HeadFirst Physiotherapy

HeadFirst Physiotherapy Specialist Concussion, Sport and MSK Physiotherapist. Advanced training in Vestibular Rehab. www.headfirstphysiotherapy.com

09/08/2026

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Can a stronger neck reduce concussion risk? 🤔Yes. Save this or send it to an athlete who needs to see it. 💪A stronger, q...
06/08/2026

Can a stronger neck reduce concussion risk? 🤔

Yes. Save this or send it to an athlete who needs to see it. 💪

A stronger, quicker-reacting neck may help reduce how much the head accelerates during an impact, potentially reducing the forces transmitted to the brain.

Think of it like wearing a seatbelt- it can’t prevent every injury, but it may help reduce the forces your body experiences.

What does the research show? Greater neck strength and endurance and faster neck muscle activation have been associated with a lower concussion risk and reduced head acceleration during impacts.

Who should include neck training?
🏉 Rugby & AFL
⚽ Football / Gaelic
🥊 Combat sports
🏑 Hockey
🔄 Anyone returning to contact sport

Simple exercises to get started:
• Chin tucks
• Isometric holds
• Band-resisted neck exercises

Quality > heavy weight.

If you’ve had a concussion, don’t just strengthen your neck. A thorough assessment should determine whether your symptoms are coming from the brain, neck, vestibular system, vision or a combination.

The best concussion management combines:
🧠 Accurate assessment (using SCOAT6)
💪 Individualised rehabilitation
🏃 Safe return to sport

Why patients choose HeadFirst Physiotherapy ➡️1. Thorough AssessmentEvery appointment begins with understanding you, you...
02/08/2026

Why patients choose HeadFirst Physiotherapy ➡️

1. Thorough Assessment

Every appointment begins with understanding you, your injury and your goals, not just where it hurts.

2. Hands-on treatment: can help reduce pain and restore movement.

Depending on your injury, this might include:
✔ Manual therapy
✔ Dry needling
✔ Joint mobilisation
✔ Soft tissue techniques

3. Exercise Rehabilitation: Movement is medicine.

Your rehab is tailored to your lifestyle, sport and goals, so you can return stronger and with confidence.

4. Education: Knowledge drives recovery.

Understanding your injury empowers you to recover faster and stay injury-free. You’ll leave knowing:
✔ What’s causing your symptoms
✔ Why it’s happening
✔ What you can do yourself
✔ What recovery should realistically look like

5. Return to Performance

The goal isn’t just pain relief.

Some of my recent patient’s goals include:
🏃🏻‍♀️HYROX
🏑Hockey
🏓Padel
⚽️Football
🏃🏽Running
🕺Dance
👦🏻Keeping up with their kid

09/07/2026

One of the most important discussions I have with parents of young athletes and professional athletes alike is whether it’s safe to continue playing contact sport after multiple concussions.

The answer is rarely straightforward.

A previous concussion is one of the strongest predictors of sustaining another concussion, but it doesn’t automatically mean an athlete has to retire from sport.

What matters most is whether they’ve recovered fully and addressed the factors that may reduce future risk.

Current evidence suggests concussion risk may be reduced by improving:
💪 Neck strength
⚡ Reactive Balance
👀 Vision and sensorimotor control
🏃 Sport-specific neuromuscular training

This is why, before many professional athletes return to full contact, they’re expected to demonstrate objective physical benchmarks including neck strength relative to their teammates, alongside symptom resolution and sport-specific progression.

If you’ve sustained multiple concussions, the goal isn’t simply to get back on the field. It’s to complete full rehabilitation, address modifiable risk factors, and make an informed decision about returning to sport.

Every concussion is different. Every return-to-play decision should be too.

AFL

“Balance isn’t just about your legs.”But balance is actually a conversation between three systems:👀 Your vision👂 Your ve...
28/06/2026

“Balance isn’t just about your legs.”

But balance is actually a conversation between three systems:

👀 Your vision
👂 Your vestibular (inner ear) system
🦶 Your body’s proprioception (your sense of where you are in space)

When one of these systems isn’t working properly, common symptoms include:
• Dizziness
• Feeling unsteady
• Motion sensitivity
• Difficulty walking in busy environments

Exercises should be specific to impairments identified on assessment and may include:
• Gaze stabilisation
• Habituation
• Balance and gait retraining
• Dual-task training
• Functional rehabilitation

📍Headfirst Physiotherapy | Vestibular & Concussion Rehabilitation | Perth

26/06/2026

🧠For many people with persistent post-concussion symptoms, assessing the visual and vestibular systems is an essential part of the clinical picture.

When your visual and vestibular systems aren’t working together properly, you may experience:
⚡ Headaches
🤢 Nausea
💫 Dizziness
📱 Poor screen tolerance
📖 Difficulty reading or concentrating
🚶 Motion sensitivity

In this assessment, I’m screening:
🔹 VOR
🔹 Smooth pursuits
🔹 Saccades
🔹 Convergence
🔹 Visual Motion Sensitivity
🔹 Head Thrust Test
🔹 Dynamic Visual Acuity

Rehab should be individualised to the deficits we find, progressing visual tracking, vestibular loading, balance, dual-tasking and sensorimotor control.

In this reel you’ll see:
🏐 Ball toss drills
⬆️ Vertical tracking
🌈 Rainbow hand passes
🦵 Single-leg balance challenges

Concussion rehab is about much more than rest. The right assessment and targeted rehabilitation can make a significant difference in recovery and help people return confidently to school, work and sport.

Save this post or share it a physio colleague or someone recovering from a concussion.

vestibularphysio

Click link to book in person or via telehealth

25/06/2026

What is Vestibular physiotherapy?

Dizziness can arise from a range of causes including positional vertigo (BPPV), vestibular migraine, vestibular neuritis, concussion and vestibular hypo-function.

Symptoms can present as:
• Vertigo or room spinning
• Feeling off balance or unsteady
• Motion sensitivity
• Brain fog
• Nausea
• Visual motion sensitivity
• Dizziness when rolling in bed, looking up or turning quickly

A typical vestibular assessment may include:

1️⃣ Eye movement assessment
• Oculomotor screening (VOMS)
• Saccades
• Visual tracking

2️⃣ Vestibular function testing
• Vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR)
• Gaze stability

3️⃣ Cervical screening
• Neck mobility
• Cervicogenic contributors to dizziness

4️⃣ Positional testing for BPPV

5️⃣ Balance assessment

Treatment is individualised and may include repositioning manoeuvres, vestibular rehabilitation exercises, gaze stabilisation, balance retraining and graded return to work, exercise or sport.

📍Perth, WA

Three months ago, I took the leap and opened my own clinic, so I thought I’d properly introduce myself.Back then, I had ...
22/06/2026

Three months ago, I took the leap and opened my own clinic, so I thought I’d properly introduce myself.

Back then, I had a handful of patients and a lot of hope.

Today, I see 10–12 patients a day

Every single one of those appointments exists because someone trusted me. A patient told a friend. A GP referred someone. A specialist put their confidence in me. Someone shared my name.

For that, I am incredibly grateful.

Sometimes it’s an athlete desperate to get back to sport. Sometimes it’s someone whose injury is getting in the way of being able to work, care for their family, or enjoy the things they love. Sometimes it’s someone who feels like they’ve lost a part of themselves after a concussion.

Being trusted with that responsibility is something I never take for granted.

A little about me:

• 10 years working in sports physiotherapy
• 6 years working in concussion management
• Part-time lecturer at Curtin University across the Bachelor of Physiotherapy and Sports Physiotherapy Master’s programmes.
• Mermaid 🏊🏽‍♀️ Runner 🏃🏽‍♀️ Gym 🏋🏽‍♀️ Dancer 💃🏽

My clinical interests are sports injuries, dizziness and concussion rehabilitation, particularly helping people who feel stuck and unsure where to turn next.

The best part of my job isn’t treating injuries.

It’s seeing someone return to the things that make them who they are.

Whether that’s running, swimming, working, dancing, hiking, playing sport, or simply feeling like themselves again.

To everyone who has supported my clinic so far: thank you.

I’m just getting started.

19/06/2026

Running Series Part 3: In this reel I cover some of the most common injuries I see in runners as a sports physio + runner myself:

• Patellofemoral pain
• Achilles tendinopathy
• ITB syndrome
• Gluteal tendinopathy
• Bone stress injuries

A running gait analysis can sometimes help identify contributing factors like:
➡️ Overstriding
➡️ Excessive crossover gait
➡️ Pelvic drop
➡️ Cadence issues

For most runners, successful rehab involves:
✔️ Modifying load temporarily
✔️ Progressive strength training
✔️ Gradual return to running
✔️ Managing training volume/intensity

02/06/2026

Oculomotor dysfunction is one of the most common impairments post-concussion, yet it’s often overlooked in rehab. 👀

Visual and vestibular dysfunction can contribute to:
• motion sensitivity
• headaches
• nausea
• dizziness
• poor screen tolerance
• difficulty reading or focusing

In this assessment, I’m working through a comprehensive vestibulo-ocular and visual motion screen including:
🔹 VOR
🔹 Smooth pursuits
🔹 Saccades
🔹 Convergence
🔹 VMS
🔹 Head Thrust test
🔹 Dynamic Visual Acuity testing using a Snellen chart

Rehab then needs to be specific to the deficits identified, progressing visual tracking, vestibular loading, dual tasking, balance and sensorimotor control.

Exercises shown here include:
🏐 Ball toss drills
⬆️ Vertical tracking
🌈 Rainbow hand passes
🦵 Single leg balance challenges

Concussion rehab is far more than just rest targeted rehab can make a huge difference to recovery and return to school/uni/work and sport.


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1 Fred Burton Way
Perth, WA
6015

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