Collision Sports

After qualifying as a Chartered Physiotherapist from Salford School of Physiotherapy in September 1982, David started his career at Ancoats Hospital in Manchester. After two years as a Basic Grade Physiotherapist, he was offered a position at the BeaumontHospital in Bolton to establish a Sports Injury Clinic in the evenings. This gave him an early introduction into the injuries sustained in numerous sports - table tennis to rugby, skateboarding to soccer. It was at this point he had to make a decision on whether to continue with his own sporting career in rugby union or continue his development as a Chartered Physiotherapist in Sports Medicine. On choosing the latter option, he obtained a Senior 2 post at Ancoats Hospital in Out Patients and Orthopaedics and within two years was offered the Superintendent Physiotherapist Post at the Beaumont Hospital, even though he was only 25 years old, which he accepted.

In developing the Out Patient Services at the Beaumont, David took on the post of Chartered Physiotherapist to Leigh Rugby League Club where he worked for four years. In this post, he gained much valuable experience on the treatment of acute and chronic injury, working with very limited resources. During this time, even though Leigh were a second division team, he was offered and accepted the post of Chartered Physiotherapist to the Great Britain Rugby League Team, touring New Zealand and Papua New Guinea in the summer of 1990. On his return from the trip, he took up the post of Superintendent Physiotherapist at Fairfield Independent Hospital, St Helens to develop a new rehabilitation centre for professional and amateur, sportsmen and women. At the same time, he made the move from Leigh to their great rivals, Wigan Rugby League Club, which coupledwith the international post took him to various parts of the world to be involved in all of the games domestic and international fixtures for the next 3 years. He toured Australia with the Great Britain Rugby League team in the summer of 1992 and returned again to be involved with the inaugural World Rugby League Sevens in Sydney in the winter of 1994. This time commitment added to his full time post at Fairfield continued until the summer of 1994 when he accepted the post of Senior Physiotherapist to Manchester United Football Club. This high profile job allowed David to devote his total time to providing a complete medical service for the playing staff at this world renowned club. A new sport, a new challenge but one he is fully committed to in order to raise the medical standards of care in the game and continue to develop his own professional skills.

His various posts have all allowed him to attend many post registration courses, including the inaugural, two year, CSP validated Diploma in Sports Physiotherapy at Crewe and Alsager College. At the same time as being involved in numerous sports injury related issues, he has continued to develop his professional skills in the hospital environment, a factor he feels is vital in providing and maintaining a good sound base to specialise from, whatever the physiotherapists preference is.

During his career, he has lectured in the United Kingdom and abroad on numerous subjects related to sports injuries and rehabilitation, particularly on lower limb injuries and isokinetics, his two favoured subjects. Teaching and lecturing have enabled him to keep in touch with the real world of physiotherapy, particularly since he had to give up his hospital post to become involved in full-time professional soccer. He has also been involved in numerous television programmes such as `Bodyheat and `Boots n All and made contributions to various journals and books related to sports injuries.