When I first qualified as a physiotherapist in 1996 I thought I was going to heal the world! Like most people who become therapists I wanted a profession where I could help people and I was introduced to the work of physiotherapists through my sporting background. In my early years as a newly qualified physio I was getting most patients better, but not as many as I would like and often not as quickly as I would hope. As my years as a physio progressed I found I was losing enthusiasm with my career. I didn’t just want to make a difference, I wanted to make a real difference.

It was in 2003 that I moved to Canada and began working at Barrie Sports Medicine in Ontario. Spread over three clinic sites with over a dozen physiotherapists the clinic is run by the highly driven and focused Rick and Tamara Schaly. In 2004, Rick attended a conference where there was a presentation by Stuart Taws, developer of the Soft Tissue Release technique. Stuart, originally from the UK, was by then living in California where he developed the technique whilst working on the top US sprinters at the Santa Monica Athletics Club. Having a long standing neck issue from years of ice hockey, Rick was a willing participant in Stuart’s presentation. By all accounts, Rick was blown away by the effects Stuart achieved in only a short time during the presentation. Remembering, Rick owns three physiotherapy clinics, he had received treatment from many able, experienced therapists over the years! Rick was so enthused by Soft Tissue Release that he arranged for Stuart to come to Barrie in Canada to educate all the staff in his revolutionary technique.

Sometimes life is about being in the right place at the right time and that’s how I felt the weekend of Stuart’s presentation. I hardly slept on the Sunday night after the course I was so excited about getting to work and trying out this new technique on my patients. Soft Tissue Release suited me – it fitted like the most comfortable pair of pants. It was the light-bulb moment when everything ‘clicked’, everything made sense.

That was 9 years ago and today I still use Soft Tissue Release on all my patients. This gentle, yet highly effective technique continues to amaze myself and my patients in its fast and lasting benefits. My desire for physiotherapy had returned and in 2007, my wife, Nicole, and I bought Coastal Physiotherapy in Maroochydore, on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast. Since buying the clinic we have grown to three physiotherapists, training them all in the technique, and have built the business on the astounding results achieved through Soft Tissue Release. The only clinic on the Sunshine Coast, and few Australia-wide, able to offer this treatment, we have been able to establish our point of difference in the crowded therapist marketplace. We routinely see patients now who have had little or no benefit with other physios or health professionals who make remarkable recovery with Soft Tissue Release after only 1 or 2 sessions as testified in our client testimonials ( https://coastalphysio.com.au/testimonials/)

Soft Tissue Release has made a huge difference to my life and it can make a huge difference to yours. Sometimes it really is all about being in the right place at the right time…