Below are the current members of the ACPET Executive Committee.  The members of the Executive Committee have been working tirelessly and entirely voluntarily to develop and promote ACPET for the wider benefit of the entire Physiotherapy profession in the United Kingdom.

Chair

Glenn Withers, BPhysio, MAPA, MCSP, MOCPPP, Cert. Pilates, MAPPI.

Chartered Sports Musculoskeletal Physiotherapist.

Residing Clinical Director and Founder.

London Sports Medicine Centre. London. UK.

Residing Clinical Director and Founder.

Pilates Art Physiotherapy and Pilates Centre. London. UK.

Founding Director and Educational Chair.

Australian Physiotherapy and Pilates Institute (APPI).

E-mail: info@ausphysio.com

Glenn joined ACPET at its inception in 2006 following on from his large base of experience in both professional and amateur sport, public health, and private practice work.

Glenn followed his Bachelor of Physiotherapy with a post-graduate clinical year under the tutelage of Mary Toomey in Melbourne, Australia. Following this, Glenn was awarded a post-graduate research scholarship to investigate the clinical relevance of Pilates based exercises. Qualifying in traditional method Pilates in both Matwork and equipment from beginner to advanced, Glenn then developed the renowned Modified Pilates Rehabilitation programme to bring Pilates in line with current pain and movement dysfunction research. Following this, Glenn co-founded the Australian Physiotherapy and Pilates Institute in 2000. Glenn has presented over 300 courses on the topic to NHS hospitals, private practices, and conferences throughout the UK, Australia, Malta, Spain, Portugal and many other countries. The APPI currently presents its courses to over 2000 physiotherapists a year. Glenn has consulted to Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal, and Charlton Athletic Football clubs on groin based rehabilitation.

Glenn co-founded the Pilates Art treatment centre in 2002 to deliver best practice guidelines of exercise based rehabilitation and incorporate ultrasound imaging into exercise prescription. More recently Glenn founded London Sports Medicine Centre to deliver best practice sports medicine provision to all level of athletes.

Glenn’s special interest in exercise therapy is in clinical reasoning, variation of the selection of exercise, Pilates based rehabilitation and specifically working towards increasing the recognition of the physiotherapy degree in the exercise world.

Secretary

Janet Walsh, MSc, MCSP

Chartered Cardiorespiratory Physiotherapist.

Advanced Exercise Instructor.

Pulmonary Rehabilitation Team Leader.

Derby Royal Infirmary. Derby. UK.

E-mail: janinindia2001@yahoo.co.uk

Having graduated from Nottingham School of Physiotherapy in 1986, Jan completed her Junior and Senior rotations in North Nottinghamshire prior to spending several years abroad. In India she gained clinical, organisational and cross-cultural experience in various government and private healthcare settings and became Head of Physiotherapy Services in a large international hospital. She returned to UK in 2003 to take up a respiratory role in general surgery, ITU, and pulmonary rehabilitation. In 2006 she gained an MSc in Physical Activity and Health from Loughborough University.

Recognising that Physiotherapists were not fully exploiting opportunities for exercise interventions within NHS settings, she recently undertook the Level II Gym Instructor and Level III Advanced Exercise Instructor training to gain an appreciation of differences in knowledge and skills between Physiotherapists and Exercise Professionals. She now hopes to use that knowledge to equip Physiotherapists to look beyond their traditional roles and to advocate for the Physiotherapy profession.  As a preliminary step, Jan is keen to see Physiotherapists gain fitness industry qualifications alongside their clinical training both at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. She currently works in Derby as team leader for Pulmonary Rehabilitation.

Treasurer

Carol Clark, Grad Dip Phys, MSc, MCSP, MMACP

Chartered Neuromusculoskeletal Physiotherapist.

Senior Lecturer – BSc Physiotherapy.

School of Health and Social Care. Bournemouth University. Bournemouth. UK.

E-mail: cclark@bournemouth.ac.uk

Carol joined ACPET as the treasurer in 2006. She has gained her experience in a variety of clinical settings in the UK and overseas.  In the UK she has worked at the Charing Cross, Stoke Mandeville, Royal Berkshire and Poole Hospitals.  While abroad she has worked for the Bahrain Sports Medicine Institute, GP Clinics in Qatar and Oman, and the National Trauma Hospital in Muscat, Oman.  Carol has worked with children with Polio in Nigeria organising joint sporting events with other primary aged children.  Carol has been involved in coaching hockey and was involved in the 1986 Paralympics held at Stoke Mandeville.

Her specific clinical interests are the effects of de-conditioning and exercise in adults with joint hypermobility syndrome and developmental co-ordination disorder.

Carol has presented original research on joint hypermobility syndrome and the treatment of children with acute traumatic brain injury. 

Research Officer

Lee Herrington, PhD, MCSP, CSCS

Chartered Neuromusculoskeletal and Sports Physiotherapist.

Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist.

Senior Lecturer – BSc Sports Rehabilitation.

School of Health Care Professions. University of Salford. Salford. UK.

Associate Lecturer – MSc Sports Physiotherapy.

Manchester Metropolitan University. Manchester. UK.

E-mail: L.C.Herrington@salford.ac.uk

Lee is a Chartered Neuromusculoskeletal and Sports Physiotherapist and Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist, a Senior Lecturer in Sports Rehabilitation at the University of Salford, an Associate Lecturer in Sports Physiotherapy at Manchester Metropolitan University and the Prince Faisal Sports Medicine Hospital in Riyhad, Saudi Arabia. Lee has worked with elite sportspersons for the last 15 years including time with Great Britain Rugby League and Wigan Warriors Rugby League Club. Also, Consultation work for a number of professional football clubs and individual elite level sportspersons from a multitude of sports including archery, athletics, swimming, triathlon, sailing, boxing and martial arts.

Lee has over 40 peer reviewed articles published in the field of exercise rehabilitation and a similar number of international conference presentations. He is a Member of the International Advisory Board to the journal Physical Therapy in Sport, and former Chair of the Training and Education Committee of the British Association of Sorts Rehabilitators and Trainers (BASRaT) from 1999 to 2005.

Education Officer

Public Relations Officer and Membership Secretary

Jane Simmonds, BPE, BAppSc, PG Cert, PG Dip, MA, MCSP, MMACP

Chartered Neuromusculoskeletal Physiotherapist.

Senior Lecturer – BSc Physiotherapy & MSc Neuromusculoskeletal Physiotherapy.

School of Health and Emergency Professions. University of Hertfordshire. Hertfordshire. UK.

Senior Physiotherapist.

Hospital of St John and St Elizabeth. London. UK.

Email: j.1.simmonds@herts.ac.uk

After completing a first degree Physical Education at the University of Western Australia, Jane undertook a degree in Physiotherapy followed by Post-Graduate training in Neuromusculoskeletal Physiotherapy at Curtin University. Jane has worked in a wide range of clinical and educational settings in both Australia and the UK. Her main clinical work has included working with elite and recreational athletes, occupational health groups, outpatients and private practice. Current clinical work is focused on promoting physical activity, functional rehabilitation, and the management of osteoporosis and hypermobility syndrome. Key educational work has included: co-organizing the MSc Sports Physiotherapy at University College London, leading modules in Clinical Education and Sports Injury Management; teaching and leading modules in Sport and Exercise Science and the BSc Sport Rehabilitation and Injury Prevention degree at Middlesex University; Visiting Lecturer to dance and exercise students at a variety of institutions on the subject of bone health and hypermobility syndrome.  Jane is currently a Senior Lecturer at the University of Hertfordshire where she leads modules and teaches on the undergraduate and post-graduate programmes.

In the field of exercise, Jane’s interests are the impact of systemic interrelationships on human performance and rehabilitation, motor learning and re-acquisition of skill, prevention and management of ill health through physical activity, and motivational psychology.

Jane has published and presented original research and clinical papers in the fields of physical activity, bone health, and hypermobility syndrome. She is currently undertaking a professional doctorate entitled ‘Advancing Practice in Osteoporosis and Hypermobility Syndrome’.

North East Regional Representative

Karen Storey, Grad Dip Phys, MCSP

Chartered Neuromusculoskeletal Physiotherapist.

UK Athletics (Sprints) Coach.

Physiotherapy Team Manager – Musculoskeletal Outpatients.

Newcastle Primary Care Trust. Newcastle. UK.

E-mail: storey811@btinternet.com

Karen qualified as a physiotherapist from Teeside University in 1990. She gained valuable rotational experience at the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle where she developed an interest in health promotion and exercise therapy. Since 1995 she has specialised in Musculoskeletal Outpatients working for Newcastle Primary Care Trust. Within her role as Team Manager she manages a private physiotherapy and sports injury clinic, supervises physiotherapists delivering exercise and inputs to the strategic direction of community cardiac care and weight management services.

Karen has been a competitive member of Gateshead Athletics Club since 1985, her main event being the 400m. Her personal experiences as an athlete and her clinical expertise as a physiotherapist are invaluable to her role as a sprints coach.

In exercise therapy, Karen’s special interests range from management of the elite athlete to management of long term conditions including cardiac rehabilitation and weight management.

Karen provides post-graduate training for physiotherapists specialising in musculoskeletal which incorporates the concepts of exercise therapy and she has lectured other health professionals on the role of exercise in cardiac rehabilitation. She recently received a national award for evidence of good practice for her work in developing home exercise programmes in cardiac care.

CPD officer

Paul Stern, BSc (Hons), MSc, MCSP

Chartered Physiotherapist

Consultant Exercise Physiologist

University Hospital of North Staffordshire NHS Trust

Company Director

New Leaf Trainers

Paul trained, initially, as a Fitness Instructor and Personal Training in London in 2000. In 2005 he completed a Physiotherapy Degree at Keele University. After qualifying, he immediately became involved in Exercise Therapy, working in the Cardiac Rehabilitation Department at the University Hospital of North Staffordshire and setting up Exercise on Prescription and Phase IV Cardiac Rehabilitation programmes at Keele University. He also worked as a part-time Physiotherapist with the Stoke City Football Club Academy. In 2006, He moved to Chester to study for a Masters Degree in Exercise and Nutrition Science.

Paul has since remained in Chester where he has become Director of New Leaf Trainers, a health promotion company. This has involved working with Western Cheshire PCT and delivering exercise classes for various clinical groups.

Paul has also recently returned to the Cardiac Rehabilitation Department at the University Hospital of North Staffordshire as Consultant Exercise Physiologist. Paul's main professional interests lie in the development of training courses for Physiotherapists in Exercise Prescription.

Diversity Officer

Sarah Jenkins, BSc (Hons), MCSP

Chartered Physiotherapist.

Lecturer Practitioner working at Poole Hospital Foundation Trust and Bournemouth University School of Physiotherapy.

E-mail: sjjenkins@bournemouth.ac.uk

Sarah has worked at Bournemouth University as a Lecturer Practitioner since the BSc(hons) Physiotherapy course started in 2005, where she is involved in the teaching and assessment of Musculoskeletal; Life development; Child Health; Preparing for Professional Practise; Cardiovascular and Respiratory Units, and is unit leader for the Lower quadrant musculoskeletal part of the course.

Previously Sarah has worked at Southampton University as a visiting lecturer on the Human Movement and Therapeutic Exercise Module, and clinically specialises in amputees and   rehabilitation of the lower limb in the orthopaedic out patient gym at Poole Hospital.  She also does a contractual musculoskeletal assessment clinic at a local GP practice.

Sarah has completed and passed McKenzie and Cyriax courses and attended Kinetic control and Practical Podiatric Biomechanics courses amongst others.

Socially, Sarah is a keen volleyball and badminton player and enjoys going to the gym, skiing and doing Body Balance and Pilates classes.

At the present time she has just got the go ahead to start a Professional Doctorate looking at objective assessment markers for the lower quadrant as an indication of functional exercise progression for ACL deficient patients.

Outcome Measures Officer

Colleen Balston BSc (Hons), MSc, MCSP, MMACP

Email: c.c.balston@herts.ac.uk

Colleen gained a degree in Physiotherapy in South Africa followed by MSc in Neuromusculoskeletal Physiotherapy at the University College London in 2000. Colleen has worked in a wide range of clinical and educational settings in both South Africa and in the UK.

Her main clinical work has included working with recreational athletes, occupational health groups, outpatients and private practice. Having always enjoyed rehabilitation, Colleen undertook the Polestar Pilates Rehabilitation Programme and has found it invaluable in motivating patients in helping them achieve their goals and independence.

Colleen is currently a Senior Lecturer at the University of Hertfordshire where she leads the undergraduate Advancing Neuromusculoskeletal Module and teaches on the undergraduate and post-graduate programmes. Colleen would like to see exercise prescription and rehabilitation fully establish itself at the forefront of all physiotherapy disciplines.

In the field of exercise, Colleen’s interests are prevention and management of ill health through physical activity, motivational exercise prescription and rehabilitation and clinical reasoning in exercise programme design and progression.