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Podcast Episode 202: Meet Lisa Howell, the Australian Physiotherapist Whose Cutting-Edge Approach to the Body is Transforming the Lives of Young Athletes {and Plenty of Practitioners} Across the Globe

If you’re a regular listener of Ready. Aim. Empire. you know that a lot of what my guests and I discuss involves marketing, business development, and operations, just to name a few topics, but today me and my guest, Lisa Howell, are getting really nerdy on all things physiology.

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I loved every second of it, and I think you will, too because even if you don’t quite work with the population of clients that Lisa does, this information is vital for any fitness instructor or health/movement practitioner.

But first, let me give you a little background on who Lisa is…

As the founder of Perfect Form Physiotherapy and creator of The Ballet Blog, Lisa Howell is a leader in the physiotherapy space with her cutting-edge approach to treating and training young dancers.

Over the years, as she has seen the demands on young athletes’ time and abilities deepen, she knew that to truly impact the lives of her clients, she didn’t just need to instruct them on their own bodies, but she needed to help educate her fellow practitioners as well.

To put it succinctly, her philosophy is proactive rather than reactive, and her ultimate goal is to create a grassroots-style movement so that children can receive proper instruction, experience fewer injuries and thus, have a decreased chance of needing physiotherapy.

And after 13+ years of seeing incredible results, I’d say she’s been pretty successful in her mission, and, yet she’s only just getting started (you’ll see what I mean when you listen in).

Whether you too work with a younger clientele, or you serve geriatrics, or if you’re an instructor or a physical therapist, Lisa’s insight is for everyone, because at the end of the day, what are we in this for if it’s not to create better lives and experience for those under our instruction or care?

In this episode you’ll learn:

  • Lisa’s journey to becoming a physiotherapist and how her personal experience as a dancer has helped to shape her philosophy
  • Why it’s so vital to teach young athletes through slower conditioning and layered instruction to fuel kinesthetic awareness
  • Why we need to understand the magnitude of fascia and how it impacts our roles as practitioner instructors and practitioners
  • The big shifts we need to be looking at in the evolution of fascial training in the last ten years
  • How Lisa is moving through a transition in her business model and practices to impact more students and practitioners across the globe

Referenced Links in This Episode:

Perfect Form Physiotherapy

The Ballet Blog

“Alice in Wonderland: Getting Curiouser and Curiouser” – Dr. Robert Schleip's Lecture at the Third International Fascia Research Congress

Strolling Under the Skin by Dr. Claude Guimberteau

Gil Hedley, Ph.D. – Fascia and Stretching: The Fuzz Speech

With Grit & Gratitude,

Lisé

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