Reshan Muthukrishna: director of Improve Your Move Physiotherapy Rockdale suspended following client affair

A physio who began a sexual relationship with a patient 12 years his junior has been suspended after he messaged her a “saucy profile pic” and told her to keep their conversations private as it would affect his marriage and job.

Physiotherapist Reshan Muthukrishna was found guilty of misconduct by the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal.

A physio who began a sexual relationship with a patient 12 years his junior has been suspended after he messaged her “saucy profile pic” and told her to keep their conversations private as it would affect his marriage and job.

Reshan Muthukrishna – the director and principal physio of Improve Your Move Physiotherapy Rockdale – was found guilty of unsatisfactory professional conduct and professional misconduct by the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT).

Upon reaching the finding, NCAT disqualified Muthukrishna’s registration for three and a half years and imposed a non-review period of three and a half years. Muthukrishna was not charged with any criminal wrongdoing.

The Health Care Complaints Commission (HCCC) alleged between July 2018 and December 2022, Muthukrishna had a sexual relationship with a patient and provided false information to the University of Western Sydney and Anytime Fitness Casula.

Rockdale physio Reshan Muthukrishna had a sexual relationship with one of his patients. Picture: LinkedIn

The tribunal heard the female patient met Muthukrishna at one of the clinics he operated in July 2017 and a year later in March he messaged her on WhatsApp saying “saucy profile pic”.

Tribunal documents state Muthukrishna treated the female patient – known as patient A – for a sprained wrist and lower back pain after he asked her to start using messaging app Viber as a private way to communicate in 2018.

This escalated to the pair kissing in a treatment room then having sexual intercourse at Muthukrishna’s home.

Documents state during their intimate relationship, the woman terminated a pregnancy following fears her “Muslim family would disown” her if they discovered their relationship.

According to the tribunal’s decision, Muthukrishna claimed he “did not deny the events” and his psychologist claimed he was undergoing an “abusive marriage” and he found a “semblance of comfort and attention in the interactions” with the female patient.

The tribunal found Muthukrishna provided false and misleading information to the Physiotherapy Council in December 2021 during a hearing when he denied having a sexual relationship with other patients he had treated.

“The practitioner gave this oral evidence in circumstances where he knew he had a sexual relationship with patient A,” documents state.

The tribunal also found Muthukrishna engaged in improper or unethical conduct relating to the practice of physiotherapy by disclosing another patient’s personal information to patient A. Muthukrishna texted patient A: “Let’s talk about old fat ppl” and “u should see the size of his legs – he has lymphoedema” (sic).

He also wrote a letter to the University of Western Sydney in April 2019 stating the female patient couldn’t attend classes due to lower back pain, despite her not receiving any physiotherapy treatment on the relevant dates.

He also requested for her gym membership to be cancelled due to a lower back injury, despite receiving zero treatment.

Muthukrishna’s record keeping of the female patient also “lacked sufficient information to allow another physiotherapist to continue management of the patient’s case” from 2018 to March 2020.

The tribunal heard Muthukrishna accepted he “acted contrary to professional standards” and “it was on him”.

“I have the position of authority to make professional decisions and I failed to do so at the time. So that’s on me and that’s my responsibility and my mishap,” Muthukrishna said according to the tribunal transcript.