Michael Crebbin has been a physiotherapist for almost ten years and recently joined the ISEH as a Senior Physiotherapist. Prior to qualifying as a physiotherapist he undertook an undergraduate degree in sports therapy; he also holds a post-graduate diploma in neuro-musculoskeletal physiotherapy. He told us about his background, and what attracted him to working at the ISEH.
Michael: I’ve always had an interest in sport, playing various team sports to county level while at school and university. After my sports therapy degree I did a pre-registration Masters degree in physiotherapy to expand my clinical skill set. Sports therapy was geared towards athletic populations with sports massage, manual therapy and gym-based sports rehabilitation and I also worked with professional sports teams as part of my training. Most of my postgraduate courses have been in sports and performance related topics, supplemented with additional training in acupuncture, strapping and taping, joint manipulation and osteopathic techniques.
ISEH: I believe you also worked at the London 2012 Olympics?
Michael: I was lucky enough to work at London 2012 because I have a clinical interest in cycling-related conditions. I was involved in work at training venues and also during competition at the velodrome and BMX track. I got to meet people like ISEH consultant Courtney Kipps and other sports physicians and physiotherapists. I also worked at the Paralympic Games, which was clinically much busier, working with power lifters. This isn’t a population I had worked with before and it was an amazing experience working with lots of different practitioners and with elite paralympic athletes.
ISEH: What attracted you to working at the ISEH?
Michael: I have followed the development of the ISEH since its conception as a lot of the sports doctors and consultants based here have been people I’ve liaised and worked with in the past. The integrated facility is a real attraction. It’s great that everything is on one floor so patients can have all aspects of their treatment side by side and if you need to liaise with people, they’re there. Everything is done in-house. That service doesn’t exist in many places.
ISEH: What are your aims while you’re here?
Michael: I want to develop my own skills further in terms of complex post-operative rehabilitation and also working regularly with a more active and elite population. Learning more about the intricacies of working with different sports also interests me, for example managing dancers and boxers. I’d also like to introduce running and cycling clinics, including bike-fittings, and believe they are areas where we could specialise and offer high-level assessment and rehabilitation services in central London.
ISEH: What sort of conditions do you treat?
Michael: As a physiotherapist you have to be adaptable and able to assess and manage whatever and whoever comes in to clinic. I personally see a lot of lower limb pathologies, particularly knee problems amongst active patients like runners and cyclists. I also like to problem-solve cases and welcome those that may have been treated unsuccessfully in the past and enjoy the challenge of treating concurrent conditions like neck and shoulder pain or back and hip pain.
One benefit of the ISEH is the on-site multidisciplinary team. For example, if a runner can only run to a certain point it may be due to biomechanics or physical fitness capacity. We can undertake gait analysis and assess running technique using our force-plate treadmill and involve podiatry colleagues for a comprehensive biomechanical assessment. If pain is a limiting factor we can use modalities such as taping, radial shockwave therapy or acupuncture and most importantly patient education and managing expectation and developing patient-centred goals to guide rehabilitation. If required we can also arrange specialist input from our Sports Physicians and Orthopaedic Consultants and we also have a full imaging suite including a 3T MRI scanner.
Read more about our consultants at the ISEH