Studying dancing led to Tahlia Austin’s interest in Osteopathy. “The aches and pains that often led to dancers either pushing their bodies to the extreme or sitting out of dance practice drew me to learn more about the complexities of the human body and pursue my passion of helping people overcome their injuries.”

Tahlia has an holistic approach to treatment, treating the body as a whole and working alongside her patients to achieve optimal health outcomes. “To put it simply, I love Osteopathy because I love helping people achieve both their health and personal goals!”

Throughout her career, Tahlia has worked in a variety of settings including VAFA Premier League football teams, which has given her exposure to a wide variety of acute sporting injuries and from that, the ability to accurately diagnosis and apply effective evidence-based care. “I enjoyed sharing my knowledge on rehabilitation advice and working closely with athletes to get them back onto the field.”

While Tahlia enjoys treating patients from all ages and walks of life, she has developed a passion for working with pain – both acute and chronic. In particular; low back, neck pain and sports related injuries.

“I love working at CSSM as we have built a great team environment, and all strive to provide the best service of care for all our patients.”

Away from the clinic, you’ll find Tahlia outdoors with friends, most likely walking a few laps around the Tan over the weekend. You’ll also find her fuelling her Italian food addiction by going to restaurants around Richmond and South Yarra.

After 15 years of international competitive Taekwondo, Adele sustained several injuries. “I was always so fascinated by how the human body functions and heals – seemingly myotherapy was the perfect fit.  An enthusiast about health, fitness and being the best version of yourself is a key factor”. 

Adele feels that analysing the main components of people’s everyday lifestyles and interests allows her to identify and provide specialised ways for a specific individual to help aid in strengthening, rehabilitating and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Adele enjoys working with people “to help get them back to the activities they love”.

Adele executes this through a “hands-on approach”, which includes trigger point therapy, dry needling, cupping, myofascial release and treatment of musculoskeletal pain and dysfunction. Adele is a firm believer on educating her clients about their condition and what their recovery process will entail to improve their ability to manage, maintain and overcome their injuries. 

Adele has worked with NICA (National Institute of Circus Australia) and amateur basketball, netball and football leagues across Melbourne. 

In Adele’s spare time, she loves to participate in pilates, rock climbing, hiking, baking and spending time with family and friends.

Clinic Lead – Clinical Pilates

After 15 years of intensive dance training and working as on osteopath, Kim was looking for a pro-active way to help people manage their conditions.   “Pilates was the perfect fit.”

Rather than “treat” conditions, Kim says Pilates improves movement and helps to relieve pain.  “I work to help people overcome their back and neck pain, manage restrictions with arthritis, rehabilitate joint injuries,  improve balance, build strength and increase bone mass in osteoporosis.  I also love keeping people strong throughout their pregnancies and beyond.”

According to Kim, clients are surprised at how easily a problem area can be identified. “We have elite athletes coming in who are very strong and fit but have pain or an injury. We can find a muscle not doing its job properly and they are surprised at how quickly that muscle tires and how we can progress exercises to keep Pilates continually challenging.”

“I love that my clients are very pro-active leading to great, long term results.  There is a huge variety in the people and conditions I see, keeping each class interesting.  I also love getting to know people and hearing about their lives.”

Kim has first-hand knowledge in the role pilates can play in pre and post-natal health but also has extensive experience treating and rehabilitating AFL and dance injuries.

Away from the clinic, Kim enjoys spending time with her three boys and getting involved in sports, activities, camping, and bushwalking.  She also loves walking her dogs.

Physiotherapist Grace Rutter believes patients should feel supported whilst being provided tailored education and a comprehensive management plan based upon their rehabilitation and lifestyle goals.

“I have grown up surrounded by family that have been living with chronic pain for multiples years and have seen how impactful it can be to someone’s life.”

Grace has a particular interest in neck injuries (including neck related headache), sporting injuries, women’s health, knee rehabilitation, as well as running injuries.

“I love being able to have the opportunity to help people do what they love, no matter their stage of life. My aim is to help people feel empowered about their rehabilitation journey to achieve their goals.”

With an additional degree in sports and exercise science, Grace also worked with various high performance athletes including the Port Melbourne VFL club.

Grace has experience working in acute hospitals (cardio/ musculoskeletal/neuro), subacute settings (geriatric evaluation and management), and women’s health (acute, private, continence clinic). She has also had experience working in private practice.

Away from the clinic, you’ll find Grace on the driving range, playing netball or out for dinner with friends. When time permits, she also loves to cook and hanging out with her pet Corgi Henry.

Educated at the University of South Australia, Vaughan has gained a wide range of clinical experiences since completing his studies and moving to Melbourne in 1998. Sporting and family commitments helped to shape his core range of clinical interests.
Originally drawn to Podiatry after having his own knee pain cured by orthotic management, Vaughan values how much more enjoyment can be gained from sports when you have no pain associated with playing them. Likewise through watching his three children’s development, Vaughan is determined to minimise any pain associated within childhood development.

Vaughan’s philosophy regarding treatment is to address the cause of the pain biomechanically, and instill a treatment plan that will enhance every patient’s enjoyment of life’s endeavours.

Physiotherapist

Dance Program Coordinator

Myotherapy Team Lead

17 years of dance training, 12 years of tennis and 7 years of competitive rock climbing fueled Kelsey’s interest in sport and associated injuries. “I’d always been interested in health and fitness and Physiotherapy was a great transition from Personal training into the treatment and rehabilitation of a lot of the issues I saw in the gym. It came with a stronger understanding of the human body.”

While sport is her passion, Kelsey believes that creating solid foundations of strength and rehabilitation are key components in maintaining a healthy lifestyle, whether you work in an office or as an elite athlete. “Having participated in a fair few sports over the years it’s given me a better understanding of the demands the body can be put through, the movements required to succeed and the difficult task of taking time away from the sport you love when injured.”

Kelsey employs a hands-on approach when treating muscular pains and joint dysfunction, complementing treatment outcomes with modalities such as cupping, dry needling, trigger point therapy, and taping. “Shoulder joint issues really fascinate me because they can be unpredictable and complex. I really enjoy the process of breaking down why the injury has occurred in the first place and rehabilitating the joint structures.”

Away from work, Kelsey is an avid participator in rock climbing and has competed in both state and national events. “I can also be a great couch potato when I need some down time and enjoy meeting up with friends.”

After multiple injuries and different rehab experiences, Julia Meeuwissen found a love and appreciation of myotherapy.

“I like that myotherapy has a holistic approach that empowers and supports people to take responsibility for their own rehabilitation journey and to gain more confidence, trust and respect for their body and its innate capacity to heal and recover.”

With an interest in the human body, anatomy and biomechanics, Julia enjoys treating tendinopathies, tension headaches, neck pain and TMD.

“I have had all of these issues myself so can empathise and share techniques that have helped me. I’d like to further investigate optimal load management strategies for tendinopathies and posture as well as mind-body connection for stress related tension headaches, neck pain and TMD.”

As a myotherapist, Julia hopes to empower patients to live an active and healthy life knowing that injuries can be overcome and aches and pains are part of the journey.

Julia was attracted to the multimodal aspect of CSSM where each practitioner can learn from other modalities to ensure the best outcome for each patient.

“I like CSSM’s philosophy including best practice, patient education and exercise as an integral part of treatment.”

When she’s not working, Julia enjoys going for multiple day hikes, camping, and going to the beach as well as reading fiction, putting on incense and listening to records, or walking her dog Zephyr.

CSSM physio Katie Maxted is born and bred in Adelaide but we won’t hold that against her!

Katie has always led an active lifestyle and grew up dancing, fascinated by biomechanics and how the body moves.

“I enjoy supporting individuals throughout their lifespan to feel liberated, comfortable, and proud of their bodies, whilst empowering them to achieve both their health and personal goals.”

Having worked in both private practice and inpatient care, Katie is passionate about post surgical orthopaedic rehab and return to sport injuries as well as pre and post natal clinical pilates. As part of a large team at CSSM, Katie says it’s the can-do attitude of the practitioners that motivates her.

“What I’m passionate about, is taking the time to really get to know the individual, their goals, interests, and expectations, and collaboratively developing a treatment plan that enables them to achieve these factors.”

Away from the clinic, you’ll find Katie on a Pilates reformer, a bike at spin class, or enjoying the sunshine on a casual weekend run.

“I love trialling new food places – so I am always open for restaurant recommendations.”

You’ve come to the right town Katie!

Senior Physiotherapist

As a physiotherapist, Peter relishes the opportunity to help his clients return to the things that mean the most to them, whether that’s sport, work or family. “A strong and healthy body maintains a healthy mind, which allows us to perform and work to the best of our ability.”

Peter promotes an active approach to rehab and has a passion for treating sports injuries such as new and recurrent muscle strains and injuries of the shoulders, hips, knees and ankles.

With a unique understanding of the demands of high level competition, Peter has worked with Melbourne Victory FC Academy as well as with the A League Men’s team. He is currently the Head Physiotherapist for Bentleigh Greens Soccer Club in the National Premier League Victoria competition and also part of the Football Victoria program as a physiotherapist for their state and representative teams.

Peter is also a great advocate for the involvement of children and adolescents in sport, helping them develop healthy habits as they grow. He has a particular clinical interest in working with adolescent athletes.

“It’s so important to stay at the forefront of the industry in terms of latest techniques, advancements, patient care and rehabilitation and use this information to continue to play a key role in patients’ recovery.”

Peter has valuable experience in pre- and post-operative care and has developed expertise in using Clinical Pilates to facilitate optimal recovery and performance.

“The challenge of pre and post-surgery and the journey between physiotherapist and patient to integrate them back into daily activity or sport in an even better condition than before their injury is what drives me.”

Whether it’s an acute injury or simply wanting to optimise performance, Peter has the expertise to diagnose and prescribe a program to get you back on track to achieving your goals. His unique combination of physiotherapy and high level coaching skills is a valuable asset in both the prevention and rehabilitation of injury – particularly in the areas of sports performance in the younger athlete.

Away from CSSM, Peter has developed a keen interest in golf, enjoys attending sports events, training in the gym and keeping up with the latest research and advancements within the physiotherapy industry.

Senior Practitioner consultation fees apply to this practitioner.