Meet The Team
We are a supportive experienced team of 5 physios, we are all Chartered & state registered with the Health professions Council(HCPC). We also have a massage therapist as part of our team.
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We maintain our standards, develop our skills & update our knowledge by attending external courses and in house training sessions. We also will draw on each other’s experience & knowledge where appropriate.
Though we all have very high standards in core physio work we each also bring slightly different experiences and skills.
Liz Bowen (Hunter)
I trained at Pinderfields in Yorkshire where the course met my passion for movement and exercise. I graduated in 1988!
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I have always had an interest in movement analysis, injury prevention and patient education. This probably stems from a background in dance and swimming, and living in a sport focused family.
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I worked in the NHS until 1995 when I had my daughter, then began working part time privately to enable me to arrange my work around being a mum.
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In 1991 I also trained in acupuncture, initially Chinese Traditional style and then in early 2000s I completed a foundation course in western Acupuncture. As the kids grew up I gradually increased my working hours.
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I studied for a PGCE and Lectured at Cumbria University teaching Anatomy to physiotherapy students for five years, as well as working in physiotherapy in private practice.
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I established the business in 2005 and have never looked back. It has gradually grown, expanding the services, and the team to what we have today.
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I have maintained a keen interest in injury prevention, sport and the promotion of a healthy lifestyle. I have worked with local sports teams offering free advice sessions on injury prevention.
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I was privileged to spend several years working with Sports England and British swimming where I developed more knowledge on injury prevention and management in elite sport. I added to this developing screening for injury risk in dances, runners and cyclists, including Bike Fits (see Services We Offer).
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I have maintained my own active lifestyle, swimming, any outdoor activities including skiing, paddle boarding and triathlon, which stopped competitively in after a half ironman in 2016.
This was replaced by many more hours on the fells, walking (my Border terrier) jogging and I continued to cycle in the UK and Europe.
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I have been trying to learn French for the last 5 years. This year 2023 I have been learning to play golf and had my first lessons in surfing.
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Tamsin Cass
Prior to studying physiotherapy at Northumbria University, I worked as a sports massage therapist. A desire for greater understanding of people's aches and pains led me to return to university to complete my physiotherapy training. Since graduating in 2011 I have combined working in both the private sector and the NHS specialising in musculoskeletal conditions as well as post-operative and post trauma rehabilitation. My NHS role is as a muscoskeltal specialist where I diagnose and treat many types of muscoskeltal conditions. I combine my specialist muscoskeltal skills with rehabilitation skills and interest in sports to provide a personalised approach to helping clients at Cockermouth Physiotherapy reach their goals.
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I have continued my development and completed a range of post graduate training including Jo Gibson shoulder steps to success course, orthopaedic medicine modules and The Running School running biomechanics course. I recently reviewed the evidence for treating tendon pain and was involved in an audit on managing osteoarthritis.
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Outside my work I am a keen runner and enjoy running long distance in the mountains. I also like to get out on both my road and mountain bike. Previously I have played rugby union to premiership level and competed horses. I have had the opportunity to try many different sports which I feel gives me good understanding of the demands that we place on our bodies.
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Sophie Likeman
I qualified as a Physiotherapist in 2012, graduating from Keele University with first class honours. Over the years I have worked in the NHS and private practice, gaining a wealth of experience in the field of musculoskeletal and orthopaedics conditions, acute medical and respiratory care, neurological physiotherapy, and more recently community physiotherapy, where I have primarily treated people in their own homes, with a wide variety of conditions such as frailty, falls, fractures, neurological conditions to name just a few.
Being a competitive fell runner and outdoor enthusiast, my other interest is treating sports injuries; providing rehabilitation to ensure people can return to their daily activities as quickly as possible.
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I have completed training with Later Life Training Ltd as a Postural Stability Instructor, enabling me to prescribe evidence based, falls prevention exercise programs for older adults. Other recent courses include Tom Goom’s “Running Repairs” and Jo Gibson’s “Shoulder Steps to Success”.
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​​My experience in the NHS and private practise, along with my passion for health promotion has fuelled my desire to provide a flexible, yet thorough and professional service, helping individuals live an active and independent life after illness or injury.
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When not treating people in the clinic, I offer home visits, for those that cannot attend a clinic-based setting, or for those who’s treatment is best suited to the home setting. Details can be found on https://www.lakelandphysiotherapy.co.uk/
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When not working, you will find me running up a hill with my dogs, riding my bike, digging in the garden, or baking a cake!
I was nervous to move to a new physio when I moved here, but found Sophie superior in knowledge and skills. She's enabled me to move forward in life.
She is always realistic, positive and caring. I really value her and would strongly recommend her.
Client
Sarah Lord
I have been working as a physiotherapist for 25 years. I am chartered and HCPC (Health and Care Professions Council) registered.
I am specialised in musculoskeletal and orthopaedic physiotherapy, which means that I am mainly found treating clients with sports and soft tissue injuries, spinal and joint issues, and delivering pre and postoperative rehabilitation. However, due to a broad range of clinical experience and ongoing training over many years, I am able to assess and treat people with a variety of conditions and those with complex needs, such as long-term conditions or those with multiple injuries/polytrauma.
When appropriate, I am able to use acupuncture for pain relief and musculoskeletal conditions, which I have been practising for almost 20 years.
I also offer weekly hydrotherapy (water based physiotherapy) sessions, on a one to one or group basis, due to the extensive benefits that can be gained and the variety of conditions that can be improved whilst working in the pool.
I have been working at Cockermouth Physiotherapy for the last 10 years, with an extremely varied and interesting client group. Helping them to get back to what they love doing and the conversations we have along the way keeps me loving what I do after so many years.
Very early on in my career I became aware that in order to support client’s fully on their individual health journey it was essential to explore and address the broader aspects of health and wellbeing (both physical and emotional) and to be able to deliver more holistic interventions that would enable them to reach their full potential and lead more fulfilling lives.
As an adjunct to Physiotherapy (via Sarah Lord Physiotherapy and Wellbeing) I can deliver Rehabilitation programmes to complex clients, Wellbeing and Lifestyle assessments and support, Heart Rate Variability (HRV) monitoring and support in managing Stress and Anxiety.
Laura Connolly
I am a chartered physiotherapist, registered with the Health and Care Professions Council, with over 21 years of clinical experience. Since graduating in 2002 from the University of Northumbria, I have worked in the NHS, private practice and for a charitable organisation.
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My NHS work gave me experience in a variety of core disciplines, treating patients with mobility problems, respiratory, cardiac and neurological conditions as well as dizziness and balance problems, musculoskeletal and orthopaedic conditions.
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I have worked for the Firefighters Charity providing physiotherapy intervention in a residential rehabilitation setting for operational firefighters and the wider firefighting community. A significant element of this work involved assisting personnel to return to work or enjoy a happy and healthy retirement.
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I have a background in outdoor education and worked as an instructor in outdoor centres which enabled participants of all abilities to achieve their full potential in the outdoor environment.
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I enjoy spending time in the outdoors and am a member of our local Mountain Rescue Team. I understand how active people want to stay active or to return to their normal levels of activity as soon as they can following an accident, injury or illness and enjoy using physiotherapy to assist achieving this.
