Geelong’s physios show passion for their role with no two days the same

The Addy’s search for Geelong’s best physio continues and readers are invited to choose who they think is a cut above the rest. VOTE NOW.

Corio Bay Health Group physiotherapist Justin Edwards with a machine that reduces gravity for a person running a treadmill during physio treatment.

From Commonwealth Games teams to local athletes and elderly residents, Geelongs physios have seen and helped them all.

Corio Bay Health Group physiotherapist Justin Edwards has been a physio for more than 20 years.

He has worked with England during the Commonwealth Games, the South Sydney Rabbitohs under-21 team and the Geelong Falcons football team.

Now, on top of his clinic work he treats players from the St Mary’s football club, and Geelong United in NBL1.

“I think the diversity of clients is what I enjoy most, especially in private practice,” he said.

“We have dear old Betty who is 85 years old and having problems with her sore knee and she’s not sure why and we can help her, then world class athletes going to world junior competitions.

“We work with people at the pointy end where point two of a second makes a difference between them being successful versus being not as successful as they aimed for.”

Mr Edwards is among more than 30 physiotherapists who are in the running to be crowned Geelong’s best.

Voting is now open for Addy readers to choose who is a cut above the rest.

Mr Edwards said being in a clinic and a team environment was how he had always worked.

”It’s a dynamic space to work in and there’s something new and different every day a which keeps you interested and makes it's a good role,” he said.

“Growing up playing sport I think there’s the layer of understanding the motivation of an athlete.

“You build trust and rapport so they know you are in their corner to get them back in the game or by the same token protect them from themselves when they want to play and you know there’s something going on in their body that is unsafe or has long term effects.

“The diagnostic part of acute management in a sporting team is at times challenging yet rewarding when you get it right.”

Mr Edwards said the number of good health practitioners in Geelong was off the charts.

“We bat above our average with sporting things but also the accessibility to health care and quality of what we have is a really high standard,” he said.

Travis McCombe of Belmont Physiotherapy Centre has been nominated in Geelong's best physio vote. Picture: Alison Wynd

Belmont Physiotherapy Centre physio Travis McCombe is another of the nominees.

He said it was nice to be nominated when there were many good physios in Geelong.

“I wanted to be a physio from about Year 9 through my involvement with sport and seeing them for my own injuries,” he said.

Mr McCombe has largely worked in sports physio, starting in Adelaide for study, followed by some time in Warrnambool and the past 18 years in Geelong.

He has worked with football clubs during his career as well, including the Geelong Cats.

”I really enjoy interaction the with people, if you see 16 people in a day you get to have 16 different conversations,” he said.

“You strike up nice relationships with people.

“I think most people also get into the field to help people get back on track whether its to sport or mobility post-operation, and its varied what we see, you could have a knee, then a shoulder, then a post-op hip.”

Mr McCombe said Geelong was lucky to have a collection of good health specialists.

“We have a good community of physios here too,” he said.

Complete the poll below to submit your vote before 9am Monday, June 17.

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2. After nominations close we open the voting stage on our website. The businesses or individuals that received the highest number of nominations will progress to the voting stage. The voting stage runs for one week.

3. Once voting has closed a winner will be announced on our website usually a few days after the voting stage concludes. At the same time we will also announce up to nine other businesses with the highest amount of votes in the poll.

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Originally published as Geelong’s physios show passion for their role with no two days the same