Samantha Whiteson

BSc (Hons) Physiotherapy

Sam is passionate about her vocation, Physiotherapy, and sets only the highest expectations of herself. As a truly enthusiastic and self-motivated individual, Sam aims to achieve the highest standards of evidence based practice in the assessment and management of every patient.

After graduating from the University of Liverpool in 2005, with a BSc (Hons) in Physiotherapy, Sam secured her first role as a Sports Physiotherapist with the Sale Sharks Rugby Academy. There she spent all of her spare time learning from the senior physio and helping out with the First Team.

In 2007 an opportunity arose to work with a professional National 1 Rugby League team, Widnes Vikings, which Sam duly took and enjoyed two seasons as the team's Physiotherapist. During her time there, she was in charge of a busy Physiotherapy department, coordinating a team of sports therapists whilst implementing injury prevention strategies and a player screening system. The team was successful, winning the National Rail Cup and coming second in the league.

In 2008, Sam joined the Northampton Saints, working with a team of excellent Physiotherapists and a world class Performance department. It was a role in which she thrived; the variety of injuries she treated whilst working in rugby demanded expansive knowledge across a diverse spectrum of problems, which meant that she was required to be multi-skilled and knowledgeable in all areas of Musculoskeletal Physiotherapy. This stimulated Sam's next step; to seek out further education and formal learning.

She embarked upon an MSc in Manual Therapy (Advanced Physiotherapy Techniques) in 2010 at Coventry University. During the first year of the degree course, she began to realise that she was not fulfilling the full potential of the level of knowledge and skills that she had acquired while working in sport. So, when Sam was offered a job at the Blackberry Clinic, she jumped at the chance, confident that the role would give her the opportunity to apply the knowledge she had gained across a broad spectrum of patients. And she has found that this multidisciplinary clinic has an inspirational ethos. She particularly enjoys working closely with the physicians and other practitioners to ensure a professionally co-ordinated, holistic management of every patient.

And in November 2011, Sam was the Lead Physio for the Arsenal Ladies football team during their tour of Japan, as part of the Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami Relief fundraising effort. Find out more in our News section.

Although it would seem that her specialty is sports injuries, Sam is a diverse Physiotherapist with experience of working with a wide variety of musculoskeletal conditions as well as attending many postgraduate courses, including: Acupuncture, Core Stability Theory and Training, World Congress on Low Back Pain (Barcelona), Myofascial Release, Tendinopathy in Sport, Sporting Hip and Groin, Mulligan's Concept, Clinical Reasoning for the Cervical and Lumbar Spine, Sensory Motor Training, Functional Rehabilitation Programmes, Tissue Repair and the RFU Foot and Ankle Conference.