Dr Joanne Bullock-Saxton

Dr Joanne Bullock-Saxton is one of our most experienced and accomplished musculoskeletal physiotherapists. Her approachable nature, expert knowledge, refined manual therapy skills, pragmatism, wisdom and dedication combine to provide clinical excellence and positive outcomes in a timely manner.

During a career spanning four decades, Joanne has honed her clinical skills through many postgraduate studies, as an educator, an academic, senior researcher and advanced practice clinician. She has focussed particular interest on managing spinal pain, headaches and pelvic pain, and also manages a broad range of musculoskeletal presentations. She realises the importance of a multidisciplinary team and fosters close relationships with surgeons, specialists such as neurologists and gynaecologists and other members of the patient’s health care team. Her primary aim is to deliver the highest quality care for her patients.  With her diagnostic abilities and empathic approach, Joanne strongly advocates for her patients and supports their recovery from a broad perspective, to ensure they reach their recovery goals.

Joanne’s career started as an academic and private clinician. She was driven to answer questions related to improving patient outcomes. Joanne worked at senior academic levels at the University of Queensland, Bond University and Australian Catholic University and continues to teach casually in an academic arena as well as for the Australian Physiotherapy Association. Joanne has four degrees in physiotherapy including a Course work Master’s degree in Manipulative Physiotherapy and a research PhD. She has lead and collaborated in research with some of Australia’s most prominent clinicians in medicine and physiotherapy, to understand assessment and mechanisms of recovery following injury, for headaches and in understanding women’s health through the life stages.

Joanne is a wife and mother of 3 adult children, enjoys sculpture, painting, philosophy, gardening, music and cooking. She understands the need for a work life balance and the importance of conscious attention to each role she finds herself in at any point in time, for health and wellbeing.

Jo’s favourite quote: 

“All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts”
– Shakespeare

Areas of Research

Joanne is a significant contributor to physiotherapy research, authoring more than 50 peer-reviewed articles and presenting at national and international conferences. Her published books and text chapters and just a few of her more recently published referred journal articles and conference proceedings are listed.

Publications

Theses:

• Bullock, JE (1985) Postural change during pregnancy and its relationship to pain, B.Phty (Hons) thesis, Department of Physiotherapy, University of Queensland.
• Bullock-Saxton, JE. (1992) Changes in remote muscle function and local sensation following joint injury. PhD. Thesis.

Books

• Sapsford, R., Bullock-Saxton JE., Markwell, S (eds) (1998) Women’s Health: A text for Physiotherapists. Harcourt Brace, London, 520p.

Book Chapters

• Myers, P., Bullock-Saxton, Joanne and Fitzgerald, John (2017) Prevention of Musculotendinous Pathologies.  Chapter 10 in Canata, GL, D’Hooghe, P and Hunt, K (ED) Muscle and Tendon Injuries, Springer.
• Bullock, MI., Bullock-Saxton, JE (2000) Control of Low Back Pain in the Workplace Using and Ergonomic Approach. 3rd Ed., in Twomey, LT and Taylor, L (eds). Physical Therapy of the Low Back, Churchill Livingstone Inc, Edinburgh, pp297 – 326.
• Bullock, MI., Bullock-Saxton, JE. (1994) Low back pain in the workplace: an ergonomic approach to control. 2nd Ed., Ch12 in Twomey, LT and Taylor, L. Physical Therapy of the Low Back, Churchill Livinstone Inc, Edinburgh.
• Bullock-Saxton, JE. (1998) Musculoskeletal Changes in the Perinatal Period. Chapter 14, in Sapsford, R., Bullock-Saxton JE., Markwell, S (eds) Women’s Health: A text for Physiotherapists. Harcourt Brace, London.
• Bullock-Saxton, JE (1998) Women in the workplace, ergonomic perspectives. Chapter 21 in Sapsford, R., Bullock-Saxton JE., Markwell, S (eds) Women’s Health: A text for Physiotherapists. Harcourt Brace, London.

Journal Articles 

• Keays SL, Newcombe PA, Bullock-Saxton JE, Keays AC. (2022) The development of long-term osteoarthritis following anterior cruciate ligament injury: Reconstruction vs no reconstruction. Arch Orthop Trauma Surg (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00402-022-04662-4
• Navaratnam, D., Harm, K., Fenton, A., Bullock-Saxton, J., Griffin, A., Lehn, A. (2021) Implicit motor imagery using laterality recognition in functional movement disorders. Journal of Clinical Neuroscience. 89: p139-143.
• Bullock-Saxton, J.E., Laakso, L., Lehn, A. (2021) Exploring the effect of combined transcranial and intra-oral photobiomodulation therapy over a four week period on physical and cognitive outcome measures for people with Parkinsons; Disease:  A randomised double-blind placebo controlled pilot study. J. Alzheimers Disease
• Lehn, A., Bullock-Saxton, J.E., Newcombe, P., Carson, A., Stone, J. (2019) Survey of the Perceptions of health practitioners regarding Functional Neurological Disorders in Australia. Journal of Clinical Neurosciences Sept., 67:114-123.
• Mahmoud, A, Young, J., Bullock-Saxton, J., Myers, P.  (2018) Meniscal allograft transplantation: The effect of cartilage status on survivorship and clinical outcome Arthroscopy:  34(6):1871-1876.e1. doi: 10.1016/j.arthro.2018.01.010. Epub 2018 Feb 23.
• McPhail, S.M., O’Hara, M., Gane, E., Tonks, P., Bullock-Saxton, J.E., Kuys, S.S., (2015) Nintendo Wii Fit as an adjunct to physiotherapy following lower limb fractures: preliminary feasibility, safety and sample size considerations., Published Online: June 17, 2015, DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.physio.2015.04.006
• Klyne, D.M., Keays, S.L., Bullock-Saxton, J.E., Newcombe, P.A. (2012) The effect of ACL rupture on the timing and amplitude of gastrocnemius muscle activation.  A study of alternations in EMG measures and their relationship to knee joint stability.  Electromyography and Kinesiology, 22:446-445.
• Szlezak, A., Georgilopolus, P., Bullock-Saxton, JE and Steele, M. (2011) The immediate effect of unilateral lumbar Z joint mobilisation on posterior change neural tension: a randomised controlled study.  Manual Therapy, 16:609-613.
• Keays SL, Newcombe PA, Bullock-Saxton JE, Bullock MI, Keays AC. (2010) Factors involved in the development of osteoarthritis after anterior cruciate ligament surgery. Am J Sports Med. Mar; 38(3):455-63. Epub 2010 Jan 5.

Conference Proceedings

• Keays,S., Newcombe, P., Mohamed, H., Keays, A., Bullock-Saxton, J., Collins, N.  (2022) 25 years post-ACL reconstruction: The best, the worst and the reasons why. A prospective study. SMA conference 2022 16-19th November 2022, Gold Coast.
• Bullock-Saxton, J.E., Laakso, L and Lehn, A. (2019) Exploring the effect of photobiomodulation therapy on patients with Parkinson’s disease: A randomised double blind placebo-controlled study. AMLA Conference Sydney October 5-6.
• Bullock-Saxton, J.E., Newcombe, P, Lehn, A. and Laakso, L. (2018) Shining light into the human Parkinsonian brain: a single case study of the short term effects on non-motor and motor outcomes. World Association for Laser Therapy biannual conference, Nice France, October.
• Bullock-Saxton, J.E., Newcombe, PA, Carson, A., Stone, A., Lehn, A.  Survey of the Perceptions of Health Practitioners regarding Functional Neurological Disorders. 3rd international Conference on Functional (Psychogenic) Neurological Disorders, Edinburgh September 6 – 8th, 2017.
• Diggles, A. Bullock-Saxton, J.E., Connor, F. (2017) Rumination, an Upper Gastrointestinal Disorder in Children and the role of Physiotherapy.  APA conference, Sydney Oct 18-20, 2017.
• Diggles, A., Bullock-Saxton.,J.E. (2017) A new therapeutic modality for persistent pelvic pain: a case study of the use of Photobiomodulation.  APA conference, Sydney Oct 18-20, 2017.  Winner of the APA Most Interesting Clinical Concept in Mens’ and Womens’ Health Conference Award.
• Kelly, C., Keays, S, Bullock-Saxton, J., Constantiou, M. A comparison of functional performance between individuals with a chronic anterior cruciate ligament deficiency and healthy controls–who has coped? APA Conference, Sydney Oct 18-20, 2017.