Ken Robotham
Physio
M Physio
Main interests: Cyclists, Combative sport (Brazilian jiu jitsu, boxing, Muay Thai, Krav Maga), as well as strength sports such as CrossFit, powerlifting & Olympic lifting. Hip, Groin & ACL Knee injuries.
Prior to moving to Australia, Ken worked as a strength and conditioning specialist in Canada alongside world-renowned physiotherapists and athletes where he managed core rehabilitation in sports including soccer, ice hockey, and basketball. Here he developed a keen focus in treating hip, groin, and ACL injuries.
Ken prides himself on being up to date with the most recent empirical research in order to provide his patients with the best treatment options available. Ken’s focus on evidence-based rehab is further supported through his commitment to leading research on knee pain, and persistent low back and hip pain.
His philosophy is: “My goal is to help you help yourself.” No wonder he is such a strong advocate of health professionals breaking down intimidating medical jargon into simple terms, so you can leave knowing what exactly the issue is and what is required.
For Ken, physical health is a lifelong discipline and commitment and should be dealt with proactively. He takes great pride in working with you to ensure you are moving, performing, and playing at optimal levels and at all times – not just when things might go wrong.
Outside of the clinic, Ken can be found learning the art of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, cycling more kilometres than you would like to know, bushbashing his way to find the ultimate swimming hole, or endlessly googling all things baby-related ever since becoming a dad.
Ken’s Story
One of my earliest memories is watching my dad tackle his nursing degree while I carefully turned page after page of his anatomy and physiology textbooks, all the while being completely immersed in the diagrams and photos- this is where my love and interest in the human body officially sprouted.
From there, I spent nearly every waking moment playing every sport, activity, game I could sink my hands or feet into.
Interestingly, during one afternoon in my Careers and Personal Planning class, physiotherapy popped up as a potential career choice. The more I researched it, the more it felt right. I still had not been to an actual physio, nor had any true sense of what the day-to-day would look like, but on paper the profession was ticking all the boxes. So, for the next couple of years, I made sure to keep my grades up, completed every class necessary and finally applied To the big uni in the big city to study Human Kinetics (the usual stepping stone prior to Masters of Physiotherapy in Canada.)
As I fumbled my way to finding a new normal living away from home, one thing I knew for sure was that I wanted to join a gym. Just like any typical uni student, finances were tight so I decided to work at a gym so the membership would come as a perk. Here I was adopted by a rag tag group of veteran strength athletes who helped develop my “under the bar” experience. This is also when I suffered my very first injury.
After this I wanted to know everything and anything strength and conditioning related so I pursued opportunity after opportunity to shadow some of the best collegiate and professional sport strength coaches. Best thing I could have done as this led to an internship that allowed me to eventually work as a head strength coach position for an athletic training centre specialising in basketball (though I trained many different types of athletes up to that point).
Eventually I was offered a role as an exercise specialist in a Physio clinic where I dove head first into learning how my experiences as a Strength Coach could fit into the rehab world, eventually leading me to start my physio education journey once again. This time, in Australia, where a number of my colleagues had previously studied.
I finally made the brave move to sell everything I owned, pack my bags, and jet across the world to start my Masters in Physiotherapy at the University of Sydney. After graduating, I went straight into private practice at a busy and eclectic clinic in Sydney’s Inner West.
My partner of 22 years and I always knew we wanted to spend the majority of our lives in a smaller coastal place – hence we moved to the GC just in time for the birth of our son.
I feel that all my experience up to this point has really helped to fulfil my two primary goals as a physio – (1) to help people getting back to doing what they love and (2) to help improve my client’s health literacy so they walk away feeling more empowered and informed about their bodies and abilities than ever before.
