Introducing A New Team Member… Physio Stevie!

Plym Physio are very proud to introduce a new member to the team… Physiotherapist Darren Paul Stephens (known as Stevie).

After searching for just the right person to bring on board, Stevie has demonstrated that he has the skills, determination, patient-centred approach and ethos to ‘help you help yourself‘ that is so important to us.

Please take a moment to read about Stevie and his work history.

After a career in the Royal Navy, involving a lot of sport including rugby and Devonport Command Field Gun (leading to numerous sporting injuries), I decided to re-train as physiotherapist. In 2011 I graduated from the University of Plymouth in Physiotherapy BSc(Hons). My first job as Physiotherapist was working in Battlefield, Orthopaedic and Sporting Rehabilitation for 2 Rifles Army Regiment in Northern Ireland. From this, I moved on to the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital, working with respiratory and rehabilitation needs of various patient groups including intensive care, health care of the elderly and respiratory disease wards. My third work opportunity was at Derriford Hospital, where I continued ward based respiratory and rehabilitation of varying patient groups including orthopaedics, cardiothoracics and musculoskeletal (MSK) outpatients. It was in Derriford that I decided to specialise in MSK Physiotherapy and gained a promotion to Senior Physiotherapist specialising in MSK.  After 5 years working in the NHS I had gained a well-grounded patient centred approach to physiotherapy. Presently, I am working for the Ministry of Defence in HMS Drake in MSK rehabilitation and now have the privileged opportunity to become part of the amazing team at Plym Physio.

I aspire to continue to improve my knowledge and skills as a clinician, to gain greater application of assessing, providing treatment plans and therefore giving patients greater outcomes. I attend CPD courses to improve my analysis of biomechanical movement, chronic pain and bio-psychosocial issues for rehabilitation. With this in mind, plus my experience working with all patient groups young, old, sporting, non-sporting, with acute and chronic MSK issues, lead me to re-evaluate my approach to non-specific lower back pain. After a lot of research, I concluded to train in a cognitive movement pattern combined approach with Peter O’Sulivan. I have experienced greater success with this approach, giving patients a greater understanding of their condition and how to gain control.

My home life is busy like most, I am outnumbered three to one, married to Karen with two daughters of seven and thirteen. Even being a busy parent of two daughters, my personal interests have always been sport based including rugby, surfing, cycling and my competitive sport of choice at present is the winter sport of cyclocross (a cross between road and off road cycling). With the season close approaching I am training hard to up my fitness.

Stevie is now taking on his own patients, so if you would like an appointment please do call us on 01752 656340 or email hello@plymphysio.co.uk.

Welcome aboard Stevie!

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