My Story

When I Stopped Just Treating the Body

I’ve been a physiotherapist for more than two decades — trained in Germany, shaped in Sweden, and now proudly based in Australia.

Over the years, I’ve worked with everyone from Olympic athletes to everyday people simply trying to get through their week without tension taking over.

What I found was surprisingly consistent: pain didn’t always make sense.

Two people could have the same scan, the same injury, and the same treatment plan — yet one would recover quickly while the other kept struggling.

It was frustrating. I thought I was missing something… and I was.

When I moved to Australia to complete my double Master’s degrees in Sports and Musculoskeletal Physiotherapy, I became fascinated by the science of pain and how to apply this knowledge to help my patients understand their pain.

Those years completely changed how I saw the body — and, in many ways, changed my life.

Understanding Pain Differently

I immersed myself in the neurophysiology of pain — the complex interplay between body, brain, and behaviour.

It was one of the most intellectually rewarding periods of my life; I finally understood what had puzzled me for years.

Pain isn’t just a tissue problem.

It’s the body’s protective alarm — influenced by everything from stress, beliefs, sleep, lifestyle, emotions, and past experiences. Everyone is happy to acknowledge that stress can cause a heart attack. For many, it seems to be harder to accept that stress and lifestyle can also cause physical pain.

Once I understood that, I couldn’t go back to treating only the muscle, tendon, or joint.

When I started looking beyond the tissue, everything changed.

I began to see the whole person — their lifestyle, beliefs, fears, and emotions — and how all of these shaped their physical experience.

When people stopped fighting their pain and started listening to it, something profound shifted.

They uncovered their own answers — not the ones I could give them, but the ones their body had been whispering all along.

From Fixing to Guiding

When I began to see the answers people carried within themselves, my role changed — from fixing to guiding, from doing the work for them to helping them trust their own body’s strength and wisdom again.

This was the moment I knew I needed to share this message with more people — to help them discover the same power within themselves.

A New Approach for an Old Problem

Vibration therapy has been used in physiotherapy for decades and is supported by research showing that it can ease muscle tension and stiffness through gentle mechanical stimulation, helping the nervous system return the body to a state of ease. You can read more about the general principles of vibration here.

Despite its long history, there was no professional, quality tool that was both small and accessible enough for everyday use.

So I set out to change that.

After more than ten years of using clinical-grade vibration in practice, I collaborated with engineers to design a proprietary micro-vibration motor, refined for targeted muscle relaxation.

The result was something unique:

A compact, medical-grade device that fits in your pocket — shaped perfectly to the contours of the hand, which works for even the most sensitive areas.

That’s how Pocket Physio® was born:

A tiny tool for big moments.

What Pocket Physio® Offers

Pocket Physio® delivers gentle mechanical vibration to help ease muscle tension, stiffness, and fatigue — anytime, anywhere.

But more than that, it offers a moment of calm in a busy world.

When life builds pressure, your body feels it first.

Shoulders tighten. Breath shortens. Your system shifts into high alert.

Using vibration, combined with a few slow, deep breaths, can help the body settle — a simple, physical signal that communicates you’re safe.

Because pain is, at its core, the body’s way of saying something doesn’t feel safe right now.

When we can shift that signal from danger to safety — everything changes.

Why this Exists

I created The Self-Care Hub to give people the understanding I wish every patient had — that pain isn’t an enemy to fight, but a message to listen to.

Through clear education and simple tools, my goal is to help people build self-efficacy — the confidence to understand their own bodies and know what they need.

Pocket Physio® is one of those tools: a bridge between science and self-care.

It’s small enough to fit in your hand, but powerful enough to remind your system to relax, reset, and reclaim the day.

I truly hope that this is of value to you and helps you reclaim your power.

All my best

Elena

Founder Pocket Physio®

Master of Musculoskeletal Physiotherapy

Master of Sports Physiotherapy