Rate My Professor Emma O'Loughlin

Dr Emma O'Loughlin is a Senior Lecturer in Musculoskeletal Medicine with the Department of Surgery and Anaesthesia at the University of Otago, Wellington, Faculty of Medicine. She earned her BSc (Hons) in Physiotherapy from Trinity College Dublin, Ireland, and completed her PhD in 2023 focusing on a female-specific anterior cruciate ligament rehabilitation programme. O'Loughlin's career began with clinical rotations in geriatrics, general medicine, neurology, and sports medicine at Changi General Hospital, Singapore. She provided physiotherapy support for the 3,000-mile Race Across America bicycle event in 2015 and 2016, specialized in musculoskeletal care for skiers in Verbier, Switzerland, and relocated to New Zealand in 2017. In New Zealand, she worked as a sports physiotherapist before advancing to Clinical Advisor and Health Partner roles at the Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC).

In her current role, she convenes the fifth-year undergraduate module on Musculoskeletal and Skin conditions and supervises Honours, Master's, and PhD students researching female-specific musculoskeletal issues, menstrual health influences on rehabilitation, and musculoskeletal health during cancer treatment. Her research interests encompass women's musculoskeletal health across the lifespan, the impact of menstrual cycle phases on post-ACL reconstruction outcomes, female sex hormones in orthopaedic conditions like adhesive capsulitis, and patients' experiences with breast cancer treatment in Aotearoa New Zealand. Notable publications include O'Loughlin et al. (2024), "The effect of menstrual cycle phase-based rehabilitation for females following anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction: A randomised controlled trial," New Zealand Journal of Physiotherapy; O'Loughlin et al. (2023), "The role of menstrual cycle phase-based resistance training for women post anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction: a scoping review," Physical Therapy Reviews; and Helu et al. (2025), "“You receive the diagnosis, but your whānau have the cancer”: Patients' perspectives on breast cancer treatment in Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand," New Zealand Medical Journal. Her contributions advance sex- and gender-specific strategies in musculoskeletal medicine and rehabilitation.