Clinical management of the unstable shoulder: from early loading to advanced control

Presented by Margie Olds

Shoulder instability remains a challenging condition in sports rehabilitation. Athletes may appear strong but still report apprehension, loss of control, or recurrent instability during sport-specific tasks.  This practical workshop will explore the clinical management of shoulder instability, focusing on rehabilitation strategies that restore control, load tolerance and confidence in the unstable shoulder. The session will emphasise direction-specific rehabilitation, with particular focus on anterior and posterior rotator cuff function and how these contribute to dynamic stability.

Participants will review key clinical assessment findings that guide rehabilitation decisions, including identifying deficits in rotator cuff control, scapular contribution and coordination under load. The workshop will then present practical rehabilitation protocols, including subscapularis and infraspinatus loading strategies, and progressions that integrate scapular control and co-contraction where appropriate.

Through case examples and practical demonstrations, clinicians will learn how to progress rehabilitation from early control to advanced loading. By the end of the session, participants will have a clear framework to guide exercise selection and progression when managing athletes with shoulder instability.

About Margie

Dr Margie Olds is a leading shoulder physiotherapist based in Auckland, New Zealand. She has extensive international experience, having worked in New Zealand, the USA and the UK, and has also worked in elite sport, including as lead physiotherapist for British Canoeing at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games. She now consults with elite athletes in New Zealand.

Margie has combined her successful clinical career with a research career, principally investigating shoulder instability. Her master’s research investigated active stiffness in the unstable shoulder, and her PhD examined recurrent instability read more

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Using biomechanical data to inform clinical decision making in the rehabilitation of foot and ankle surgery

Presented Dr Chris Bishop

Gait analysis provides clinicians with valuable insight into the biomechanical factors that influence movement dysfunction, injury risk, and recovery following lower-limb pathology. However, many allied health practitioners lack a clear clinical framework for integrating gait assessment findings into practical rehabilitation strategies. This workshop will present a structured approach for performing clinical gait analysis and translating biomechanical data into patient-specific rehabilitation programs.

Participants will be introduced to key components of gait assessment, including observational analysis, three-dimensional motion capture, force plate data, and spatiotemporal metrics. The workshop will demonstrate how these measures can be interpreted to identify underlying impairments such as joint loading asymmetries, altered kinematics, and compensatory movement patterns. Attendees will then be guided through a practical framework for linking these findings to targeted rehabilitation interventions, including strength training, neuromuscular control, and gait retraining strategies.

By the end of the workshop, participants will gain practical tools to incorporate gait analysis into clinical decision-making and optimise patient outcomes in musculoskeletal rehabilitation.

About Chris

Dr Chris Bishop is a leading sports and orthopaedic podiatrist and lower-limb biomechanist based in Adelaide, South Australia. Chris is a trained podiatrist, holds a PhD in biomechanics, is a Fellow of the Australasian Sports Medicine Federation and an Adjunct Senior Research Fellow at Adelaide University.

At The Biomechanics Lab, Chris leads one of Australia’s largest private gait analysis facilities, consisting of a team of sports and orthopaedic podiatrists, physiotherapists, biomechanists, sports scientist and engineers. Their mission to read more

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Calf muscle strain injuries in athletes and active people: early clinical evaluation, rehabilitation, and preventing failed management

Presented by Dr Brady Green

Calf muscle strain injuries challenge practitioners in all settings. Return to play time frames can vary and be difficult to predict, and athletes are prone to recurrence. Part of the contemporary challenge is specifically within uncertainty around capacity evaluation, loading progression, and how/ why injury characteristics such as aponeurosis involvement guide decision-making.

This practical workshop will explore contemporary approaches to the assessment, rehabilitation and prevention of calf muscle strain injuries, translating current evidence into clinically relevant practice.

Participants will work through key elements of clinical assessment and rehabilitation planning, including exercise selection, load progression and monitoring strategies. The workshop will emphasise clinical reasoning to guide rehabilitation design and progression, with a focus on restoring load tolerance and reducing recurrence risk. Case-based discussion and practical demonstrations will be implemented throughout, with a focus on how to adapt the approach across different recovery stages – and considering relevant intrinsic factors/ individualisation. The session will also address common challenges in managing calf injuries in athletic populations, considering sports-specific demands.

About Brady

Dr Brady Green is a Senior Lecturer at The University of Notre Dame Australia, an Adjunct Senior Lecturer at La Trobe University and the Western Australian Chair for Sports Medicine Australia. Brady is internationally recognised for his expertise in calf muscle injuries. He completed his award-winning PhD in 2021 and has since become a key contributor to advancing the assessment, management and prevention of calf strain injuries. He led the calf pain chapter in the forthcoming edition of Brukner & Khan’s Clinical Sports Medicine and has contributed to major international resources including the FC Barcelona Muscle Injury Guide and the Aspetar Sports Medicine Journal. Prior to his academic career, read more

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Essential skills for optimal concussion care

Presented by James McLoughlin

Optimal concussion management requires more than basic symptoms and cognitive screens. Contemporary evidence supports targeted, domain-specific assessment and rehabilitation addressing the interacting systems affected by head acceleration injury. Clinicians must be confident in screening, interpreting and integrating findings across vestibular, visual, cervical, balance, cognitive, autonomic, sleep and psychological domains to design effective recovery plans.

Emphasis will be placed on clinical reasoning — identifying patterns of dysfunction, recognising overlapping impairments, and determining which domains require prioritised intervention. Participants will also explore how assessment findings inform staged return-to-learn, return-to-work and return-to-play decisions, and how early targeted rehabilitation may influence recovery trajectories.

Emerging approaches to multimodal assessment and longitudinal data capture will be discussed, highlighting how structured screening can improve objectivity, communication and outcome tracking across settings.

By the conclusion of this workshop, clinicians will feel more confident conducting structured multimodal assessments, synthesising findings within a systems-based framework, and implementing integrated multidisciplinary rehabilitation strategies that reduce unnecessary delays and support optimal recovery outcomes.

About James

James McLoughlin, PhD, MSc (Clinical Neuroscience), BAppSc (Physio) is an internationally recognised clinician, academic, and educator with over 25 years of experience specialising in neurological rehabilitation, vestibular physiotherapy and movement science. James holds a Master’s in Clinical Neuroscience with Distinction from the Institute of Neurology (Queen Square), University College London, and a PhD from the University of New South Wales. He is the Director of Advanced Neuro Rehab in Adelaide, Australia, where he continues to work with patients while supervising and mentoring physiotherapy teams. He remains read more

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Practical podiatric dermatology – one layer at a time

Presented by Joseph Frenkel

Join Joseph Frenkel for an interactive and practical session where he explores an innovative way of understanding podiatric dermatology. This session will cover the most common skin and nail conditions seen in everyday practice to build your knowledge by integrating the latest science, diagnostic tools and treatment algorithms to give you next-day skills for improved patient outcomes.

About Joseph

Joseph is a podiatrist and academic with a decade of study and over 20 years of clinical experience. His primary work is in podiatric dermatology and is currently the consulting podiatrist at the Skin Health Institute, as well as in his private practice Heel Me Podiatry. Joseph also holds academic positions at several universities both in Australia and internationally, is a reviewer for medical journals and regularly presents locally and abroad. Read more

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Assessment and management of hip and groin pain – what’s new for clinicians?

Presented by Associate Professor Andrea Mosler

Over the past decade, there has been major changes to terminology, assessment, categorisation, and understanding of the pathological drivers for hip and groin pain. This practical workshop presents an evidence-informed approach to the assessment and management of these conditions in active adults, covering hip and groin pain categorisation and diagnosis guided by consensus recommendations, measurement of impairments, and physiotherapist-led management. Clinicians will learn practical skills to enhance their clinical reasoning and treatment planning for hip and groin pain presentations outcomes.

About Andrea

Associate Professor Andrea Mosler is a Specialist Sports and Exercise Physiotherapist and Associate Professor at La Trobe Sport and Exercise Medicine Research Centre. Her research focuses on injury prevention in football, hip/groin pain, and women in sport projects. Andrea is currently leading injury and illness surveillance in the Australian A-Leagues and is the Victorian Lead for the PACE-RURAL multi-centre project. Read more

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How do we rehabilitate a dizzy patient? A practical workshop including progression and regression of treatment approaches.

Presented by Professor Trudy Rebbeck

Management of a patient presenting with dizziness begins with careful differential diagnosis. Physiotherapists commonly assess conditions such as concussion, vestibular disorders (e.g., vestibular hypofunction) and cervicogenic dizziness. However, even once a diagnosis becomes clearer, clinicians often face the challenge of deciding where to begin treatment and how to appropriately progress or modify rehabilitation as recovery evolves.

In this workshop, participants will:

1. Improve knowledge and practical skills in key clinical tests used to assist with differential diagnosis between common dizziness diagnoses.
2. Design and practice rehabilitation strategies for patients with dizziness, including how to progress and regress vestibular, sensorimotor and manual therapy approaches.

The workshop will used interactive case-based learning to integrate evidenced-based approaches with advanced clinical reasoning.

About Trudy

Prof. Trudy Rebbeck is a Specialist Musculoskeletal Physiotherapist and an internationally recognised clinician-researcher. Trudy maintains a clinical caseload in primary care, specialising in the assessment and management of complex cervical spine and head disorders including dizziness, whiplash, headache and concussion. Her workshops are highly practical and clinically focused, translating current research into strategies clinicians can apply immediately in practice.

Trudy is also a Professor at The University of Sydney, where her research read more

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Not just a simple ankle sprain: the causes and consequences of ankle instability

Presented by Dr Sue Mayes

Lateral ankle sprain is the most common injury in sport that often leads to chronic ankle instability. The index injury typically occurs in adolescence, yet, how often is this injury managed effectively to prevent recurrence? Ankle instability can cause pain, swelling, stiffness, giving-way and loss confidence in balance tasks and complex movements, can masquerade as other ankle conditions, and may eventually lead to osteoarthritis. In this practical workshop, participants will explore contemporary, evidence-based approaches to the diagnosis, prevention and rehabilitation of chronic ankle instability. Drawing on current research and clinical experience, the workshop will focus on key elements of assessment, identifying contributing factors, and designing effective rehabilitation strategies to improve stability, function and long-term outcomes.

About Sue

Dr Sue Mayes AM is a senior lecturer in physiotherapy at La Trobe University in a teaching and research role within the School of Allied Health, Human Sciences and Sport. Sue is an internationally renowned physiotherapist and specialist in managing hip, ankle and foot injuries, especially in elite ballet dancers and athletes. In 2020, her contribution to professional dancers’ health was recognised with a Member of the Order of Australia (AM). Sue was the Director of Artistic health and Principal Physiotherapist of The Australian Ballet from 1997 to 2025. She was awarded read more

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Exercise your clinical reasoning – sharpen the tools you already have

Presented by Tim Mitchell

Physiotherapists frequently seek more tools for their toolbox. Perhaps making better use of the tools you already have can improve your patient outcomes as well as your satisfaction as a clinician. Clinical reasoning underpins your development as a physiotherapist, but it is a skill that is often not explicitly worked on. This workshop is an opportunity to improve your understanding of what clinical reasoning is and how to apply practical strategies to exercise it in your clinic.

About Tim

Tim Mitchell is a Specialist Musculoskeletal Physiotherapist based in Western Australia with a PhD focused on low back pain. He combines ongoing clinical practice with academic and educational roles, working clinically three days per week while also teaching on the Curtin University Master of Clinical Physiotherapy programs.

Tim has a strong interest in translating research into practical strategies that improve patient outcomes in musculoskeletal care. He is the lead author of the Musculoskeletal Clinical Translation Framework ,a widely used resource designed to help clinicians integrate contemporary pain science and evidence-based practice into everyday clinical decision-making. In addition to his clinical and academic roles, read more

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The power of safe and effective GEMt dry needling

Presented by Robert De Nardis

This GEMt Workshop is designed for current dry needling practitioners who are seeking to refine and expand their clinical skills. Prior to attending, delegates will be required to complete short online modules covering safety, true informed consent, and the latest insights underpinning the neurophysiological impact of dry needling.

This 3-hour practical workshop will highlight the unique clinical application of the GEMt Dry Needling ‘Procedure’. Small group demonstrations will be followed by supervised practical, with a strong focus on clinical safety and outcomes. We will review commonly treated muscles in clinical practice, while also exploring more challenging muscles that significantly enhance patient outcomes.

This workshop offers three clear guarantees: it will challenge the way you view the human body, take your dry needling skills to the next level, and we will show you the power of safe and effective dry needling using the GEMt approach. Wear warm comfortable clothes, closed toe shoes and bring an inquisitive/open mind. All delegates will receive a GEMt Starter pack.

Muscles covered in this workshop include: QL, Abs, Lats, I/Spin, Pec Major/Minor, Upper/Lower Traps, Lev Scap, VMO, Add Longus/Gracilis.

About Robert

Robert De Nardis is a physiotherapist with more than 35 years of experience in the industry. Throughout his career he has worked with elite sporting teams across multiple codes, including the NBL, AFL/VFL, state rugby union and national track and field teams. As well as a unique background in whiplash treatment and research, having several publications in the field, Robert has been instrumental in the development of technology that has revolutionised how chronic neck problems are rehabilitated. There are over 100 clinics worldwide utilising Robert’s management and treatment protocols inclusive of the UK Airforce read more

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Radial shockwave therapy: evidence, application and practice 

Sponsored by EMS

Presented by Ben Day

Shockwave therapy has evolved from a niche treatment for chronic tendinopathies into a versatile modality with expanding applications in musculoskeletal rehabilitation. This workshop provides a clinically focused overview, combining foundational principles, emerging evidence and practical implementation.

Participants will review general shockwave therapy principles and traditional clinical indications, establishing a framework for understanding treatment mechanisms and patient selection. The session will then narrow its focus to radial shockwave therapy, exploring its specific physical properties and how these influence tissue response and therapeutic outcomes. The session will then explore emerging applications in acute rehabilitation, particularly muscle strains. A case series involving hamstring strains in three elite athletes will be presented to illustrate clinical reasoning, treatment parameters, progression strategies, and observed outcomes in high-performance settings. The workshop will conclude with a guided hands-on session, allowing participants to practise techniques and gain confidence integrating radial shockwave therapy into clinical practice.

By the end of the session, participants will understand shockwave therapy principles, established and emerging indications, and practical approaches for incorporating this modality into both chronic and acute rehabilitation.

About Ben

Ben has been a physiotherapist in Australia and Europe for over 23 years. After completing a Bachelor of Science (Human Movement and Psychology) at UWA in 2000, Ben entered the profession after completing a Master of Physiotherapy at Curtin University in 2003. During his career, Ben has worked in private practice with athletes from several top-level sporting clubs, including the Adelaide Crows, Queensland Reds, and the Northern Irish Institute of Sport. Ben has also worked in some of the top public and private hospitals. While Ben enjoys the generalist role of a physiotherapist, he has developed a particular interest in upper limb injuries of the shoulder, elbow and hand.

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