Matthew Hogan is an exercise physiologist who has worked in clinics across both Sydney and Canberra. We know him as someone who has experience with both private practice and in sport, and learned under some of the best clinicians Australia has to offer.
But what else don’t we know about Matt?
Q: Can you share a bit about your journey to becoming an Exercise Physiologist? What sparked your interest in this field?
Matt: I had always been interested in the late stage rehabilitation side of Exercise Physiologist, but growing up, always assuming that was a Physiotherapists role. I had initially gone to university with the aim of becoming a Physiotherapist, but once I found out about Exercise Physiology and what our role is in health, I immediately changed my focus and where I took my studies.
Q: What is your philosophy when it comes to patient care, especially in a physiotherapy setting like Precision Physio?
Matt: My philosophy is based off some of the work I have been lucky enough to do in semi-professional and professional sport. I believe that every patient I work with deserves the same attention to detail, focus and ultimately, exercise prescription, someone in a sports setting would get.
The only differences between your everyday person and an athlete, is what level of exercise they can tolerate and the resources they have to complete their rehab, which affects the time they can complete it in. It is very much a sliding scale for every person, and I base my philosophy of patient care on this sliding scale, matching it to whatever the patient’s needs are and the level they are at, then building them to their end goal.
Q: In your experience, how do you adapt your methods to suit the diverse needs and preferences of your clients?
Matt: While it can be tough at times to adjust my sliding scale of care, I find it works very effectively for almost everyone. The first step is understanding why they are coming in to see me, whether it be for health reasons or injury rehabilitation. As health professionals, we are trained to understand the reasons someone is coming for, at a physiological level, so knowing what we are working with is where we need to start.
It is then about establishing goals. The goals we set provide us our end point, so we know where we need to work towards. Taking this information, we place the patient on our sliding scale, work out how long it will take for us to achieve these goals, and work through from the beginning to the end, keeping it is as individualised as possible.
Q: Why Precision Physio? And what are your short-term and long-term career goals as you join Precision Physio?
Matt: Precision Physio very much aligns with how I like to treat my patients, while also providing me with the best opportunities to grow as an Exercise Physiologist. Precisions seamless transition from Physiotherapy to Exercise Physiology helps establish a great pathway for the patient as they go through their rehab journey and provides the groundwork for myself as an Exercise Physiologist to do what I do best.
As for career goals, right now I am working on two things. I’m working on trying to make Precision Physio the go to place in the Inner West for ACL treatment, as I have been lucky enough to have built a wealth of experience in ACL rehab from some of the best practitioners in the world. I am also aiming to start a youth strength and conditioning program, for those young aspiring athletes in the area, looking for a chance to take their game up a level by getting top notch strength coaching.
Q: Could you mention one or two achievements in your career that you are particularly proud of?
Matt: One of my proudest achievements came from when I was working at my first job out of university, which lead to a chance to also work within biomechanics testing for athletes returning from ACL injuries. Our work in this field and getting lucky with some contacts, led me to doing multiple trips to England to test Rugby and Soccer players. The most memorable of these trips was getting the chance to test and work with some of the English National Rugby team players that then went on to play in the 2019 World Cup final against South Africa. Knowing I got the chance to work with players of that calibre was truly memorable.
The other, more clinical achievement of mine was giving a patient of mine the chance to run again after he was told by a surgeon, he was lucky to walk again. After breaking his spine in scrum when he was 19, in the 70s, he learned to walk again and got back to a relatively normal life. After years though, he required a spinal fusion and was once again told by his surgeon his was lucky to walk still but would not be able to be nearly as active as he would be. After 6 months of hard work with myself and his Physiotherapist, not only did he get back to bike riding long distances, he got back to running and playing netball with his daughter.
While getting the chance to work overseas with professional athletes was great, being able to give someone the chance to do something they thought they would never do again is something I am extremely proud of.
Q: Outside of work, what are some activities or hobbies that you are passionate about? How do you balance your professional life with personal interests to maintain a healthy lifestyle?
Matt: Outside of work, I am actually a professional wrestler. Yes, of the WWE kind. It is something I have been training hard for and very much love being involved in. While it can hard to balance, since putting on the level of show we put on can be very time consuming, I find being passionate about both my work and hobbies helps with making it all feel worth it.
Aside from this, prioritising time off to relax and decompress is incredibly useful so that I don’t feel overwhelmed with everything when things do get stressful.
Matthew Hogan is an Exercise Physiotherapist based at Precision Physio Concord. If you would like more information about working with Matt, or feel you might benefit from a session with any of the Precision Physio team, you can either come into our clinics, or book with us online.
How Do I Book An Appointment?
We’re taking the health of our clients, members and staff very seriously and our preference would be for you to call to book an appointment so that we can make sure to explain our approach to keeping you safe. You can call any of these numbers to schedule a session:
- Precision Physio Concord: 02 9736 3950
- Precision Physio St Marys: 02 9623 2220
- Precision Physio Mt Druitt: 02 9188 2552
