Leanda McKenna

After graduating from Curtin University in 1990, Leanda McKenna commenced clinical practice as a physiotherapist at public hospitals and private practice in Western Australia, the Northern Territory and the United Kingdom. She has been an academic staff member at Curtin since 2000, and has continued to work in private practice during this time. Leanda gained her PhD in 2012, which examined shoulder pain in adolescent swimmers. Her research has focused on two areas - shoulder pain and pregnancy related issues. Specifically for shoulder pain, her research has examined the clinical assessment of the scapular and humeral head position, differences between swimmers and non-swimmers for scapular, humeral head position and muscular characteristics, whether scapular and humeral head position can predict shoulder pain and whether scapular based treatments are effective in shoulder pain. Specifically for pregnancy related issues, her research has examined the assessment and treatment choices that physiotherapists use when treating Mastitis and predictors to response to treatment in women who have pregnancy related pelvic girdle pain.