We all think about how we want our careers to grow and what we see ourselves doing in 10 years. Many of us go into sports physiotherapy/physical therapy because we want to work with athletes in high performance sport. But there's no one career pathway into those roles. How do you shape your own path if you don't have a solid map? Emily Ross has forged one of those paths in elite women's sport—moving from post-graduate clinical practice in musculoskeletal care to working for over 10 years in elite sport.
Emily Ross’ career has centred on achieving excellence, always improving, and finding ways to boost athlete availability. She led the physiotherapy provision for England Rugby’s Red Roses across two World Cup campaigns. Her achievements with the Red Roses include: (i) completing 4 unbeaten Autumn International series and 6 consecutive title-winning Women’s Six Nations tournaments (including 5 Grand slam campaigns), (ii) a silver medal in the 2022 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand, and (iii) winning gold at the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 on home soil. Today Emily shares her experiences and her advice for breaking into and sustaining a fulfilling career in elite sport.
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RESOURCES
2023 IOC consensus on relative energy deficiency in sport (REDs)