A GYMNAST whose career was cut short by injury is helping patients back on their feet as a physiotherapist at Hillingdon Hospital.

Candice Carter, 30, took up gymnastics as a five-year-old and competed for Great Britain before having to retire from the sport at 16.

The physical demands of training more than 20 hours a week took its toll, but Candice put an initially heart-breaking experience to practical use.

She said: “It was tough at the time because gymnastics was my life, but I went on to gain a sports science degree and then chose to focus on physiotherapy.

“It’s a hands-on profession and you can see the positive results of what you are doing, which is rewarding, and you can enjoy the interaction with patients.

“It does involve some detective work in getting to the root of the problem, but that’s what makes it interesting.

“Patients are often surprised about how the body compensates for an injury by making another part work harder.”

Candice sees around 20 patients a day in the hospital’s rehabilitation gym, for everything from whiplash and fractures to back pain and foot injuries.

She is part of an 18-strong outpatient team.