About Natalie

Natalie Bennett-Bremner

Bachelor of Science (Physiotherapy)
Post Graduate Diploma (Sports Physiotherapy)

Registered Physiotherapist (Reg# 2209)

I am a Sports Physiotherapist with over 15 years experience.

For five years, I was the director of Beaumaris Physiotherapy where I treated mostly sporting injuries and musculoskeletal disorders.

After developing a keen interest in paediatrics, I set up Kidz Clinic to specialise in the management of children and teenagers with hypermobility disorders, juvenile arthritis, sporting injuries and obesity.

The Spiral Thigh Brace concept

My daughter is hypermobile. At the age of 3, I was concerned about her excessive internal rotation at the hips which gave her a “knock kneed” appearance. This worsened at the end of the day when she was tired or fatigued.

A podiatrist made her some orthotics but this corrected the rotation in the lower leg. However it did not help the rotation occurring at the hip. Over a 6 month period I was tossing ideas around in my head about what I could do to improve this problem.

Then a little girl came into my office that had sustained a hip injury 5 years earlier during a domestic violence incident. She had been in constant pain since. Her hip was also internally rotated which I believed contributed to her pain. I tried taping her hip and thigh to turn the leg into a more neutral position.

This significantly reduced her pain on walking. However as a result of her hypermobility disorder she was allergic to tape. So we could no longer use this as a treatment option. I then tried taping over the top of tubigrip bandage to to create a similar effect. But this kept slipping down.

So I took my ideas to a seamstress and designed a garment that would mimic the role of taping the hip and thigh. The first pair of pants worked wonderfully and the little girl walked pain-free for the first time in 5 years. I thought I would make a pair for my daughter to see if it would have the same effect on her. Remarkably it corrected her ‘knock knees “ when walking.

Extending the concept

I realised that this approach could benefit many hypermobile children when there is excessive internal rotation at the hip, knock-knees or poor core stability. I think the garment works best when used in conjunction with a gluteus medius/pelvic stability program.

It is now used for children with cerebral palsy who either have poor pelvic stability or “scissoring” of the legs.

If you would like to contact me about your child’s condition or treatment you can use the email form below.