Our physiotherapists are experts in spinal conditions. They work collaboratively with our medical specialists, exercise physiologists and remedial massage therapists to help achieve the optimal outcome. Our physiotherapists will assess you, diagnose your problem, and formulate a treatment plan which may include correcting biomechanical abnormalities, modifying your movement patterns, improving your posture and developing guidelines for return to normal activity.
Bachelor of Physiotherapy (Honours) | University of Queensland
Kate treats surgical and non-surgical patients who have complex spinal problems. She helps guide and support them through their rehabilitation journey. Since qualifying, Kate spent 4 years working as a physiotherapist before taking on a role as a medical sales representative for a spinal implant company for almost 10 years. Her contact with spine surgeons in this capacity has advanced her knowledge of spines and inspired her to return to her profession as a physiotherapist at BackSpace. Kate’s extensive knowledge of spine surgery and physiotherapy gives her a unique perspective and understanding of patients suffering from back pain and recovering from major surgery. Backspace is very fortunate to have such an experienced and dedicated healthcare professional as part of the team.
Bachelor of Science | University of Queensland
Masters of Physiotherapy Studies | University of Queensland
Rebecca joins BackSpace with four years of clinical physiotherapy experience in private practice. Her primary role at BackSpace is to care for patients who have undergone spine surgery. Rebecca greets patients immediately after their procedure in the recovery area in hospital then closely monitors every patient’s rehabiliation after surgery as part of the clinical team at post-operative appointments in the clinic. Rebecca really enjoys the team environment at BackSpace and the collaborative approach to care that helps us work towards better patient outcomes. Clinical pilates is also an area of physiotherapy that is of particular interest to Rebecca as it allows patients to adopt an active approach to their rehabilitation.
Our exercise physiologists specialize in clinical interventions which are exercise-based, provide education, advice and support. There is a strong focus on achieving behavioural change. They will look at your lifestyle and goals, and design an exercise programme taking into account the physiotherapy recommendations. They will prescribe the right exercises, show you how to do them and monitor your progress during your recovery.
Bachelor of Clinical Exercise Physiology | Queensland University of Technology
Felicity is a founding clinician at Backspace and our senior Exercise Physiologist with 5 years of specialized experience in treating patients with back pain and rehabilitation after spine surgery or injury. Outside of BackSpace, she also assists with managing her family’s gym and enjoys traveling overseas with friends and family.
Bachelor of Clinical Exercise Physiology | Queensland University of Technology
Masters of Philosophy in Exercise Physiology | Queensland University of Technology (to be completed 2024)
Matt is an ESSA Accredited Exercise Physiologist with 15 years of experience delivering personal, group, corporate and community health services for diverse patient populations. He is skilled and experienced in multidisciplinary and multimodal rehabilitative and preventative settings. Matt joins the Backspace clinical team with a commitment to delivering high quality, evidence-based, person-centred clinical care and outcomes to patients in musculoskeletal and chronic pain rehabilitation.
Our remedial massage therapists are trained to provide specialized treatment for all spinal conditions. They will treat painful and tight areas with massage, stretching cupping, and dry needling, working collaboratively with our physiotherapists and exercise physiologists. They will decrease pain, release muscle tension and release tight tissues to decrease pain and speed up your recovery.
Diploma of Remedial Massage / Australian Natural Therapies Association
Bachelor of Psychological Science / Queensland University of Technology (due to be completed 2025)
Julian has joined BackSpace with the highest praise for his skills as a Remedial Massage Therapist; that of a patient who had spine surgery. Julian specialises in assessment, treatment, and management of soft tissue injury, pain, and dysfunction of the musculoskeletal system. Having worked as a hands-on-therapist, clinical director and lecturer in areas of remedial massage and soft-tissue therapy, Julian is passionate about health and fitness viewed through a bio-psycho-social lens. This passion has evolved into further study to obtain qualifications as a Clinical Psychologist.
As part of medical professional team, our nurse is the liaison between our medical specialists and our allied health professionals. She is involved in the assessment and management of your condition.
Bachelor of Nursing | Australian Catholic University
Kathleen has been nursing for 12 years and has extensive experience as a Radiology Nurse assisting Radiologists with interventional procedures such as CT guided injections (nerve root blocks and facet joint injections and many more), biopsies, peripheral and central lines, and exercise stress tests. She accepted a nursing position as a Clinical Nurse for Spine Surgeon Dr Paul Licina in 2019 and feels she has found her true calling in the healthcare sector; treating people suffering from all types of spinal conditions. Kathleen’s role at BackSpace involves assessing patients’ conditions, liaising with the Spine Surgeon and Pain Specialists, and coordinating timely treatment plans. This type of nursing sub-specialization in the fields of Radiology and Spine Surgery is rare! BackSpace is fortunate to have such a caring and dedicated nursing professional as part of the team.
Bachelor of Exercise and Sports Science | Australian Catholic University
Florina joins BackSpace with over two years of experience as a Dental Assistant, a job she undertook whilst studying. Florina is currently completing a Bachelor of Exercise and Sports Science at the Australian Catholic University. Her role at BackSpace involves welcoming patients to the clinic, accommodating practitioner needs and maintaining the clinic, amongst other administrative duties. Her enthusiasm and friendly demeanour is uplifting for both patients and her co-workers, and allows for her to form meaningful connections.
Bachelor of Psychological Science | Bond University
Bachelor of Psychological Science (Honours) | Bond University (to be completed 2023)
Natasha is a founding team member of Backspace and responsible for the administrative processes that are so important in the clinical care of patients. Her role involves the regular analysis of administrative processes to ensure that clinicians and management are able to perform their roles optimally. Natasha also coordinates the clinical placements for university students who rotate through Backspace. Another aspect of this task for Natasha is to ensure that Backspace’s philosophy of nurturing students of health sciences and encouraging professional development of its team members is maintained to the highest standard. Natasha’s career goal is to become a practicing Clinical Psychologist in the field of Child Psychology after the completion of her Honours and Masters qualifications. Natasha is also fascinated by the psychology of pain and how it can be applied in the management of pain in everyday life. Her insight in this field makes her a valuable and treasured member of the Backspace team.
Bachelor of Exercise & Sports Science (Honours) | University of the Sunshine Coast (to be completed in 2023)
Masters of Clinical Exercise Physiology | Australian Catholic University (to be completed in 2024)
Patrick leads the research team at BackSpace and coordinates all the current research projects. He is currently working very hard to complete his studies and intends to gain acceptance into the post-graduate Bachelor of Medicine degree with a desire to become a doctor. His role involves liaising with medical professionals, allied health professionals, research participants, university research departments, and spinal implant companies. Another key aspect of Patrick’s role is the presentation of the team’s research at medical conferences around Australia and the world. This has led to wonderful travel and professional development opportunities.
Among other projects, Patrick heads the research team currently studying the Reactiv8 system which is an implantable neurostimulation system that uses a new rehabilitative therapy that stimulates the nerves of the muscle directly responsible for stabilising your lumbar spine. The therapy is designed to restore lumbar muscle control and aims to interrupt the back’s cycle of pain, degeneration, and loss of function.
Bachelor of Health Science | University of Queensland
Chelsea completed her Bachelor of Health Sciences in 2018 as part of the Provisional Entry pathway for the Doctor of Medicine Programme at the University of Queensland. She accepted a position to work with Spine Surgeon Dr Paul Licina in his administrative team, designing pathways and protocols for surgical patients. More recently, Chelsea has worked as a Clinical Assistant for Dr Licina, helping patients navigate the surgical journey. This involved the implementation of a data-derived triage process to direct patients with spine pathology to the appropriate clinician. Chelsea’s previous research has focused on fusion rates and patient-reported outcome measures for patients undergoing lumbar fusion surgery with three different bone graft materials. Chelsea’s experience, knowledge and education has proved valuable to the research being conducted at Backspace.
Bachelor of Clinical Exercise Physiology | Queensland University of Technology
Masters of Philosophy in Exercise Physiology | Queensland University of Technology (to be completed 2024)
In addition to joining the Backspace team of treating clinicians, Matt has also dedicated his professional life to education and research in his field. He currently holds a position as an academic Tutor and Assessor for Musculoskeletal, Neurological & Occupational Disorders, AEP Business Practice, and 4th Year Practicum at QUT. Matt brings to the research team further studies in advanced research skills, critical evaluation of information and effective management of information and research data, and a special interest in returning patients to functional capacity post-orthopaedic surgery, as well as the neuroscience of pain.
Bachelor of Physiotherapy | University of Queensland (to be completed 2024)
Whilst Rachel is currently completing her studies in Physiotherapy, she is working hard to be accepted into a post-graduate degree of Bachelor of Medicine soon. Rachel is passionate about health and wellness and possesses an empathetic nature that is suited to the healthcare industry. She is also the very definition of a person who is competent at multi-tasking. These qualities are both valuable and necessary in Rachel’s role as part of the research team and the Backspace administration team.
Rachel is a member of the research team currently studying the Reactiv8 system which is an implantable neurostimulation system that uses a new rehabilitative therapy that stimulates the nerves of the muscle directly responsible for stabilising your lumbar spine. The therapy is designed to restore lumbar muscle control and aims to interrupt the back’s cycle of pain, degeneration, and loss of function.
Bachelor of Biomedical Science | University of Queensland
Megan joined the research team with a keen interest in clinical research and the opportunities it provides for further medical study. She is passionate about healthcare and is working hard to secure a position in the post-graduate degree of Bachelor of Medicine in the near future. Apart from research, Megan performs varied administrative roles at BackSpace, as well as that of Clinical Assistant to Dr Paul Licina at SpinePlus. This gives Megan a deep understanding of back pain, surgical options and rehabilitation. Her knowledge of all aspects of a patient’s journey to wellness make her a valuable member of the research team.
Bachelor of Laws (Honours) | University of Queensland
Bachelor of Exercise and Sports Science | Griffith University
Masters of Physiotherapy | University of Queensland (to be completed 2025)
After making a decision to change her career from Law and enter the health services sector, Xanthe has also completed a Bachelor of Exercise Science with the view toward completing a Masters in Physiotherapy. She has always been interested in human movement and injury rehabilitation. The satisfaction of helping people recover from injury and the learning opportunities that each person offers explains why Xanthe was drawn to clinical research.
Among other projects, Patrick heads the research team currently studying the Reactiv8 system which is an implantable neurostimulation system that uses a new rehabilitative therapy that stimulates the nerves of the muscle directly responsible for stabilising your lumbar spine. The therapy is designed to restore lumbar muscle control and aims to interrupt the back’s cycle of pain, degeneration, and loss of function.
We are affiliated with SpinePlus, a group of medical specialists who treat spinal disorders. They include Dr Paul Licina, Spine Surgeon, Dr Brendan Moore, Specialist Pain Physician, Dr Ben Manion, Specialist Rehabilitation Physician, Dr Sami Ahmad, Specialist Pain Physician and Dr Angus Forbes, Occupational Specialist Physician.
