Meet The Team

Matt - Founder & Owner of Atlas Physio

Matt Maniakowski is a qualified Physiotherapist, owner and founder of Atlas Physio. He is HCPC registered and a member of Chartered Society of Physiotherapy.



Matt grew up in Poland, a keen athlete competing in athletics, swimming, basketball, football and martial arts. His interest in physiotherapy began in his late teens when he began working as an assistant at a residential rehabilitation and hippotherapy (using horses during physiotherapy) centre for children with cerebral palsy and other neurological disorders.

Matt went on to study physiotherapy and graduated in 2002, returning to the rehabilitation centre as a qualified physiotherapist. Here he became familiar with the use of highly specialised equipment designed to help treat and relieve pain in impaired mobility conditions, including TheraSuits, the Sunshine and Suspension Therapy standing frames and walkers. Within a few months he became one of the lead physiotherapists at the centre, carrying out in-depth assessments and treatment plans.

Matt went to the USA as a private physiotherapist, working with adolescents with both physical and cognitive impairments. Whilst there, he gained additional qualifications in sports and Swedish massage.

Working in the outpatient department of a general hospital gained Matt further experience in musculoskeletal and neurological conditions – the clinical expert for both adults and children, assessing and providing treatment using ultrasound, laser and TENS equipment.

After moving to the UK, Matt worked initially in a mental hospital and later as lead physiotherapist in a rehabilitation hospital, gaining extensive experience in the areas of learning disabilities, mental health and acquired brain injuries, dealing with patients with challenging behaviour, or suffering the after-effects of traumatic injuries resulting from, for example, road accidents.

More recently, Matt has been the specialist physiotherapist on a rehabilitation ward for people following surgery and trauma, including complications such as stroke, motor neurones disease and balance difficulties.

Still dedicated to the world of sport, Matt enjoys working with a variety of athletes including rugby teams, bodybuilders, power-lifters, equestrians and netball players, to name but a few. Matt himself trains in the gym five days a week, and is able to offer personalised training and stretching sessions with people in the gym, to show them how to train to recover from an existing injury, and how to prevent injuries in the future.