Paula Fitzpatrick - About Me

Professional Summary

I am a fully qualified UK trained physiotherapist. I graduated with a First Class Bachelor of Science Honours degree (BSc Hons) in Physiotherapy in 1994. I am a member of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapists (MCSP) and I am registered with the Health Professions Council (HPC).I started my career gaining general experience but I had discovered a love of treating and learning about musculoskeletal problems. In 1996 I decided to specialise in this area and began to concentrate on the treatment of back pain and spinal problems. I completed a Master of Science (MSc) degree in Rehabilitation and Research in 2002. I have continued to develop and gain expertise in this specialty ever since. Among other things I have completed postgraduate training in managing chronic pain, acupuncture and dynamic stability and Pilates.

I am a member of the Physiotherapy Pain Association, a special interest group for physiotherapists interested in improving their understanding of pain and their care of people in pain. I have a very keen interest in research and regularly read current research papers on back pain. I am especially interested in the effects of exercise on back pain and also how your thoughts and feelings affect your pain.

I would love to be able to help all my readers individually but I am very sorry I can't offer advice about specific problems.

More about me and how I got where I am ...

I'm the skinny one in the middle (age 7)

I was born in a small village in Wales. After finishing school I worked in different jobs ranging from nursing, car mechanics, driving instructor, recycling worker for two environmental companies and a myriad of other small things. Each job taught me something new and I have no regrets about any of them, but I knew none of them were right for me in the long term. So I investigated the qualifications I needed to train as a physiotherapist and set about going to night school to get them. I was delighted to be accepted into university and started my training in 1991. One of the proudest days of my life was when I qualified with a First Class honours degree in 1994.

Right from the start I was confident I had made the right decision. My interest in my profession has never wavered. I am passionate about delivering the best possible care to my patients - and this means its very important to me that my practice is evidence based or in layman's terms combines the best available research, the preferences of my patients and my own clinical experience and knowledge. This path has led me to complete a lot of postgraduate training. I have attended many weekend and day courses and have spent thousands of hours reading the literature and discussing clinical cases with my peers.

My interest in research and a desire to deepen my approach in a more holistic way led me to I complete a Master of Science degree in Rehabilitation and Research (MSc) in 2002. It was particularly special as it was a multi-disciplinary course - I was working alongside doctors, nurses, occupational therapist and others. Passing this Masters was a career high for me as it was very challenging - especially when combined with a full time job.

Celebrating my MSc - a very proud moment

Following completion of the Masters I took a 6 month break for a breather! I felt I wanted a bit of time out to see the world a little. I travelled to the USA stopping in Chicago and New York. Then on to Belize and Guatemala where I spent time living with a local family trying to improve my Spanish. From Guatemala on to California and camping in Yosemite (possibly my favourite place on Earth). On to San Francisco then across the sea to Sydney, Australia. A few weeks there with friends then to New Zealand where I travelled the country in a camper van before heading home via South Africa.

Expanding Horizons ...

When I got back from travelling I continued to see and treat many patients, learning from their stories and experiences. I worked for a while in education, for two years I combined my clinical role with a job as Dean for Allied Health Professionals for a local higher education establishment. Now I have a tremendously varied and interesting job. I work in a large acute hospital and I have responsibility for developing evidence based practice for team of physiotherapists. I still treat patients two days a week.

When I'm not at work ...

My lovely new bike (Thorn Audax Mk3 if you're interested)

I have a full and interesting life. I love reading, film, gardening and football. I am a keen black and white photographer. I have a lovely little camper van for odd weekends away, I live near the sea so this is great. But my favourite thing at the moment is cycling, I am building up to be able to do some long distance bike rides, I am on 50 miles/day so far and have just bought myself a beautiful new lightweight touring bike that I feel compelled to stroke whenever I walk past it! My dream is to one day cycle the length of the UK from Lands End in Cornwall to John O'Groates in Scotland - about 1000 miles give or take!

But something has bothered me...

Two things have nagged at me over the years.

1. The amount of poor quality, unhelpful, misinformation on the internet about back pain.

2.I wanted another income stream so I could work less hours to give me the freedom to explore some of my other interests. I also wanted something that would support my pension when the time came for me to retire (I couldn't avoid thinking about that forever!).

The answer was a website about back pain that was evidence based and delivered an income. But there was a hitch ...I had no idea how to create a web site.

if you are interested to see how I solved the problem, follow the next stage in my journey and see how I created this web site.

Lower Back Pain Toolkit Home Page

09-Aug-2010