Karen graduated from the College of William & Mary in Virginia (USA) in 1993 with a B.Sc. in Kinesiology. Being a four time ALL AMERICAN tennis player she joined the WTA tennis tour. Following a career ending injury, Karen decided to follow her dream and become a physiotherapist. In 1999 she graduated with a B.Sc. in Physiotherapy from Stellenbosch University.

Since then Karen has been in private practice focusing on sports and musculoskeletal injuries and has treated national and international athletes from a wide range of sports including tennis, golf, squash, athletics, cycling, running, rugby and endurance events. Karen has been the Head and Managing Physiotherapist for the Sunshine Tour since 2007. Her duties involve coordinating all Physiotherapy & Wellness Services for the golfers participating at the Sunshine Tour, DP World Tour and Ladies European Tour events in South Africa. Karen is also the Physiotherapist & Golf Performance Specialist for the Stinger GC on the LIV Golf Tour. Karen has worked with golfers such as Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas, Max Homa, Tommy Fleetwood, Gary Player, Ernie Els; just to name a few.  

Karen has also worked at various ATP & ITF Tennis tournaments and events. She has worked with players including Raven Klaassen, Lloyd Harris, Sumit Nagal, Ruan Roelofse; just to name a few. She has worked at various tennis tournaments including Wimbledon, Roland Garros, Australian Open and the US Open. She was also the physio for the South African Davis Cup and Fed Cup Tennis teams for a number of years. Her expertise when it comes to tennis not only stops at tennis related injuries but also Strength & Conditioning, court movement and tennis specific fitness.

Karen has a keen interest in injury prevention and “body balancing / alignment correction” in order to sustain and enhance performance.  In April 2018 she had the privilege to spend a week training and observing the management of shoulders, elbows and hands in a specialized Upperlimb Unit in Manchester with world renowned Prof Leonard Funk and Tanya Mackenzie.  

Qualifications:

• B.Sc. Physiotherapy (Stellenbosch)
• B.Sc. Clinical Kinesiology (College of William & Mary, USA)

Post-graduated courses completed

• Management of Common Hand and Wrist Injuries
• Clinical Approach to Shoulder Injuries - Joanne Sklaar
• Elbow Assessment & Management by Tanya Bell
• Lynn Watson Shoulder Course Level 1 - Lynn Watson
• Upperlimb (shoulder, elbows & hands) training in Manchester with Prof Leonard Funk & Tanya Mckenzie
• Going Global: Ultimate Upper Quarter Course (Neck & Shoulder) - Tanya Bell
• The Mulligan Concept Upper Quarter - Geoff Foat
• Diane Lee Concept of the SIJ - Diane Lee
• Headache Course - Ina Diener
• Ethical Professional Practice
• Ethics in Sport Physio
• Idiots Guide to Cycling Injuries
• IFOMT - International Physiotherapy Congress
• Sports Physiotherapy: Research to Clinical Practice
• SPT (Sports Physiotherapy)
• Myofascial Integration - Marius Strydom
• Lyno Therapy 1 & 2 - Benita de Witt
• The Amazing Nervous System - Treatment of Chronic Pain - Duffy Sweatman
• Swiss Ball Training for Rehab & Athletic Conditioning - Richard Sutton
• Power Plate
• Dry Needling Modules 1-4 - Claire Waumsley
• Charles Liggins Myofascial Release Techniques
• Build the Complete Athlete - Richard Sutton
• Strapping Course
• Understanding the Knee - Anthony Kaplan
• Spinal and Peripheral Manipulation - Dave Lintonborn
• Golf Mechanics - Dave Bensted Smith
• Headsmart Concussion Management - Ryan Kohler
• Tackling Concussion Head On - Megyn Robertson
• Utilizing nutrition to get the best out of life - Emile Weitz
• The Dizzy Patient - Athene Irving & Christene Rogers
• The Mulligan Concept: Upper Quadrant - Geoff Foat
• Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy: Multidisciplinary Applications and Scientific Review - Prof Karsten Knoblock, Mr. Paul Horbough and Prof Wayne Derman
• Non-Surgical strategies to manage knee OA - Prof Wayne Derman, Mr. Cobus Breytenbach, Dr. Richard von Bormann
• Hot Topics International Shoulder Rehab - Goldstein, McCord-Uys, Fleishman, Smith, Putting, Pandey

Events:

• Davis Cup Tennis 2014 - 2019
• Fed Cup Tennis 2017 - 2019
• Tennis: Wimbledon, French Open, Australian Open, US Open & numerous other ATP tournaments (2017 - 2025)
• LIV Golf Tournaments 
• Golf: Masters, The Open, PGA Championships, BMW PGA Champs & various other golf tournaments
• Absa Cape Epic  2006 - 2017
• Cape Town Cycle Tour 2017 - 2019
• ITF Digicall / Curro Tennis Tournaments  2015 - 2019
• Sunshine Golf Tour events; including Nedbank Golf Challenge, SA Open, Alfred Dunhill 2008 - 2019
• SA Baseball Interpro 2017
• World Junior Baseball Champs 
• KOED Athletics
• MTBS
• Trans Cape Cycle Race
• Ride the Rhino
• Cape Town 12 Run
• Stellenberg vs Durbanville Interschools
• Double Century Cycle Tour 
• ATP Tennis tour; including Australian Open, US Open, Indian Wells, Miami Open