really tight knit family, and my brother and I are only 18 months apart in age – which made growing up pretty fun! We always did things as a family unit and our activities usually developed some pretty practical skills. From fencing our little hobby farm, to drenching sheep, painting walls, building sheds, driving tractors and much more, I learnt the value of working hard and seeing results. We spent a lot of summer on Lake Hume, watterskiing, tubing and knee-boarding, usually covered in sand, sunscreen and filled with barbeque Shapes or sausage in bread (still one of my favourite foods).
Mum got me into ballet at age 2 and I never looked back. I did some form of dance from age 2 until I was 18 years old. I always loved dance for the juxtaposition of grace and strength. My brother and I both love music and would go through Mum and Dad’s CD collection and put them on the stereo (and turn the volume right up!)
I was actually a shy kid when I was younger (my parents still can’t figure out what happened! They think I was saving up all my talking for later in life…). This meant I went to a smaller school that took me all the way from Kindergarten to Year 12. After school, I had an itch to explore the world which led me to taking a gap year where I took a 4 month solo backpacking trip around Europe. I thought this would scratch an itch – turns out it sparked a life long passion. After returning from my trip with minus $200 in my bank account, I opted to stay home and study physiotherapy at Charles Sturt University in Albury.
I wanted to be a vet when I was younger – but then I saw how they pregnancy test a cow! That dream was very swiftly swapped out for physiotherapy. I really enjoyed the idea of a job that gave me something different every day. I knew I couldn’t sit behind a desk all day and really wanted a profession where I could interact with people and help them.
University gave me exactly what I was looking for and I went straight into private practice life, wanting to gain experience in all musculoskeletal and sports avenues. I maintained working with sporting clubs through university and right through my career and this slowly bubbled into my top interest.
I followed my passion with doing a Masters in Sports and Exercise Physiotherapy and have ended up at Gold Coast Physio & Sports Health to foster this passion in a supportive and engaging environment.
Both my husband, Alex, and I have a passion for the water so the Gold Coast is calling our name! Luckily our not-so-small fur baby Rottie, Boss, is also a water lover and will sell his soul to anyone who is willing to throw him the ball on the beach. We are excited to see more sun and experience the GC lifestyle!
