Mick Hughes:
Sports & Exercise Physiotherapist
M. Sports Physio, B. Physio, B.Ex. Sci.

A mental health update from someone who used to look like he'd wet himself on stage. It's been a couple of months since I last checked in on the mental health front, so I figured it was time to pull up a chair, make a coffee, and have a proper chat. Quick recap for anyone who missed the last instalment of Mick's Ongoing Psychological Adventures: a couple of months back I posted about what had been a genuinely brilliant run with my mental health. No drama. No fires. No white-k

I was 26 years old when I got the phone call. It was a Sunday night, which already felt a little unusual. Doctors generally don’t ring you on a Sunday night to tell you that everything is wonderfully boring. A few days earlier, I’d had a suspicious mole removed from the middle of my back. Not somewhere helpful, like my forearm, where I might have noticed it changing. Not somewhere obvious, like my face, where I might have seen it in the mirror. Nope. Right between my shoulder

Today I went back to my psychologist for a follow-up, and honestly it was really, really good. For context, I’d started 2026 the way most of us do: optimistic, fresh-page energy, “this is my year” vibes. And then I got back into the groove of work and life - and just felt a bit flat . Not in a catastrophic way. No dramatic plot twist. Just that familiar post-holiday drop where you come back from something amazing (Canada was unreal BTW - genuinely one of the most memorable tr

When I woke up 1st January 2025 and thought about what 2025 might look like, I had a rough idea of the usual things: busy weeks in the clinic, Learn.Physio projects, starting the ACL Hub, recording Exercise Matters episodes, kids’ sport, school runs, and hopefully a holiday squeezed in somewhere. What I didn’t have written down anywhere was: “Spend the first half of the year dealing with a rare, potentially life-threatening bacterial infection picked up from the mud.” This i

So… here we are. I never thought I’d write something like this, let alone share it publicly. Most of what I post online is pretty superficial; physio tips, ACL nerdiness, rehab rants, the usual Mick-Hughes-being-a-physio content. But November traditionally has a big light shining on Men's Health (including mental health), and over the past 12–18 months, I’ve learned a lot about myself and my own mental health. Enough, at least, to finally feel comfortable opening up a bit. So

Each year, there are literally 1000's of scientific ACL papers that are published in journals. So to help block out the noise, and help...

If you have been on social media over the last week, you may have seen a few posts from various people from the 2022 Sports Medicine...

In a recent survey of 304 non-professional ACLR patients (90% of respondents Australian, nearly 60% female and at the time of surgery...

I know I bang on A LOT about how important the quads are for ACL rehab (and this won't change anytime soon), but another muscle we need...

A great study looking at the reliability and normative values of a heel raise test This was a single legged heel raise test to fatigue...