Holding her nerve for neuro physio

Zoe Anderson considers herself lucky. Before she even left high school, she knew exactly what career she wanted to pursue.

“You don’t hear this all that often these days, but I have known since I was a teenager that I wanted to be a physio,” says Zoe, who has worked as a physiotherapist since 2010, when she graduated with her bachelor’s degree.

“I wanted to help people and I also love movement and being active, so I merged the two and physio was the perfect choice.” 

It wasn’t until partway through her degree that Zoe found her niche when she discovered neurological physiotherapy. She vividly remembers a clinical placement in the third year of her studies.

“When I did the neuro physio placement, I thought, ‘Wow, this is very, very cool’. I absolutely fell in love with it,” she says. “I instantly thought it was the most fascinating job, and I’ve never looked back.”

After a few years testing out all areas of physiotherapy in both Victoria and the Northern Territory, Zoe returned to Melbourne and secured her first role as a senior neurological physiotherapist.

Lifelong learning

Physio is not all about treating athletic types for injuries incurred in the sporting arena.

Neurological physiotherapists specialise in treating patients with conditions affecting the central nervous system, which consists of the brain and spinal cord, and the peripheral nervous system, which sends information to and from the central nervous system to the rest of the body. This includes common conditions like stroke, Parkinson’s and multiple sclerosis, and rarer conditions like muscular dystrophies and ataxias.

“Some of our neuro patients have incredibly complex conditions that cause very specific symptoms and impairments,” says Zoe, who points out that neuro physios also work closely with the vestibular system, helping with symptoms of vertigo, spinning, imbalance and disequilibrium.

“As a practitioner, it’s uniquely challenging and endlessly interesting. You need to be creative and always willing to learn new things with every single patient. I’ve never met two clients that present the same.”

This passion for problem-solving and constant learning led Zoe to deepen her expertise through a Graduate Certificate in Rehabilitation at ACU. She took the course online, allowing her to fit her studies around family commitments and her new business Neurological Physiotherapy Geelong, which she co-founded with Rosie Marsiglio in 2020.

“I was being taught by these amazing neuro clinicians from all over the country, literally without having to leave my loungeroom,” says Zoe, who tailored the ACU course to suit her neuro speciality. 

“I chose the units to meet my exact clinical needs, and that allowed me to apply the learning to my patients almost immediately. It’s so rewarding and humbling to see the positive effect you can have on the lives of people, using your skills and expertise to help others.” 

Part of the community

For a neurological physiotherapist, helping can mean anything from assisting with someone’s positioning in bed or a wheelchair, through to supporting someone to reach their goal of running in a marathon.

“Playing a part in helping a patient to achieve a meaningful physical goal is the best part of our job as neuro physios, and the ‘gee, I love my job’ moments,” Zoe says.

“That can look so different depending on the circumstances. I've just helped someone with a progressive neurological condition to get out of bed for the first time in three months so she could marry her partner before she passes away. Then there’s the Parkinson's client who just got back on a horse for the first time in a decade, and a stroke client who was so happy to swim a whole lap of the pool again that her goggles filled with tears.”

Having grown up in a rural area, Zoe also feels strongly about providing regional communities with high-quality physiotherapy services. 

“I was raised on a farm in western Victoria, and I’ve always wondered what would happen if a family member or someone else living rurally received some type of neuro diagnosis – they’re generally not going to get a high level of care compared to those in a big city like Melbourne,” she says.

“That’s one of the things we’re proud of at Neuro Physio Geelong – we bring a high level of care to places that haven’t always benefitted from it. That includes Geelong and the surrounding areas but also places further afield into western Victoria. Extending our reach is a big goal and something we are continuously chipping away at.”

No matter who she is treating, Zoe considers herself fortunate to work in a field that she finds endlessly rewarding and enjoyable.

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