Movement Matters at Exercise Matters
Ida Fink Gundtoft discovers a sanctuary where exercise and expertise matters and where thoughtful, individualised science-based support is delivered with humanity to redefine what strength and recovery can be.
IN a town built on movement, we rarely think about it… until it’s taken away. When injury, illness or persistent pain interrupts the quality of life, it can feel deeply unsettling so there’s something quite reassuring about walking into Exercise Matters in Noosa.
The space feels calm and considered, more like a health studio than anywhere you’d go to “work out”. It’s light-filled and welcoming, designed to put you at ease from the moment you arrive.
This is a rehab studio where the focus is primarily on how you move, how you feel, and how you can get back to doing the things you love. It’s less about pushing through pain, and more about rebuilding strength and confidence, one thoughtful step at a time.
Exercise physiology can sound clinical or confusing. For many, it sits in that hazy space between physiotherapy and personal training. Dr Sven Rees, Director of Exercise Matters and Noosa Mind & Body Allied Health Hub, wants to change that.
“I think if people knew exercise physiology and the approach, a lot of people would actually go straight to them,” he said.
At its heart, exercise physiology is about using evidence-based movement as medicine. It is structured, individualised exercise prescribed by university-qualified Accredited Exercise Physiologists to treat injury, chronic disease, neurological conditions and persistent pain.
It’s not a bootcamp. It’s not a quick fix. It’s long-term rehabilitation designed to rebuild strength, restore motor skills and return people to living fully.
“We’re not just treating symptoms,” Sven explained. “We’re providing more long-term rehab for regaining motor skills and where the process of doing it actually gets people confident and comfortable with their movement patterns.”
And confidence, here, is everything.
With over 25 years of clinical and academic experience, a PhD in Exercise Physiology and a career spanning elite sport through to complex neurological rehabilitation, Sven brings both depth and humility to the studio floor. He has worked with Olympians and individuals navigating chronic disease. But ask him what matters most and he speaks about hope.
“If someone has hope that they can get better,” he said. “That’s where it starts.”
Hope looked like seven-year-old Jake, who arrived after brain cancer had stripped function from his entire left side. He couldn’t hold a pen. He couldn’t balance.
School felt impossible. Through careful neurological rehabilitation – breaking down balance, gait, hand function and finger dexterity into retrainable skills – the team rebuilt him piece by piece. Today, he is back at school and back in sport.
Working with children, Sven admits, requires creativity. Exercises must be disguised as play and it’s an area where fellow Accredited Exercise Physiologist Liam Tarr shines.
A Noosa local and former kiteboarding instructor with dreams of professional basketball, Liam understands both performance and injury firsthand. His own sporting setbacks shaped his path into rehabilitation.
He has a particular passion for paediatric exercise physiology and NDIS work, believing every child, regardless of condition or disability, deserves to experience the joy and benefits of movement. Sessions are ‘gamified’, imaginative and alive with energy.
“You’re really having to think outside the square,” Sven said. And Liam does, helping clients of all ages build confidence as much as capacity.
Then there is Ebony Blackstone, Sunshine Coast born and bred. With experience spanning neurological, cardiovascular, metabolic and musculoskeletal rehabilitation, Ebony brings both global perspective and local heart.
As a former national representative swimmer, she understands athletic development and injury prevention intimately – and has herself dealt with similar struggles to many of her clients during her career. Her clinical interests range from athlete development to women’s health, navigating pre and postpartum recovery, perimenopause and long-term chronic conditions. Ebony’s approach is grounded in education and precise technique – and having navigated her own experiences as a swimmer, she brings a personal level of empathy and understanding that many clients find deeply reassuring.
Annika Coyne brings more than eight years of experience and a fierce dedication to women’s health. Her own sporting injuries sparked her journey into exercise physiology, and today she specialises in injury rehabilitation and prevention, alongside supporting women through the many transitions of life. From prenatal training to menopause management, Annika creates safe, informed spaces where women can regain mobility, reduce pain and feel strong again, physically and mentally. She believes exercise physiology goes beyond prescribing exercises; it is about equipping people with tools for life.
“In the end, everyone’s qualified to do everything,” Sven said. “But some people have their specific area of expertise.”
That diversity means whether you’re an adolescent athlete, a new mum, someone living with neurological change, recovering from surgery, managing chronic pain or simply feeling older than you’d like, there is someone who understands your path.
The science is compelling. Research increasingly shows that structured exercise rehabilitation delivers outcomes comparable to (and in some cases better than) surgical interventions over one, two and three years.
“We know exercise is medicine,” Sven said. “But it only works if you do it.”
That’s often the hardest part. Booking the appointment. Walking through the door. Letting go of the fear that movement might hurt.
Exercise Matters removes that intimidation. The studio is clean, energetic and modern, with state-of-the-art technology. There is health and longevity testing for those curious about their baseline and every program is individual. There is no template, no one-size-fits-all prescription. Just assessment, education and gradual, intelligent progression. And perhaps most importantly, belief.
In a town like Noosa – where we surf, swim, hike, garden and spend time on beaches or strolling by the river, movement is woven into daily life. When injury or chronic pain interrupts that rhythm, it can feel like losing a piece of yourself. Exercise physiology offers a way back. Not overnight. Not magically. But methodically, sustainably and with expertise guiding every step.
If you’ve been wondering whether this kind of support is for you, consider this your nudge. The worst hurdle is already behind you once the booking is made.
Inside the calm rehab studio, strength is rebuilt slowly. Confidence returns gradually. And sometimes, as seven-year-old Jake proved, life opens up again in ways that once felt impossible
