Scott Howard Physiotherapist and Exercise Physiologist

06/03/2026

Reflections a week on from the Central Coast Roosters’ first foray to the land of the long white cloud.

It was a frantic week determining who was fit to make the trip before the weekend arrived and went in the blink of an eye. It was an early start on Saturday and a late finish on Sunday. The two hour time difference also kept it interesting.

As with all these trips it was great to be able to take some time to get to know the staff and players better. Bonding and banter at putt putt golf was a fun extracurricular activity to footy.

Being flexible was a non-negotiable, making thermoplastic guards and coffees from the same hot water urn, as well as strapping in the hotel gym on the morning of the game to ease the workload once we reached the field.

We came out of it with a few injuries however we were able to manage what we could at the time and arrange medical review for other issues for the following day before we left Auckland.

Logistically we did a great job and it wasn’t until we got back to Sydney that it came undone. One of the boys was missing his bag (not his fault) and another was missing his passport (definitely his fault - the joys of travelling with teenagers).

31/10/2025

Earlier this year I listened to an interesting podcast by Oxygen Advantage on breathwork for rugby and team sports. They brought my attention to a particular article on breath holds and repeat sprint ability. In summary:

- Subjects performed 2 training sessions per week over 4 weeks
- Sessions consisted of 2-3 sets of 8x40m all out sprints every 30sec
- Subjects performed a normal exhalation prior to the sprint then held their breath for the length of the sprint
- Subjects in the breath hold group recorded a 64% improvement in their repeat sprint ability at the end of the 4 weeks (vs 6% in subjects who didn't hold their breath)

Crazy!

14/10/2025

Third time back to PNG with the ASSRL school boys and still just as exciting as the first time. Combined the best bits from the past with experiences unique to this year’s tour. So proud to see the boys come out in the second half, go after it and get what they deserved

05/09/2025

Register to become an organ and tissue donor at https://www.donatelife.gov.au/register-donor-today

Jersey Day 2025

(The only day we ‘allow’ maroon colours 🙃)

Each Jersey Day schools and workplaces across Australia wear their favourite sporting jersey and begin the conversation with their family and friends about the importance of becoming an organ and tissue donor.

Jersey Day was inspired by the gift of life that Nathan Gremmo gave to six people when he became an organ donor at age 13.

Jersey Day is all about raising awareness - register to become an organ and tissue donor you could be helping to save a life.

20/07/2025

31/05/2025

A huge thanks to Mel for bringing me in to assist her during the 2025 NSW Women’s State of Origin series. It was such a well run campaign and all of her hard work made it easy for me when I came in on game day

16/04/2025

In the clinic I commonly see young athletes who train at school, club and representative level, as well as across multiple sports. This infographic is a simple rule of thumb for how much training is recommended before there is an increased risk for overuse injuries

A study by Jayanthi et al. (2015), published in The American Journal of Sports Medicine, examined 1,214 injured athletes between the ages of 7 and 18. These athletes, recruited from two hospital-based sports medicine clinics, were compared with healthy peers from primary care clinics during routine sports physicals.

Participants completed surveys reporting how many hours per week they spent in organized sports.

The results?
Young athletes are at increased risk of serious overuse injuries when they train more hours per week than their age in years.

What does that mean?
10 years old? Stay under 10 hours/week.

Athletic development isn’t about doing more.
It’s about balancing training, recovery, and nutrition to support healthy growth and maximize performance.

Want to train young athletes the right way?

Check out our expert resources:

• Books Formula for Success in Sports
• Integral Physical Conditioning for Young Athletes video series

Available only at: https://mozaiqsports.com/shop/

Reference: Jayanthi NA, LaBella CR, Fischer D, Pasulka J, Dugas LR. Sports-specialized intensive training and the risk of injury in young athletes: a clinical case-control study. Am J Sports Med. 2015 Apr

12/04/2025

WELCOME TO THE TEAM

SCOTTY HOWARD

One of the most well respected and well known Exercise Physiologist / Physiotherapists there is. In addition to his incredible professional bio, Scotty is also a mad keen waterman and lover of all things health & human performance. Scotty is an all-round top bloke. We are lucky to have him in the crew of epic mega-nerds that make up our UA Allied Health Committee. When we say our training and programs are 'based on science'... you know they are exactly that.

Exercise Physiologist and Physiotherapist

Allied Health Committee

Master of Clinical Exercise Physiology (Rehabilitation) - Charles Sturt University

Bachelor of Science - Sport Science and Physical Activity - University of Newcastle

Bachelor of Physiotherapy (Honours) - University of Newcastle

Open Water Scuba Diving Certification - SSI

WWCC / First Aid / CPR

He is an unashamed fan boy of a mid length and wishes he surfed like Torren Martyn

30/03/2025

This weekend I was back (no puns intended) learning about the lumbar spine and pelvis from world renowned physio Trish Wisbey-Roth. I built on my foundational knowledge, particularly for the SIJ and p***c symphysis, and am armed with additional assessment and treatment techniques to implement come Monday morning

23/10/2024

As the dust settles on another Australian Schoolboys rugby league campaign it’s time to reflect on the experience. As always the footy was a pleasure however our trip back to PNG is bigger than just footy. Our two countries share a special relationship and I applaud the ambition of entering a PNG team into the NRL in the near future. The ASSRL and PM’s XIII players promoted positive change for local issues such as violence against women and children, and I was proud to be part of it

11/09/2024

More 🔥 from Aspetar. It was my turn to present at our in house professional development session this week and I took my colleagues through the acute adductor injury treatment protocol

08/06/2024

On Wednesday I had the honour of working with the navy blues in the state of origin curtain raiser game, an under 15s team from the Riverina who have participated in the RISE program over the last few years. Not only did they play some great football, they epitomised the values of what the RISE program is all about. It is such a great initiative and everyone involved in the program should be commended for their effort