Julie Walters

Teaching Strengths

Clinical reasoning in musculoskeletal practice
Professional practice and clinical skills

Dr Julie Walters

Program Director: Physiotherapy (Undergraduate and Graduate Entry)

UniSA Allied Hlth & Human Perf

Teaching Enterprise

Eligible to supervise Masters and PhD - email supervisor to discuss availability.

Dr Walters is the Program Director for the Undergraduate and Graduate Entry Physiotherapy programs at UniSA. She is an alumna of both the University of South Australia and LaTrobe University, having completed a Bachelor (Hons) of Physiotherapy, Master of Musculoskeletal Physiotherapy and PhD. Dr Walters has over 15 years of clinical and 12 years of academic experience in musculoskeletal physiotherapy. 
Dr Walters is a member of the Australian Physiotherapy Association LGBTQIA+ Advisory Panel, and is UniSA's representative in the College of Physiotherapy Deans of Australia and New Zealand. She maintains a small clinical load at the University of South Australia City East Physiotherapy Clinic (https://www.unisa.edu.au/connect/community-clinics/physiotherapy-clinic/). 
Dr Walters' area of clinical focus is neck pain, headache and migraine, and she has completed advanced training in the use of manual therapy in their management. Her focus is on reducing pain and restoring quality of life and participation for those affected. Her research also focusses on headache and migraine, as well as health service provision, and issues relating to the LGBTQIA+ community. 

I currently have a number of ongoing projects related to headache and associated conditions:

1. Case study series with an international team of physiotherapists aiming to advocate for the role of manual therapy.

2. The Language of Migraine: What should migraine be called?

Words are important, especially when you’re talking about people and their health. Wherever we look, different words are used to describe what migraine is - ‘disease’, a ‘disorder of the nervous system’, ‘syndrome’, and people with migraine are called ‘sufferers’, ‘people affected by migraine, or ‘migraineurs’. 

If you experience migraine and would like to be involved, please follow this link to survey monkey:  https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/3VCS5BG 

3. Migraine: The Lived Experience

Too often is the experience migraine  diminished into days absent from work, pain scores, symptom frequency, and need for medications. We want to hear your story, in your words.  Below is a link to a short (less than 10 minutes), anonymous survey that asks for your migraine experience. 

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/39ZNJJF 

4. The role of upper cervical afferent inputs in headache following mild traumatic brain injury

Year Citation
2024 Jenner, B., Nottle, C., Walters, J. L., Saunders, S. W., Leicht, A. S., & Crowther, R. G. (2024). Reliability of lower limb strength assessment in female team sport athletes. Physical Therapy in Sport, 68, 71-79.
DOI Scopus1 WoS1 Europe PMC1
2024 Aird, M., Walters, J. L., Ker, A., & Ross, M. H. (2024). Transgender, gender-diverse, and nonbinary experiences in physical therapy: a descriptive qualitative study. Physical therapy, 104(10), 1-10.
DOI
2024 Jenner, B., Nottle, C., Walters, J. L., Saunders, S. W., Leicht, A. S., Palmer, B. L., & Crowther, R. G. (2024). The use of dynamometry for lower limb strength assessment in female team sport athletes: a scoping review. Journal of Science in Sport and Exercise, online, 1-15.
DOI Scopus1 WoS1
2023 Jenner, B., Nottle, C., Walters, J. L., Saunders, S. W., Leicht, A. S., & Crowther, R. G. (2023). Reliability of the running vertical jump test in female team sport athletes. Physical Therapy in Sport, 60, 47-53.
DOI Scopus2 WoS2
2023 Ross, M. H., McPherson, K., Walters, J., & Chipchase, L. (2023). Inclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual, and other related identities content in Australian physical therapy curricula: perceived barriers and priorities for inclusive education. Journal of Physical Therapy Education, 37(4), 284-293.
DOI
2021 Braithwaite, F. A., Walters, J. L., Moseley, G. L., Williams, M. T., & McEvoy, M. P. (2021). A novel blinding protocol to test participant and therapist blinding during dry needling: a randomised controlled experiment. Physiotherapy, 112, 188-198.
DOI Scopus7 WoS7 Europe PMC7
2021 Braithwaite, F. A., Walters, J. L., Moseley, G. L., Williams, M. T., & McEvoy, M. P. (2021). A collaborative experiential problem-solving approach to develop shams for complex physical interventions: a case study of dry needling. Physiotherapy, 113, 177-187.
DOI Scopus5 WoS5 Europe PMC5
2020 Braithwaite, F., Walters, J. L., Moseley, G. L., Williams, M. T., & McEvoy, M. P. (2020). Towards more homogenous and rigorous methods in sham-controlled dry needling trials: Two Delphi surveys. Physiotherapy, 106, 12-23.
DOI Scopus23 WoS23 Europe PMC20
2020 Braithwaite, F. A., Walters, J. L., Moseley, G., Williams, M. T., & McEvoy, M. P. (2020). Towards more credible shams for physical interventions: a Delphi survey. Clinical Trials, 17(3), 295-305.
DOI Scopus17 WoS15 Europe PMC12
2019 Buckerfield, S., Braithwaite, F., Walters, J., & McEvoy, M. P. (2019). Feasibility of conducting research in a student physiotherapy clinic in Australia: a pilot study. Internet journal of allied health sciences and practice, 17(2, article no. 3), 1-10.
2019 Braithwaite, F. A., Walters, J. L., Li, L. S. K., Moseley, G. L., Williams, M. T., & McEvoy, M. P. (2019). Blinding strategies in dry needling trials: systematic review and meta-analysis. Physical therapy, 99(11), 1461-1480.
DOI Scopus42 WoS41 Europe PMC34
2018 Braithwaite, F. A., Walters, J. L., Li, L. S. K., Moseley, L. G., Williams, M. T., & McEvoy, M. P. (2018). Effectiveness and adequacy of blinding in the moderation of pain outcomes: systematic review and meta-analyses of dry needling trials. PeerJ, 6(7), 1-30.
DOI Scopus31 WoS35 Europe PMC28
2016 Lizarondo, L., Turnbull, C., Kroon, T., Grimmer, K., Bell, A., Kumar, S., . . . Wiles, L. (2016). Allied health: integral to transforming health. Australian Health Review, 40(2), 194-204.
DOI Scopus30 WoS28 Europe PMC22
2016 Arnold, J. B., Walters, J. L., & Ferrar, K. E. (2016). Does physical activity increase after total hip or knee arthroplasty for osteoarthritis? A systematic review. Journal of orthopaedic and sports physical therapy, 46(6), 431-442.
DOI Scopus120 WoS109 Europe PMC102
2016 Lawford, B. J., Walters, J., & Ferrar, K. (2016). Does walking improve disability status, function, or quality of life in adults with chronic low back pain? A systematic review. Clinical rehabilitation, 30(6), 523-536.
DOI
2014 France, S., Bown, J., Nowosilskyj, M., Mott, M., Rand, S., & Walters, J. (2014). Evidence for the use of dry needling and physiotherapy in the management of cervicogenic or tension-type headache: a systematic review. Cephalalgia: an international journal of headache, 34(12), 994-1003.
DOI
2013 Arnold, J., Walters, J., Solomon, L., & Thewlis, D. (2013). Does the method of component fixation influence clinical outcomes after total knee replacement? A systematic literature review. Journal of Arthroplasty, 28(5), 740-746.
DOI Scopus15 WoS12 Europe PMC11
2013 Walters, J. L., Mackintosh, S. F., & Sheppard, L. A. (2013). Snakes and ladders: the barriers and facilitators of elective hip- and knee-replacement surgery in Australian public hospitals. Australian health review, 37(2), 166-171.
DOI
2012 Olds, T., Ferrar, K. E., Gomersall, S. R., Maher, C., & Walters, J. L. (2012). The Elasticity of Time: Associations Between Physical Activity and Use of Time in Adolescents. Health Education and Behavior, 39(6), 732-736.
DOI Scopus27 WoS23 Europe PMC23
2012 Walters, J. L., Mackintosh, S. H., & Sheppard, L. (2012). Expectations confounded: patients are satisfied with THR and TKR delivery in Australian public hospitals - a multisite case study. ISRN public health, 2012(947828), 1-6.
DOI
2012 Walters, J. L., Mackintosh, S. H., & Sheppard, L. (2012). The journey to total hip or knee replacement. Australian health review, 36(2), 130-135.
DOI
2012 Ferrar, K. E., Walters, J. L., & Olds, T. S. (2012). All the stereotypes confirmed: differences in how Australian boys and girls use their time. Health education and behavior, 39(5), 589-595.
DOI
2008 Walters, J. L., Lange, B. S., & Chipchase, L. (2008). Effect of a low-dye application of Scotchcast Soft Cast on peak and mean plantar pressures in subjects with a navicular drop greater than 10 mm. Journal of the American Podiatric Medical Association, 98(6), 429-515.

Courses I teach

  • REHB 1027 Physiotherapy Studies 101 (2025)
  • REHB 5127 Evidence Informed Clinical Reasoning in Physiotherapy (2025)
  • HLTH 3057 Advanced Evidence Based Practice (2024)
  • REHB 1027 Physiotherapy Studies 101 (2024)
  • REHB 4051 Advanced Rehabilitation B (2024)
  • REHB 4056 Clinical Musculoskeletal Physiotherapy (2024)
  • REHB 5127 Evidence Informed Clinical Reasoning in Physiotherapy (2024)
  • REHB 5133 Musculoskeletal Skills in Physiotherapy (2024)
  • REHB 6011 Clinical Musculoskeletal Physiotherapy GE (2024)

Programs I'm associated with

  • IMPE - Master of Physiotherapy (Graduate Entry)
  • IMAP - Master of Advanced Clinical Physiotherapy
  • IBPZ - Bachelor of Physiotherapy
  • Position: Program Director: Physiotherapy (Undergraduate and Graduate Entry)
  • Email: julie.walters@adelaide.edu.au
  • Alternative Contact: University of South Australia Physiotherapy Clinic t (08) 8302 2541  e physiotherapyclinic@unisa.edu.au Location UniSA City East campus Level 8, Centenary Building (Room C8-40) Corner of North Terrace and Frome Road Adelaide SA 5000 Clinic hours Monday-Friday, 8:00am-3:30pm

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