RuthAnn Fanstone, a physiotherapy graduate from the School of Health Professions, is exploring and gathering an evidence base for emerging treatments for scars as part of her role as a scar specialist and physiotherapist for the Katie Piper Foundation.
Former model, Katie Piper, who suffered deep facial and internal burns in an acid attack set up by an ex-boyfriend, highlighted in an interview with the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP) how invaluable physiotherapy is to the healing process.
In the article, which appears in the CSP Frontline journal, Katie, said "Physios were a massive part of not just my physical rehabilitation but my mental recovery. As well as helping me with the functional side of my injuries, they were there to talk to me when I needed someone to listen.
"Our sole focus is rehabilitation. We believe that burns rehabilitation is a multi-disciplinary approach which can often be led by the physios.
"We hope that having a physio – RuthAnn Fanstone – on board will bring experience, expertise, forward-thinking and an open and innovative mind to help improve the existing rehabilitation in this country."
RuthAnn said: "I left the University of Brighton with a passion for neurological physiotherapy due to a particularly effective placement I had in neuro. However, after two-and-a-half years as a junior I went to India for two years to set up a physiotherapy department in a rural 100-bed hospital and it was there that I came across a lot of burn injuries.
"I had not done any burns or plastic surgery but, due to the need I saw there I wanted to learn, so I came back to London and got the chance to set up a new burns and plastic surgery service at the Royal Free Hospital in London. This was a great job and I got the chance to treat a number of large trauma cases.
"I then moved on to bigger burn units in Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in London and Queen Victoria Hospital in East Grinstead where I was lead physio. I did my MSc in Health Services Management at London University and, in between, I kept travelling to do burns work and teaching in India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan and Africa.
"I used my clinical and management experience to run a charity called Interburns (International Network of Training, Education and Research in Burns) from April 2010 to this year and I now work for the Katie Piper Foundation, exploring and gathering an evidence base for emerging scar treatment, learning from some European centres that have different approaches and looking into other areas of burn rehabilitation.
"Physiotherapy opens so many doors and doing things outside physio can also really add to our skills and experience. I found working internationally also very valuable. A great School of Health Professions at the University of Brighton and a strong junior rotation period were a tremendous help to me and were an ideal foundation from which to move forward. Burns and plastics has been a surprising but wonderful speciality."
Read the full CSP interview with Katie Piper.
