Like many physiotherapists, Fiona Rogers APAM’s first introduction to physiotherapy was through the eyes of an athlete. 

It was Fiona’s experience as a competitive swimmer during her teenage years that influenced her desire to pursue physiotherapy. 

In fact, when Fiona first started at the University of Queensland in 1980, she didn’t realise that physiotherapy extended beyond treating athletes. 

‘I remember my first lecture was on respiratory physio. I looked at my timetable about three times thinking I must be in the wrong room.’ 

After finishing her undergraduate degree and obtaining a master’s in sports science, Fiona quickly learned how versatile the physiotherapy profession could be. 

She worked in sports and exercise, orthopaedics and musculoskeletal physiotherapy. 

‘This profession has been so good for me because I’ve been able to change course so many times.’ 

It wasn’t until she had her second baby that Fiona moved into women’s health, where she completed every available short course to build her expertise. 

Women’s health offered the kind of variety and challenge that Fiona thrived on. ‘You’re helping people every single day but no two patients are the same.’ 

After decades of the field being overlooked by the medical and research community, she’s witnessed a shift. 

‘It’s an exciting time to be involved in women’s health because all the frustrations that we had for so many years about not being heard or seen are beginning to be addressed.’ 

Fiona has added to the growing research in this area by publishing a couple of papers on women’s pelvic health and the role of electrical stimulation. 

‘Electrical stimulation is really my area of passion. 

My research in this area came about through necessity once we had the business, Pelvic Floor Exercise, and I realised that there was a big gap in knowledge. 

I feel very strongly that to use a modality in treatment, we need to understand it.’ 

Fiona owned Pelvic Floor Exercise, which offered courses and sold evidence-based pelvic health products, for 15 years. 

A large part of what made the business so successful was Fiona’s drive to investigate the efficacy of each product. 

‘All the advice I gave to clinicians and customers was research-based—consumers really appreciated that.’

Over her 41 years as a physiotherapist, Fiona has engaged in many different forms of practice, from supervising students and mentoring new graduates to teaching APA Level 1 and 2 courses. 

Currently, she works clinically part-time at a private multidisciplinary pain clinic. Her time working with young physiotherapists has been a highlight of her career. 

‘I love seeing a concept click for a student. I’ll be talking about a topic and then I see that light bulb go on and people become as passionate about the topic as I am.’ 

She impresses on her students that listening to patients is key to being a skilled clinician. 

‘It’s easy to get hung up on knowing everything and trying to fit everything into a session but if you sit back and listen to the patient, they will tell you their story and show you how you can help them.’ 

Despite recently selling her business, Fiona is not slowing down and her enthusiasm remains undimmed.

She presented at PelviCon 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia and in July she started the Pelvic Health Products Podcast, which explores pelvic health innovations by talking to the people behind them—many of whom are women. 

‘There’s a lot of misunderstanding out there among health professionals and consumers and I thought it would be a good idea to do a podcast to demystify these products.’ 

Check out the APA Women's, Men's and Pelvic Health National group here.