About Us
Charlotte Dawson – “THE BOSS”
Hello, I’m Charlotte Dawson. I’m a chartered and state registered physiotherapist and I own and run ‘Back to Fitness Physiotherapy’. I qualified as a physiotherapist in 2001 after completing a three year degree course at Leeds Metropolitan University and then I started my career working in the NHS in Calderdale. During my time at Calderdale, I worked with Rugby Union teams at both National League and county level and also Wakefield Wildcats RLFC. In 2004 I left the NHS to pursue a career in private practice and gained a great deal of experience treating a wide range of musculoskeletal conditions affecting both the general population and elite sports men and women. In October 2005 I made the huge decision to set up my own private practice and this is now my 6th year at ‘Back to Fitness Physiotherapy’. During this time, I have seen the clinic grow in both reputation and size and I am incredibly proud of the business and the excellent physiotherapists and sports therapists who work here.
There are currently four ‘Back to Fitness Physiotherapy’ clinics in Ripponden, Mytholmroyd, Greetland and King Cross.
I absolutely love what I do and I hope that my passion comes across. Work takes up the majority of my time but when I’m not working, I enjoy being active – in fact you may have seen me running with my two Labradoodles, Alfie and Max.
Richard Walker
In my youth I was a promising footballer, being a Huddersfield town apprentice from school to 18 years of age. I qualified as a physiotherapist from Salford University with an upper second degree. After University I worked with Sheffield Wednesday FC and worked closely with everyone from the academy players through to the first team. For those football fans among you, I have treated big name players such as Leigh Bromby, Paul Burrows, Shefqui Kuqi and Gerald Sibon.
I have a post-graduate certificate in rehabilitation from Bradford University. I have worked in the NHS since 2003 and have worked closely with Back To Fitness Physiotherapy since 2007.
Away from work I continue with my love for football and I also enjoy keeping fit by mountain biking and going to the gym.
Karl Gray
Hi, I’m Karl. I qualified as a Physiotherapist in 2000 and have specialised in Musculoskeletal physiotherapy for the last 8 years. I am a full-time NHS physiotherapist, member of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP) and registered with the Health Professions Council (HPC). I am currently studying for a Masters degree.
Outside work I am a keen sportsman and while my foot-balling days are behind me I am now a competitive fell runner. While fell running is my main sport, I occasionally race on the road and cross-country. I enjoy cycling and do this to commute and to cross-train.
Joe Washington
Hello my name is Joe and I used to play professional football for Huddersfield Town until an unfortunate injury brought my career to a premature end. Since then I have gained a 1st class BSc (Hons) Sports Therapy degree and a Post graduate diploma in physiotherapy. I am also still involved with Huddersfield Town FC and work with both their 1st team and academy on a part time basis.
Away from physiotherapy I enjoy keeping fit by going to the gym, running and of course playing football!
Jenny Oliver
My name is Jenny. I qualified as a physiotherapist in 2006 from Manchester Metropolitan university. I started my working career at Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Trust, rotating across a number of different areas including medical/elderly, respiratory and community. I developed a strong interest in musculoskeletal physiotherapy. I specialised into this area in May 2009 and now work full time in outpatients as a senior physiotherapist. I am qualified in acupuncture, and have undertaken a number of post-graduate courses to consolidate my manual skills and clinical knowledge. On top of my job at the NHS, I worked for Siddal rugby league team for two years, on a Saturday, gaining experience in sports injuries and working within a team environment. In my own time I like to go running and play netball. I am now working for Back To Fitness and am able to use the skills I have acquired over the last 4 years. I am really enjoying the new challenges.
Pete Carroll
Hi, I’m Pete! I qualified as a Physiotherapist in 2011, before this I worked as a Personal Trainer and a Sports Massage Therapist. The work I did included private clients and also contract work with both Leeds Rhinos RLFC and England RLFC. Although in a different context to the work I do now, I realised that the best part of the work I did was helping people return to fitness and the natural progression for me to take would be to become a Physiotherapist.
I enjoy all sports and have competed in the past at county levels in both Rugby and Skiing. More recently I have become more interested in other sports including Thai Boxing, Windsurfing and Mountain Biking. I also have good experience with weight training and conditioning. Other hobbies I’m interested in include taking my Land Rover apart, putting my Land Rover back together and then trying to figure out what to do with all the extra bits I’m left with.
Alec Roberts
I have recently completed a three year BSc (Hons) Sports Therapy degree at the University of Huddersfield, during which sports massage became one of my passions, in which I have a particular interest in the use of active release technique. I am a registered member of the Society of Sports Therapists.
I have had experience in treating a wide variety of people ranging from the average gym user to players at Huddersfield Giants RLFC, and Shrewsbury Town FC.
I believe all participants in any sport, whatever their level, will benefit from sports massage, especially for post-exercise recovery and injury prevention.
In my spare time, I enjoy training for and participating in triathlons in the local area and beyond. I also enjoy other outdoor sports such as rock climbing, and I am an avid football fan.
Elizabeth Johnson
My name is Elizabeth Johnson, I am a graduate Sports Rehabilitator (July 2007) from Hull University. I studied there for 3 Years where I obtained second class with first degree honours (2.1).
During my time at Hull and the time up to present I have worked along side various sporting athletes and teams providing Sports massage and medical support to them during their training and competitions. The highlights so far for me were working with the Australian Rugby League team during the Tri Nations and going to Australia with the RAF Rugby League team.
My interests include keeping active playing netball, running and boxing, but relaxing with a good film or book is always a good way to end the day.
Susan Shaw
Hello, I am Susan and I handle most of the behind-the-scenes operations of Back To Fitness Physiotherapy. I am also the first contact that you will have if you telephone us for an appointment. It is important to us that we offer our customers the highest levels of service and I pride myself on providing a fast, efficient and friendly response to your enquiries.
Before becoming a full-time mum I worked for many years for NatWest bank. The skills that I learned there serve me well in my work with Back To Fitness Physiotherapy, in particular working as part of an exciting and ambitious team. I enjoy being busy, and opening our new clinics has certainly given me plenty to think about. Any time I have left over is soon taken up by my two demanding boys!
