In her medical field, Rivett’s passion lies in sports injuries. “The spine fascinates me,” she said. She received the award for the best presentation at the scoliosis conference in Wiesbaden, Germany.
Rivett explained that scoliosis was a spinal deformity in which a person had abnormal curvature of the spine. She said this condition usually occurred in the early stages of a child’s growth. “It starts as soon as children start getting active and engaging in sports,” she explained.
She was awarded for the design of an exercise programme to prevent children with scoliosis from undergoing surgery. “Out of the 51 children that used the exercise programme I designed, only three of them went to surgery,” said Rivett. “I designed it because I wanted something that could work here in Africa. It is work that has not been done before and it is affordable.”
Rivett said she would not have achieved the result she had with her presentation if it were not for the standard of teaching at Wits University. “I was lucky because I had the backing from the university and I had a supportive supervisor.”
“This is the first time that a physiotherapist from anywhere in the world has won this award,” she said. Her work has now been published in the final version of the Scoliosis Journal. “Medically we do compete internationally in South Africa,” she added.
Not only is Rivett a PhD doctor of physiotherapy, but she is an ex-professional runner. “I also used to cycle professionally and I did swimming,” she said. Rivett has participated in the annual long distance race, the Ironman Triathlon, and she plans to participate again in the next one. “Sports keeps me sane because my job is very stressful,” she said. “I also went to three Olympic games as a team physiotherapist.”
