Sebastian Ignacio Oyarzo Lizama
Associate Physiotherapist · physiotherapist
Australian Physiotherapy Council (APC) registered · APP-0012627200
Post-Orthopaedic Surgery Rehabilitation · Sport-Related Injuries · Intensive Care Unit · Metabolic and Bariatric Physiotherapy
Sebastian Ignacio Oyarzo Lizama, BPT (Kinesiology), MSc Clinical Exercise Physiology, is a physiotherapist specialising in metabolic health management and preoperative rehabilitation.
About
Sebastian Ignacio Oyarzo Lizama is a physiotherapist with eight years of clinical experience spanning musculoskeletal physiotherapy, metabolic health management, and preoperative rehabilitation. Originally trained in Chile, where he obtained his Bachelor of Physiotherapy (Kinesiology) from Universidad Del Desarrollo and a Master in Clinical Exercise Physiology from Universidad Mayor, Sebastian has developed specialist expertise in the management of overweight, obesity, and metabolic syndrome through therapeutic exercise.
Sebastian's clinical career has included roles at Clinica Davila and NUTRIMET in Santiago, where he specialised in preoperative assessment and pre-habilitation for surgical patients, alongside private musculoskeletal physiotherapy for diverse conditions including sport-related injuries, joint trauma, and post-orthopaedic surgery rehabilitation. His approach combines manual therapy techniques with evidence-based exercise prescription, functional movement assessment, and patient education strategies.
He holds a Certificate III in Fitness from Australian Fitness Group and has been granted an Interim Certificate by the Australian Physiotherapy Council. Currently practising in Sydney, Sebastian continues to integrate his postgraduate training in clinical exercise physiology with his physiotherapy practice, focusing on chronic disease management and metabolic health optimisation.
Clinical Approach
Sebastian approaches patient care through a biopsychosocial model, recognising that musculoskeletal conditions extend beyond mechanical dysfunction. He emphasises the importance of understanding each patient's beliefs, past experiences with injury, and individual relationship with exercise and movement. His clinical philosophy centres on education as a fundamental component of treatment, explaining to patients how the brain can develop protective strategies that lead to muscular imbalances and fear of movement. Through careful assessment of both the physiopathology and the patient's context, he works to retrain both muscles and the brain to restore pain-free movement.
Sebastian's approach to treatment involves building a collaborative partnership with patients, viewing them as whole persons where multiple factors can interfere with their musculoskeletal condition. He focuses on helping patients understand that whilst pain serves as an important alarm signal, many people can live with structural findings shown on medical examinations without symptoms, achieving functional improvement through re-education of surrounding structures. His practice integrates manual therapy, exercise prescription, and movement guidance to address not just the presenting condition but the patient's overall quality of life.
In Sebastian's own words
YOUR SPECIALIST CONDITION
I like to help people with musculoskeletal conditions that affect their activities of daily life. Whilst pain is just one indicator, I like to help my patients see themselves as a whole biopsychosocial person, where many other factors can interfere with the musculoskeletal condition they are presenting. Education is primordial for every condition, and team building with the patients is also non-negotiable for me, so that together we can treat any dysfunction. I also explain that in some cases the body develops a fear of movement, so I clarify that the work I do is also to re-educate the mind to experience pain-free movement and improve quality of life.
WHO HAS SHAPED YOUR PRACTICE
Exercise Physiology was definitly the subject that made my mind blow in university while i was preparing my degree. To undersatand the unlimited capacities of the body to trigger different type of comunications and consequences in different systems along the body is just amazing. when i see exercise from the perspective of a muldiminesional effect in the human body and the multifactorial outcomes in healing process. jose lopez chicharro has been one of the main doctors in this field that has wrotten many books about this field and also the fact that there are so much more to discover is very excicitng
EXPLAINING PREOPERATIVE ASSESSMENT AND PREHABILITATION TO PATIENTS
Usually my patients ask me if their musculoskeletal condition can be fixed because it's affecting their daily life activities, and most of the time they feel that it could be something very serious. Normally my answer is that pain is an very good alarm sign and in most of the pain conditions the brain will take a protective strategy to avoid any pain, and the outcome of that is a muscular imbalance, so the muscles and the brain need to be retrained to avoid any other imbalances and to teach the brain that movement is alright. For that, education and movement guidance are essential.
YOUR CLINICAL APPROACH
I know the biopsychosocial model is fundamental to understanding what's going on with the patient. My approach to that is to find out which other factors apart from the mechanical issue or dysfunction can be affecting the pathology or recovery. That's why in the interview it's important to do a very good screening about the beliefs, the faith, the experiences in the past with any other injury and physiotherapy. When I did the master's in exercise physiology, it helped me to understand that not every human has the same internal and external experience with exercise and movement. That's why it's important to understand the physiopathology behind every case and also the context, and finally how much time and effort the patient can commit outside of the consultation room.
THE BIGGEST MYTH ABOUT PREOPERATIVE ASSESSMENT AND PREHABILITATION
One of the biggest myths or misconceptions amongst patients in general probably comes down to two main factors. Firstly, there's all the information they can find on the internet and all the negative consequences of their pathology based only on loose information, or even because someone they know, including doctors, has told them that's the way it's going to be forever, and that the only solution could be a permanent pill without even trying any other approach, or sometimes using the pill but in complement with other tools of approach like movement or exercise or manual therapy for example.
Secondly, one big myth is when the patient reads the results from any medical examination and they think that's 100% the root of the issue. What they don't know is that maybe any other human has exactly the same findings but without any symptoms and is having a normal life. We can live with a permanent injury but still be at a functional level, re-educating the surrounding structures and making them more functional, which means pain-free with no consequences in daily life activities.
WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE
One of my best friends back in Chile had an ankle sprain while she was on holiday. Because of the severity of the injury, she had to go to the emergency room overseas to assess the structures that had been damaged.
They diagnosed her with a Grade 3 ankle sprain and told her she would need to wear a walking boot for six weeks, undergo rehabilitation with a physiotherapist, and monitor her progress closely. If she did not have a good outcome, there was a possibility that she might eventually need surgery.
While she was in the emergency room, they also measured her blood pressure and did a blood test to check her general health parameters. She was diagnosed with an ankle sprain, high blood pressure, hypercholesterolaemia and pre-diabetes.
When she came to see me, I explained that the mechanical factor affecting her ankle was only one part of the problem. She was also developing metabolic dysfunction, which could have an impact on multiple systems throughout her body.
She then had a consultation with a nutritionist, who suggested bariatric surgery. However, she felt that this was too invasive and was concerned about the potential long-term consequences for her health.
So, she came to me because she wanted to give herself the opportunity to treat all of her conditions conservatively.
We started by treating her ankle, helping her become stronger and more confident on her foot. Once we had resolved that problem, she decided to stay in the rehabilitation gym so she could continue exercising under supervision.
Eighteen months later, she had lost 34 kilos. She had incorporated every change I suggested into her daily life, and those changes had become part of her new lifestyle.
Nothing was extreme. It was simply a series of small changes that we achieved together.
And that is what I think is most important in every case. There will always be opportunities for big or small changes, depending on the individual and their circumstances. But there is always an opportunity to make a change, improve your health and ultimately improve your quality of life.
Specialist Areas
Sebastian brings specialist expertise in metabolic and bariatric physiotherapy, developed through his Master in Clinical Exercise Physiology and two years of focused clinical experience at NUTRIMET. His work in this area involves comprehensive management of overweight, obesity, and metabolic syndrome through therapeutic exercise prescription, helping patients achieve significant health transformations through conservative treatment approaches rather than surgical intervention.
His additional specialisation in preoperative assessment and prehabilitation encompasses evaluation of physical condition, mobility, strength, and respiratory function in surgical candidates. During his two years at NUTRIMET (2017-2019), Sebastian developed expertise in preparing patients for surgery through targeted education and pre-habilitation programmes, optimising their physical status to improve surgical outcomes and post-operative recovery.
Expertise & Credentials
Experience: 8 years
Qualifications: Bachelor of Physiotherapy (Kinesiology), Universidad Del Desarrollo, Master in Clinical Exercise Physiology, Certificate III in Fitness, Australian Fitness Group, Australian Physiotherapy Council (APC) Interim Certificate, SISSS00133- Pool Lifeguard, Bachelor of Physiotherapy (Kinesiology), Universidad Del Desarrollo, Certificate III in Fitness, Australian Fitness Group
Conditions treated: Overweight and Obesity Management, Metabolic Syndrome, Post-Orthopaedic Surgery Rehabilitation, Sport-Related Injuries, Intensive Care Unit
Notable Organisations
Universidad Del Desarrollo (university, 2007-2013)
Completed Bachelor of Physiotherapy (Kinesiology)
Universidad Mayor (university, 2017-2020)
Completed Master in Clinical Exercise Physiology
Clinica Davila (hospital, 2016-2017)
Provided private musculoskeletal physiotherapy and assessment to patients of all age groups with diverse conditions
Nutrimet (other, 2017-2019)
Specialised in preoperative assessment, pre-habilitation and rehabilitation for surgical patients with metabolic conditions
Physio K (clinic, 2025)
Physiotherapy clinical observation and supervised exposure in Sydney, NSW
Royal Sydney Golf Club (sports-team, 2025-Present)
Exercise specialist designing individualised programmes for clients with multiple clinical conditions.
Continuing Professional Development
Prepation for Australian Physiotherapy Council Assesment (Australian Physio Preparation, 2026, 200.00 hrs)
Dry Needling (Global Education of Manual Therapists, August, 24.00 hrs)