Independently verifiable

Research & Credentials

Any clinic can describe itself as expert. This page exists so you don't have to take our word for it: every entry below links to an independent source — peer-reviewed journals, university records, professional clubs, even a Harvard Business School case study — that you can check for yourself.

Doctoral research

Steve's PhD, completed at the University of Queensland in 2007 under the supervision of Professor Paul Hodges and Dr Mary Magarey, examined how the abdominal and paraspinal muscles control the lumbo-pelvic region during walking and running, in people with and without low back pain: the science behind efficient human movement, the co-ordination of the lumbo-pelvic muscles, low back pain and potential sources of lower limb injury. It is the direct scientific foundation of how this clinic assesses and treats low back pain.

  • Saunders, Steven Wayne (2007). Lumbo-pelvic control during human bipedal locomotion: contribution of the abdominal and paraspinal muscles in individuals with and without low back pain. PhD thesis, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, The University of Queensland. Thesis record — doi.org / UQ eSpace →

Peer-reviewed publications

Steve's research spans two eras: the University of Queensland lumbo-pelvic studies (together cited hundreds of times in the scientific literature), and more recent collaborative work with researchers at the University of South Australia and Adelaide University on strength testing, Achilles tendon imaging and baseball pitching biomechanics — including the strength-testing methods used in elite sport and in this clinic. Each record below is held independently by PubMed, the US National Library of Medicine's index of the biomedical literature, or by the publisher's DOI record.

  • Saunders SW, Hodges PW. Lumbo-pelvic stability: the coordination of deep and superficial trunk muscle activity during human locomotion. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport. 2002;5(4 Suppl):5 (conference abstract). DOI record — Elsevier via Crossref →
  • Saunders SW, Rath D, Hodges PW. Postural and respiratory activation of the trunk muscles changes with mode and speed of locomotion. Gait & Posture. 2004;20(3):280–290. PubMed — National Library of Medicine →
  • Saunders SW, Schache A, Rath D, Hodges PW. Changes in three dimensional lumbo-pelvic kinematics and trunk muscle activity with speed and mode of locomotion. Clinical Biomechanics. 2005;20(8):784–793. PubMed — National Library of Medicine →
  • Ooi CC, Schneider ME, Malliaras P, Jones D, Saunders S, McMahon A, Connell D. Sonoelastography of the Achilles tendon: prevalence and prognostic value among asymptomatic elite Australian Rules football players. Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine. 2016;26(4):299–306. PubMed — National Library of Medicine →
  • Ransom M, Saunders S, Gallo T, Segal J, Jones D, Jones M, Milanese S. Reliability of a portable fixed frame dynamometry system used to test lower limb strength in elite Australian Football League players. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport. 2020;23(9):826–830 — the reliability science behind fixed-frame strength testing of the kind used at this clinic. PubMed — National Library of Medicine →
  • Mine K, Milanese S, Jones MA, Saunders S, Onofrio B. Risk factors of shoulder and elbow injuries in baseball: a scoping review of 3 types of evidence. Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine. 2021;9(12). PubMed — National Library of Medicine →
  • Mine K, Milanese S, Jones MA, Saunders S, Onofrio B. Pitching mechanics and performance of adult baseball pitchers: a systematic review and meta-analysis for normative data. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport. 2023;26(1):69–76. PubMed — National Library of Medicine →
  • Jenner B, Nottle C, Walters JL, Saunders SW, Leicht AS, Crowther RG. Reliability of the running vertical jump test in female team sport athletes. Physical Therapy in Sport. 2023;60:47–53. PubMed — National Library of Medicine →
  • Jenner B, Nottle C, Walters JL, Saunders SW, Leicht AS, Crowther RG. Reliability of lower limb strength assessment in female team sport athletes. Physical Therapy in Sport. 2024;68:71–79. PubMed — National Library of Medicine →
  • Jenner B, Nottle C, Walters JL, Saunders SW, Leicht AS, Palmer BL, Crowther RG. The use of dynamometry for lower limb strength assessment in female team sport athletes: a scoping review. Journal of Science in Sport and Exercise. Published online 2024; 8(3):244–258. DOI record — Springer via Crossref →
  • Roesch HJ, Banwell H, Jones M, Saunders S, Milanese S. An exploration of the acute response of the asymptomatic Achilles tendon to exercise using diagnostic ultrasound: a systematic review of cohort studies. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport. 2025;28(4):313–323. PubMed — National Library of Medicine →
  • Mine K, Jones M, Saunders S, Onofrio B, Crowther RG, Milanese S. Relationships between upper trunk rotation kinematics and arm fatigue after repetitive pitching among baseball pitchers. Sports Biomechanics. 2025;24(7):2134–2147. PubMed — National Library of Medicine →
  • Mine K, Jones M, Saunders S, Onofrio B, Crowther RG, Milanese S. Associations between upper trunk rotation kinematics, shoulder and elbow joint kinetics and pitching performance in Australian baseball pitchers. Journal of Sports Sciences. 2025;43(24):3023–3032. PubMed — National Library of Medicine →
  • Saunders S, Coppieters M, Hodges P. Reduced tonic activity of the deep trunk muscle during locomotion in people with low back pain. Presented at the World Congress of Low Back Pain and Pelvic Pain, 2004 — as cited in the independent scientific literature. Cited in: IntechOpen (peer-reviewed chapter) →

Academic appointments & researcher profiles

Steve holds a current university research appointment and maintains public researcher profiles where his work and affiliations are recorded independently of this website.

  • Adjunct Senior Research Fellow, School of Allied Health and Human Performance, Adelaide University (the university formed from the University of South Australia and the University of Adelaide) — listed in the university's public staff directory. Adelaide University staff directory →
  • University researcher profile, including his publication record and availability as a PhD co-supervisor. researchers.adelaide.edu.au →
  • ORCID researcher record — the international researcher-identification registry, listing his employment history and works. ORCID 0000-0002-2486-4757 →
  • ResearchGate profile. ResearchGate →

KangaTech — documented by others

KangaTech's origin at North Melbourne Football Club, its spread through professional sport and its sale to VALD in 2025 are matters of public record — told by the company and its executives, by AFL clubs and by Harvard Business School, not just by us.

  • KangaTech's own account: "When KangaTech founder Steve Saunders was the Head of Performance at North Melbourne FC…" — the company's About page, naming Steve as founder. kangatech.com →
  • Harvard Business School case study "KangaTech" (Case 619-049, Lakhani et al., 2019) — documents the company spinning out of North Melbourne FC's internal R&D in 2015 and, by 2019, deployment across 15 sites including NBA, English Premier League and AFL teams. Harvard Business Publishing →
  • North Melbourne FC on its "patented injury prevention technology, KangaTech" reaching international sport, including NBA franchises. nmfc.com.au (2017) →
  • The Adelaide Crows on KangaTech — "designed and launched by" Steve during his time as the club's Science and Medical Services Coordinator, with the system in use across the NBA, EPL, NHL and Champions League football. afc.com.au →
  • KangaTech's own company page: "We are proud to partner with teams across the NFL, NBA, EPL, ECL, NCAA, NHL, MLB, AFL and several industry leading Research Institutions." LinkedIn — KangaTech →
  • Sold to VALD, 2025 — KangaTech's interim chief executive, Sam Bingley, reporting the "successful sale of KangaTech to VALD", the launch of the KT360 PRO, new partnerships with the Carolina Panthers, Sunderland FC and Rugby Australia, and upgrades for clients including Real Madrid, the Milwaukee Bucks and the New York Mets. LinkedIn — Sam Bingley, November 2025 →
  • VALD — the Brisbane-based musculoskeletal technology company that now owns KangaTech — on its own reach: more than 8,000 clients in more than 130 countries. vald.com →

Professional sporting appointments

Steve's roles in elite sport are recorded by the clubs themselves.

  • North Melbourne Football Club — seven years leading performance and medical services; the club's website quotes him as its medical services director on lumbo-pelvic injury prevention. nmfc.com.au →
  • Adelaide Football Club (the Crows) — Science and Medical Services Coordinator, 2018–2020, as named on the club's website. afc.com.au →
  • Geelong Football Club — science and medicine consultant; the club's website describes him as a "renowned Adelaide-based physio and club consultant" in its account of Tom Hawkins' 2023 injury management. geelongcats.com.au (2023) →

Professional education & media

Steve teaches other clinicians and is sought out by the professional sports-performance community.

  • Masterclass: Chronic Groin Pain — Intrapelvic Dysfunction, a two-part professional education program for clinicians on pelvic girdle assessment and deep abdominal retraining. The Sports MAP Network →
  • Podcast: Prepare Like a Pro #214 — "Steve Saunders, Science and Medicine Consultant" (2023), on how performance and medical teams work together in elite sport. Spotify →
  • Workshop series for performance-medicine practitioners, late 2025 to early 2026 — publicly recommended by Kevin Kikugawa, Director of Player Health and Performance Strategy at the NFL's Seattle Seahawks: "Pound-for-pound, I learn more in a quick discussion with Steve, than any other avenue of learning." LinkedIn — Kevin Kikugawa, June 2025 →

Registration you can check

Every physiotherapist at Saunders — Steve included — is registered with AHPRA, Australia's health practitioner regulator, and is a member of the Australian Physiotherapy Association. Both can be verified using the public tools below; search any of our team by name.

  • AHPRA Register of Practitioners — the official national register of every registered health practitioner in Australia. ahpra.gov.au →
  • Australian Physiotherapy Association — Find a Physio directory. choose.physio →

A note on our standards: we only list what independent sources support, and we'd rather leave a claim off this page than stretch one. A few academic sites (the UQ library, Harvard Business School, ResearchGate) block automated link-checkers but open normally in a browser. If you find a broken link or a record that doesn't match what we've said, tell us — we'll correct it.

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