Oliver qualified as a Physiotherapist in 2003 from Northumbria University in Newcastle upon Tyne. Having worked initially in the NHS, Oliver moved into Private Practice in 2006 before being recruited in 2008 as a Senior Physiotherapist with Nuffield Health Newcastle Hospital. Oliver relocated to Cornwall in 2010 for family reasons, and he established a private practice in St Mawes before expanding to Truro.

Oliver has a wealth of experience in Sports Physiotherapy. From undergraduate days as player/physio for his local rugby team, he has since worked in elite sport with Northumbria University representative athletes, in International Rugby Union as the Team Physiotherapist for the Norwegian National Mens 1st XV from 2007-2009, and since being in Cornwall, as external consultant physiotherapist to Truro Fencing Club. He has looked after Olympic and Paralympic athletes in Fencing and Triathlon respectively. His development in the field of Sports Medicine was furthered in 2011 by the completion of a post-graduate certificate in Sports Physiotherapy with Bath University.

“I am a musculoskeletal physiotherapist with a special interest in sports injuries and rehabilitation. At various stages in my career I have worked with athletes of all abilities, from recreational and amateur through to elite level. Regardless of their level of ability, I enjoy being surrounded by people who are as enthusiastic about sport as I am.”

“My other clinical interests include the treatment of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) and I am well experienced in performing the Epley manoeuvre and delivering vestibular rehabilitation. I am qualified at Masterclass levels 1 and 2 in treating Whiplash Injuries and I regularly see clients referred from the medico-legal system at varying stages of injury.”

Oliver is a youth rugby coach and has completed the England Rugby Coaching Award. He has recently completed the PHICIS Level 2 award which qualifies him to offer pitch side medical cover for representative rugby, and he is part of Cornwall RFU’s panel of medical cover providers.

Aaron qualified from the University of Plymouth in 2009 (1st Hons), prior to this he also attained an honours degree in sport and exercise science from Luton University.

Following his first degree Aaron spent 5 years working within the fitness industry as a personal trainer and duty manager, providing services to clientele ranging from elite athletes, weekend warriors and cardiac rehab patients. It was in this environment that his interest in rehabilitation was forged, working with patients that were recovering from various sporting and orthopaedic injuries.

After graduating from Plymouth Aaron worked in various settings including diverse NHS rotations, Royal Navy, Royal Marines, Plymouth Argyle FC (who at the time were in the Championship), Falmouth FC and establishing the Physiotherapy service in A&E at Treliske hospital.

Aaron’s current NHS role is the clinical lead Physiotherapist for foot and ankle services in Cornwall, contributing to the foot and ankle specialist interest group in Cornwall and the international association of foot and ankle Physiotherapists. He manages a varied caseload for the NHS but has a special interest in chronic ankle instability, Achilles tendinopathy and high end sports rehabilitation. Outside of Aaron’s NHS commitments he offers a twice weekly clinic from Oliver Hughes Physiotherapy Clinics.

“I like to practice what I preach and find that I am continuously using my rehabilitation skills on myself to keep enjoying surfing, weightlifting, snowboarding and surf boat rowing.”

Kirsty Sturgeon, BSc (Hons) Physiotherapy

Kirsty qualified as a physiotherapist in 2000 from Brunel University in Middlesex. She has undertaken extensive further post-graduate education throughout her career including post graduate training for the management of female and male pelvic health.
Kirsty moved back to Cornwall in 2005 after working in several NHS outpatient settings in Somerset. She started to develop her interest in pelvic health in 2010. Kirsty’s current NHS role is the Clinical Lead Pelvic Floor Physiotherapist for the Community hospitals in Cornwall. She sees a varied caseload of female and male bladder and bowel dysfunction, ante-natal and post-natal conditions and provides training to other specialist physiotherapist and health professionals.
Kirsty feels very passionate about providing clients with the tools they need to look after their own health, and educating them to feel equipped and empowered to improve their quality of life. Kirsty offers bespoke physiotherapy programmes for a range of conditions including:
Pelvic Girdle Pain in pregnancy and post delivery
Rectus diastasis abdominals (tummy gap)
Bladder and bowel incontinence
Pelvic organ prolapse
Pre/post gynaecological surgery
Pre/post prostate surgery
Bowel issues
Sexual Dysfunction/ painful sex
Pelvic pain
Kirsty is one of the few physiotherapists in the county who treats female and male pelvic health issues. She offers a discrete and professional service. Her wealth of knowledge, friendly, reassuring manner enables clients to discuss intimate and embarrassing symptoms with ease and provide a tailor made management programme to each individual.

Kate completed a Bsc (Hons) in Urban Property Surveying in 1999 and prior to moving to Cornwall was working at Northumbria University’s Estates and Property Management Department in aProcurement and Finance role.

Kate’s role here as Practice Manager encompasses the mass of administration that goes with running a busy Practice, whilst driving the growth and development of the business. She continues to develop relationships with specialist practitioners, external consultants, and the various allied businesses in our sector, both in Cornwall and beyond, as we look to offer an increasing range of specialist services.

Kate recognises that private health care goes beyond outstanding clinical care and she ensures that we deliver a high quality customer experience at every step of the patient journey.

Emily graduated from the University of Reading in 2017, with a 1st class honours degree in Archaeology. Around her studies, Emily worked in a local restaurant on the Roseland, which she then went on to manage. In 2019, Emily left her role as Restaurant Manager to complete a PGCE in Primary Education, in which she achieved a Distinction. Following her PGCE, Emily worked in Education Recruitment, remotely recruiting teachers for London schools. Her varied experience lends itself well to a variety of duties included in her job role.

Emily is the sunny persona at the heart of the practice. The chances are if you call or email us it will be her you will be dealing with. Emily manages all of our practitioners’ diaries and sees to it that both our patients and our practitioners are well looked after. She solves a myriad of day to day challenges to allow everything to run smoothly. She also makes the world’s greatest chocolate brownies. It might not be an exaggeration to say that everything would fall apart without her!

Rowena qualified as a Physiotherapist from Addenbrookes’s Hospital, Cambridge in 1992. Her early clinical experience was gained at Charing Cross Hospital in London. She then moved to the Royal Free Hospital in London and specialised in Musculoskeletal (MSK) Physio eventually taking a position as a Senior Physiotherapist with an extended scope of practice in Rheumatology. In 2000 she took a post in Oxford managing their outpatient MSK service and during this time also provided MSK physiotherapy to the Oxford Rowing team.

She has maintained an active involvement in postgraduate education and has also delivered undergraduate teaching in the past whilst in Oxford. Having grown up in Cornwall, Rowena moved back with her family in 2009. Since her return to Cornwall, she has worked as an MSK Physio within GP practices. During this time, she has continued to develop her portfolio of skills. In 2012 she qualified as an acupuncturist and then went on to take a Masters module in Joint Injection therapy from Plymouth University in 2021. She has recently worked as a First Contact Practitioner for the Coastal Primary Care Network.

Rowena has a wealth of experience and has developed a diverse skillset over her career which has enabled her to manage a broad variety of MSK problems. She is committed to providing an effective, high quality and holistic Physiotherapy service for her patients.

Dr Nigel Rayner MB ChB MRCGP FRNZCGP MSc