Rate My Professor Gisela Sole

Professor Gisela Sole is a Professor in the School of Physiotherapy at the University of Otago, serving as Deputy Dean of the School. She holds a BSc(Physio) from Stellenbosch University, an MSc(Med) in Exercise Science from the University of Cape Town, and a PhD from the University of Otago, where her thesis examined neuromuscular control of thigh and gluteal muscles following hamstring injuries, completed in 2008. Her academic career includes a position as Senior Lecturer in the Division of Physiotherapy at the University of Cape Town from 1992 to 1999, leadership in undergraduate orthopaedic manual therapy and postgraduate sports physiotherapy programmes, and affiliation with the University of Otago since 2001, where she was promoted to full Professor in 2022. Sole has held roles on the University's Board of Postgraduate Studies and Board of Undergraduate Studies, and serves on an Academic Advisory Group advising research undertaken by Physiotherapy New Zealand alongside ACC.

Sole's research interests centre on the management of sports injuries, with a focus on anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) ruptures, persistent shoulder pain including rotator cuff syndrome, patient education, self-management strategies, rehabilitation outcomes, biomechanics, and community concussion management. Originating from clinical practice in a South African hospital in the 1980s, her work addresses paradoxes in accelerated rehabilitation protocols, long-term impairments such as fear of re-injury, and biopsychosocial approaches. Key publications include 'The “Glass Shoulder”: Patients’ lived experiences of a traumatic shoulder dislocation – a qualitative study' (2024), 'Stepped rehabilitation of people with persistent shoulder pain in New Zealand (StePS-NZ): a randomised clinical trial protocol' (2025), 'Physiotherapists’ attitudes and beliefs about self-management as part of their management for low back pain' (2023, cited 14 times), 'What are the current practices of sports physiotherapists in concussion management? A mixed methods systematic review' (2019, cited 48 times), and 'Low knee-related quality of life and persistent physical activity limitations in people with chronic ACL deficiency: A cross-sectional study' (2021, cited 15 times). With 181 publications and over 2,800 citations, her contributions have advanced clinical strategies through mentoring of undergraduate and PhD students, organisation of symposia like Shoulder360, and interdisciplinary collaborations. In 2023, she was appointed to the Australian Physiotherapy Council Accreditation Committee, and her team secured a Health Research Council of New Zealand grant for shoulder pain research and the Champion Project of Pain@Otago award in 2021.