Getting to Know … Winnie Wu of Movement Laboratory Physiotherapy
Inner West Mum, Winnie Wu is the Founder and Women’s Health Physiotherapist at Movement Laboratory Physiotherapy, and has two clinics in Sydney – one of which is in Leichardt. Originally from Hong Kong, Winnie has lived and studied in Hong Kong, Bristol (UK), Boston (US) and Sydney! Winnie moved to Australia ten years ago and now lives in Petersham with her husband and five-month old daughter. From a young age, Winnie trained as a professional Ballet dancer, and competed as a Latin and Salsa dancer until three years ago. However, surgery stopped her in her tracks and she has since pirouetted into setting up her own clinic, specialising in dance and Women’s Health physiotherapy.
Tell us a little about yourself
I grew up in Hong Kong and trained to become a professional ballet dancer, alongside my schooling. I also studied Anatomical Sciences at the University of Bristol (UK), and Architecture in Harvard (US). I then moved to Australia ten years ago to study Physiotherapy at the University of Sydney, and became a physiotherapist and Pilates instructor after graduating.
Family wise, I met my husband two years ago in Balmain whilst he was travelling from Italy. We travelled a lot, got married, settled in the Inner West, and now we’re celebrating family life with our newborn, Darcey! As a mum, I love being creative and making toys. Currently I’m painting wooden toys for small world plays and making felt balls for when Darcey is old enough to do some colour sorting!
What did you do prior to founding the Movement Laboratory Physiotherapy?
I worked as a physiotherapist during the week, and trained, performed, competed as a dancer during all other times. I was obsessed! Professionally, I worked with different clinics across Sydney to build on my skillsets in manual therapy, dance and musculoskeletal physiotherapy. I also taught Pilates and Xtend Barre up until Movement Laboratory was established in Leichhardt and Potts Point.
What motivated you to become a Physiotherapist?
I love watching movements, and I love teaching movements. Growing up as a dancer, moving was my main form of expression. It taught me to pay attention to the finest detail in someone’s movement and watch one move in order to learn about them. It’s absolutely fascinating how much you can tell by observing how someone moves.
There was also a lack of dance medicine information when I was growing up in Hong Kong. That led me to read every book about anatomy to understand the body, and better myself as a dancer. One thing led to another and physiotherapy became an obvious career path for me.
What services do you provide at Movement Laboratory Physiotherapy?
Our philosophy at the clinic is to impose and encourage movement for whatever background or medical condition you have. We firmly believe the best healthcare starts with great patient education, and physiotherapy should aim at prevention and perfection as the end goal. We combine physiotherapy with movement education for a whole range of conditions including:
- Musculoskeletal physio–ligament tears, tendinopathy, joint pain, and muscle strain
- Dance physio – injury rehabilitation, performance screening and dance conditioning
- Women’s health & pelvic floor physio – pregnancy, pain, prolapse and bladder bowel dysfunction
- Chronic pain – complex pain syndrome, neurological conditions and autoimmune diseases
We offer over 55 clinical conditioning classes per week in Leichhardt, in small groups of three people per class. It is a combination of equipment Pilates, physiotherapy and rehab principles, and is tailored to the participants.
Do you have any special areas of interests? What interests you most about these areas?
Currently I am passionate about treating everything pelvic floor related. I started focusing more on my pregnant patients three years ago, and since then upskilled myself on Women’s Health physiotherapy to treat more complex conditions such as prolapse, urinary incontinence and pain. It’s very fulfilling treating expectant mums and guiding them through their pregnancies to recovery (there are lots of babies in the clinic and we multitask!). I also love treating dyspareunia or any pain conditions as you can make such a positive impact on women’s lives, and I’m very glad this is a rapidly evolving area in physiotherapy.
Of course, as a dancer I will always be treating dancers. They are the most humble, hardworking, and disciplined patients I’ve come across.
What has been the highlight of your career so far?
Taking the leap, and building Movement Laboratory Physiotherapy from scratch has been the absolute highlight! Physiotherapy is an evidence-based discipline but there are slight differences in approach and modalities between different physios in the industry. Being my own boss, allows me to fully utilise my knowledge in dance, physiotherapy and teaching, and enables the perfect blend of my skills and passion. Having that autonomy as a healthcare professional is a real luxury!
Being recognised as a successful new business owner within the Inner West as finalists in the Australian Business Championships and Local Business Awards in 2019 and 2020 – was also pretty amazing!
How do you balance motherhood with running your own business?
It’s only been five months so I am still learning and constantly drawing inspiration from my patients for parenting tips! If I’m honest, it is not yet balanced because life has been so incredibly busy since Darcey was born – which was in the middle of the pandemic! My partner is Italian, so our families are overseas and unfortunately, have been unable to visit. I returned to the clinic three weeks postpartum to support my team, and I’m glad everyone loves Darcey whenever she’s visiting!
I am a very organised person and try to plan years ahead for both my business and personal goals. With Darcey, I’ve learnt that everything is taking three times longer than before to complete, so forming routines and dividing roles and responsibilities between my partner and I is crucial to getting things done!
My husband is also in the middle of setting up his own architecture firm, trying to tackle fatherhood and business at the same time. We’re learning that it’s the small things that make a difference and now try to do things like grocery shopping online, to save pockets of time.
What has been something positive or a silver lining for you during the pandemic (in personal or business life)?
Knowing what a great community we have in the clinic. Our patients are so generous and supportive – during lockdown some kindly continued to pay for future appointments to see us through March and April. My team really stepped up too, as I was heading off on maternity leave and they went above and beyond to maintain these strong relationships with our patients.
On a personal level, working in an essential service, I was lucky to continue treating and teaching. This meant that I kept active during my third trimester, ensuring a speedy recovery!
Favourite places in the Inner West?
I love Pig and Pastry in Petersham – especially their chocolate chip cookie – and coffee! I also love Envy in Summer Hill, which has a lovely courtyard. It also happens to be opposite my new favourite toy shop – Monkey Puzzle Toys – which stock beautiful wooden toys! I love Two Chaps in Marrickville and Delish in Marrickville for their avocado mango smoothie and Vietnamese rolls.
Who inspires you?
Hands down – my patients. I could name so many! I draw inspiration from different people at different stages of my life. Right now, as new mum, I am inspired by all my patients who have multiple children and have sustained businesses or other ventures while smooth sailing through motherhood.
I also have a sweet spot for my most elderly couple (they’re 86 and 84) who come in weekly for Clinical Pilates and try their best no matter how hard it is for them at certain times. It is so inspiring to see the amount of self-care and responsibility they took on themselves.
For more information please visit the Movement Laboratory website.
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