A physiotherapist inspired by her health struggles to help others is on a mission to heal West Cumbria.
Natasha Barnes, 29, of Oughterside, near Aspatria, has spent the past two years building her business West Lakes Health – all while facing chronic health conditions of her own.
Treating people with all kinds of issues from ages nine to 89 – Natasha, known as Tash, has helped people from different backgrounds and has worked closely with the England Boxing team, the England Wheelchair Rugby League and the England Women’s Rugby League team.
She also works events like triathlon The Lakesman, local strong man competitions and as a supporting physio for Papua New Guinea Women in the rugby league world cup.
In Cumbria, she holds clinics at both the Lab Gym in Aspatria and Seaton Rugby League Club – and recently opened her own West Lakes Health physio clinic and rehab gym on Jane Street in Workington.
But it’s an achievement that Tash has reached while recovering from major surgery after spending 15 years trying to find answers to explain her chronic pain and fatigue.
She said: “My journey to become a physio started when I was a child. I was very active, so it was before school and after school clubs and different sports every evening and I was doing football, karate and gymnastics all as a county level.
“But I was just hurting myself all the time and missing out on PE and going to A&E from gymnastics training multiple times a week.
“Unfortunately they would do scans and try to find the problem, but I never really got any answers or any real diagnosis for anything.
“In my mid-teens I had to give up every sport I did and I wasn’t very active for quite some time and I struggled with my mobility and had all these supports and fancy trainers to help.
“But the healthcare professionals were saying they couldn’t find anything and so I just sort of gave up.”
After overcoming struggles in school, Tash went on to study a degree in sports therapy followed by a masters degree in physiotherapy.
She said: “I didn’t want anyone else to ever have to give up sport like I had to for injury and go through the fights I had to for 15 years. I also wanted to work out what was wrong and fix myself.
“In my teens I had a lot of people saying ‘she’ll be in a wheelchair before she’s 20’ and it really stuck with me. There’s nothing wrong with using a wheelchair, but I thought to myself this can’t be the way this goes.”
After years of trying to find answers, Tash finally got a diagnosis while working in the NHS as a senior physiotherapist after completing her masters degree.
She added: “I just thought, I’m a senior physio in the very trust that didn’t work for me when I was younger, if there’s a time to advocate for myself, it’s now.
“So I looked back into it, got an appointment with a great rheumatologist who treated me as a clinician and he confirmed some of the diagnosis’ I’d figured out with my friends in university at 19.”
Tash lives with Elhers Danlos Syndrome, fibromyalgia and asthma. She also has severe hip dysplasia which has resulted in her needing reconstructive surgery and follow-up surgeries to fully reconstruct her pelvis and realign the bones in her legs.
But it’s only made her more determined to support the people who come to her for help.
She added: “I’m on a bit of a hail Mary mission to fix West Cumbria I guess. I’m trying to draw on my personal and professional experiences to basically be everybody’s physio.
“People come and see me at their most vulnerable in a way and it’s a privilege to have them trust me to work with them.
“When people come in struggling with certain things and I’ve got that lived experience and they try and explain a symptom that a lot of people might not understand, even if I don’t outwardly say it, by having a lot of things going on with myself medically, I often quickly know how to fix it.
“But for me, if I can get a big burly man working in groundworks or labour doing balance exercises on his lunch break then I can sleep well at night knowing I’ve had some impact on improving their life.”
Tash is also working to make physiotherapy more accessible across West Cumbria.
She added: “I have a partnership with Rumney Greaves Dance Academy, where under-18s get money off services as I want to improve the accessibility of physio for young people in those sports and that comes from a very personal place.
“Because I now have these three amazing locations in Seaton, Aspatria and Workington, I’m also bringing in students and offering placements and now I’m looking at other incredible female coaches and clinicians in the area.
“So instead of us competing for similar clientele, it’s about working together and creating that network.
“I’m saying disabled female-owned and female-led, but I would bring male clinicians or anyone of other denominations too, but I feel like I’m creating something special by bringing women together to promoting and build all our businesses alongside each other.
So our new rehab studio (18 Jane Street, CA14) has officially been open over a week, and it's been incredible!!! ???? I…
Posted by West Lakes Health on Tuesday 11 June 2024
“But for the physio clinic and private rehab gym I wanted it to be a welcoming environment for people to prioritise their health and wellbeing in a safe space.
“I have some clients where a gym is far too intimidating for them, or for when we might need to take things slow we can and we have that comfy space for tea and coffee and we’ve always got cookies and cake going – it’s all about balance.
“It’s been a wild an exciting period of time and I can’t wait to see how West Lakes Health will grow and develop over this year and the next few.”
While Tash’s family see her as a superwoman – she mainly credits them and her clients for her success.
She said: “I’ve had sports teams think I’m unable to do my job because I was using a walking stick or crutches and I was anxious to tell England Boxing about my surgery, but they put me up in a wheelchair accessible room and the boxers on away trips carry my bags and help me out.
“I’ve just got so many amazing people around me and when I was renovating the studio I was able to trade services with some of my clients who work as plumbers and electricians.
“But my mam and dad have been incredible and so have my four brothers and my fantastic partner Drew. My grandma Barnes is my biggest fan and inspiration too and it gives me faith to have such strong people in my life.
“It’s really not my story, it’s everybody else’s story.”
Tash is looking to bring new team members on board and expand West Lakes Health in the future.
