Our Team
Dean Thurgood
Dean grew up in the Kempsey Macleay region and has completed a Bachelor of Physiotherapy/Exercise Science and a Diploma of Education. The importance of promoting health and fitness among people in the community became apparent to Dean due to his experience of overcoming childhood Leukaemia. Physiotherapists were among the many health professionals who assisted Dean, sparking his interest and motivation to help others and provide guidance to people of all ages in the local community.
Dean enjoys working in consultation with GP’s and specialists within the region to achieve optimal results for his patients. Dean places a strong emphasis on accurate assessment and diagnosis, creating tailored treatment plans and optimising recovery. Dean’s background in triathlon coaching and secondary teaching has armed him with great communication skills, which allows him to build great and trusting relationships with his patients.
Dean prioritises using patient education during treatment to allow his patients to understand the causative factors to injuries/conditions and treatment regimens that are required to promote recovery and achieve the best possible outcome.
Dean places a large emphasis on providing manual therapy to his patients when indicated, using techniques including, but not limited to; joint mobilisation, soft and deep tissue massage, PNF stretching, dry needling and E-Stim to promote tissue healing, reduce pain and improve mobility. Dean’s history in sports coaching (triathlon and swimming) and strength and conditioning programming allows him to develop exercise programmes for people of all ages with a focus on building functional strength and improving quality of life.
Dean has completed his advanced training in dry needling for both general and athletic populations, with a passion for assessing and treating shoulder, knee, lower back, and hip/sacral pain. Dean’s experience surf lifesaving, swimming and competing in triathlons has increased his desire to help people stay active across their lifespan. In his spare time, you’ll find Dean swimming, cycling, snowboarding, and watching NRL.
Laura Thurgood
Laura graduated with a Bachelor of Physiotherapy at Charles Sturt University in 2020. She has spent most of her life within the Port Macquarie region and is passionate about using her knowledge to improve the quality of life of her patients. Her experiences as a professional triathlete, and exposure to multiple injuries growing up sparked her interest in becoming a physiotherapist. Laura has also been heavily involved in soccer, running/athletics and touch football, and enjoys working with patients with similar interests, wanting to return to sports post injury.
Laura has completed further training in cardiac rehabilitation through the Australian Centre for Heart Health, GLAD training for Osteoarthritis and has completed both mat-work and equipment clinical pilates training through the Australian Physiotherapy and Pilates Institute. Laura enjoys providing exercise based rehabilitation to people of all ages, from individuals presenting with sports injuries to completing home visits with the elderly population.
Laura has extensive experience working in both private and public hospital sectors, predominantly in post-operative/orthopaedic settings and inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation. Laura has a passion for working with patients pre and post-operatively from orthopaedic surgeries, cardiac rehabilitation/reconditioning and 1 on 1 or small group clinical pilates/exercise classes.
Outside of Physiotherapy, Laura enjoys spending time with her husband, Dean, family and friends, and spending time outdoors either swimming, cycling or running.