Meet Ashley
I'm Ashley! Sole owner and therapist at Polaris Rehab & Performance.
​
Throughout my mid to late teens I played basketball and developed chronic patellar tendinopathy. I went to physios, I went to the doctors, I went to massage therapists, I looked on YouTube...and for the most part I was very disappointed with the quality of rehab that I received. Some of that was just due to the knowledge available to us at that time, but a lot of it was due to the low standards our industry had (and still has) for injury rehabilitation.
​
I became very interested in how the body works and why certain areas end up becoming painful/injured. This led to me eventually studying Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation at the University of Derby.
​
Since then I have been working in private practice whilst continuing to seek out the most knowledgeable therapists and coaches in the rehab industry in order to learn from them so that I can deliver the most comprehensive injury rehabilitation process possible.
About Polaris Rehab & Performance
The philosophy of Polaris Rehab & Performance is based on 4 things:
1. Movement problems require movement solutions.
I believe that if you're experiencing pain when you move your body, then the solution is to teach your body how to perform that movement without pain. Hands-on treatment can be great, but in my experience the results from that are fleeting, whereas the results from movement stick around.
​
2.Education is important.
I want to give you the tools and knowledge to deal with the issue yourself if it ever came back. I think that autonomy is the most important part of rehab. You shouldn't be reliant on me, I'm there to guide things and give you information, but you're the one that does all the work.
3. Rehab and performance are not two separate things.
By the end of your plan, your rehab sessions should look like performance training. If you're a football player and you haven't done any sprinting or change of direction work prior to returning to the pitch, how do you know your body is ready for it? Performance can mean different things for different people, performance for you might be going for a walk on the weekend. Regardless of what activity you need to be able to perform, your rehab should fully prepare you for it.
​
4. It's about getting you back to your sport/hobby/activity/social life. Typically when I ask someone their goal for rehab, they say something along the lines of "I want to get rid of my pain". When we're in pain our thought process revolves around it, but if you really get to the bottom of what you want, it isn't to get rid of pain. It's to run a 10k, it's to play basketball 3 times a week, it's to pick up your grandchildren. Pain is just the thing that gets in the way of that goal.
​
Your rehab should be centred around achieving that goal. Your body and your mind need to feel confident that you can achieve that goal. Polaris is the name of the North Star, the guiding light. I chose it because every rehab journey should have a North Star, every exercise in every session should be preparing you for your goal. If you lose sight of that, then your rehab is much less likely to be successful.
The best way to see what we do is by clicking below to visit our Instagram account where we regularly post educational rehab and training related content!