Physiotherapist & Exercise Physiologist: Who Does What and How We Work Together for Your Recovery
If you’ve had pain, an injury, or even surgery, you may have seen a physiotherapist who helped you manage pain and rehabilitate you back to daily living movements.
The role of an accredited exercise physiologist (AEP) is to write an exercise plan, using exercise as a tool to manage, treat and prevent health conditions and injuries. This means they stay up to date with the latest research to ensure your program is both effective and safe.
We know exercise is healthy but we forget exercise is still stress on the body.
Doing more and exercising harder is not always better. This is where you AEP can carefully plan and progress what to do, how much to do and how much to rest.
How physiotherapists & exercise physiologists work together
Physiotherapists and AEPs each play a unique role in recovery, health and fitness and when we work together, it creates the best pathway back to activities you love- whether that’s running after your kids, returning to the gym, or simply moving without pain.
What Does a Physiotherapist Do?
Physiotherapists are your first stop when pain or injury strikes. Their expertise lies in:
Diagnosis - finding out what’s causing the pain.
Hands-on treatment – treating pain with manual therapy, massage, dry needling, or joint mobilisations.
Restoring movement early on – helping you reduce pain, swelling, and stiffness and providing appropriate rehabilitation exercises to ease you back into activity.
Think of physios as the professionals who help you take those first steps out of injury or surgery safely.
What Does an Exercise Physiologist Do?
Exercise physiologists (AEPs) step in once your pain is under control and your body is ready to rebuild. Our specialty is:
Exercise prescription – designing safe, progressive programs tailored to your body. Ensuring the exercise program is based on the latest scientific studies.
Long-term rehabilitation – restoring movement and strength so injuries don’t keep coming back.
Chronic conditions – guiding exercise for women with osteoporosis, PCOS, endometriosis, menopause, pregnancy, musculoskeletal pain and other health conditions.
Physiotherapy helps you get out of pain,
exercise physiology helps you
get stronger and stay out of pain
How We Work Together
The best outcomes often come when physiotherapists and exercise physiologists collaborate. For example:
Post-surgery – a physio helps restore range of motion, reduce swelling and pain. Then an AEP builds back your strength and function.
Lower back pain – a physio may settle the flare-up and restore movement. An AEP then teaches you how to move to offload muscles overworking and activate muscles under working. Then provides a graded strength program to keep your back supported long term.
Pelvic floor recovery – a women’s health physio assesses and treats your pelvic floor. Then we integrate their findings into a tailored strength program, helping you lift weights safely.
Strength Training for Women
Women’s bodies change across the lifespan in ways that deeply affect how we should exercise. One thing is for certain- women need to lift weights to stay strong.
A women’s health exercise physiologist will focus on:
Hormonal shifts – from monthly cycles to pregnancy to menopause, hormones affect energy, recovery, muscle building, and bone health.
Bone and muscle health – women are at higher risk of osteoporosis and muscle loss as we age, meaning strength training is essential.
Pelvic floor and core – often overlooked, but essential for movement to safely lift, run, or perform high-impact activities.
Start from the fundamentals with an exercise professional who can teach you how to move well, engage your core and pelvic floor, and build confidence. From there, start a progressive strength training that improves muscle, fitness, and body composition.
What This Means for You
A women’s health exercise physiologist can help you achieve:
Safe return to exercise after injury, pregnancy, or surgery.
Improved strength and fitness tailored to your stage of life.
Weight management and body composition changes through muscle building and metabolic health.
Confidence in your body- not just being “pain-free,” but feeling strong and capable.
You don’t have to navigate exercise alone, guessing what’s safe or effective.
An AEP’s role is to guide you with evidence-based, personalised care so you know exactly what to do, and how to do it, for your health and goals.
