Dr Ian McCurdie
MBBS MSc(SportsMed) FRCP MRCGP DRCOG FFSEM(UK)

Consultant in Rheumatology & Rehabilitation Medicine

Sport & Exercise Medicine (SEM) is a new specialty that addresses the medical needs of exercising individuals. I work in SEM in a number of different settings. As well as my St Anthony’s clinic, I am the Consultant Advisor in Rehabilitation to the Lawn Tennis Association and Chelsea Football Club.

I qualified from King’s College Hospital, London in 1983 and joined the British Army. I then trained in General Practice and worked in primary care for five years. After completing a full time Diploma in Sports Medicine in 1991 at The Royal London Hospital, I decided to retrain as a Consultant in Rheumatology & Rehabilitation in order to pursue my interest in SEM. Following a further six years of specialist training, I moved to the Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre at Headley Court, where I worked for 7 years as a Consultant specialising in the rehabilitation of sports & training injuries among Armed Forces personnel.

I also have several years’ experience of working with elite athletes and was the Medical Officer to the British Modern Pentathlon Association for 7 years. I have been a doctor with the British team at the last two Olympic Games (Sydney in 2000 & Athens in 2004) and with Team England at the Commonwealth Games in 2002 and 2006. I am also medical officer to the British Davis Cup tennis team and at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships.

My clinical interests are the management and rehabilitation of exercise related injury and the effective use of multi-disciplinary teams. My clinical experience reflects my training in General Practice, Rheumatology, Rehabilitation and SEM and my work within the NHS, the military and elite sport. In clinical practice, my aim is usually to restore function and return the individual to their work or sport, whether they be an elite athlete or a recreational exerciser. I believe that this can only be achieved through accurate diagnosis and comprehensive treatment planning, often with coordinated input from other therapists and the use of exercise-based rehabilitation programmes.