About Pete
An internationally renowned instructor, Pete is known for his dynamic and engaging teaching style and his ability to turn complex concepts into clear, practical strategies that support patient care. A former President of FICS, he brings extensive insight into elite athlete performance and high-performance sport.
Pete holds postgraduate qualifications including a Master of Chiropractic Sports Science and the International Certificate in Sports Chiropractic (ICSC). He was also the first chiropractor admitted as a Fellow of the Australian Sports Medicine Federation.
As Founder and Director of ENHANCE Running, Pete applies his clinical expertise directly to real-world athletic performance. He has served for more than 20 years as Medical Coordinator for the Australian Beach Volleyball Tour and has extensive clinical experience working with athletes in soccer, triathlon, and water polo.
A national and international instructor, Pete is also a published author of research papers and books, bringing together decades of clinical, sporting, teaching, and leadership experience.
Clinical & teaching interests
- Author and adventurer, Dr Pete Garbutt runs a multidisciplinary private practice in Canberra, having graduated from Macquarie University in 1995.
- He holds three post-graduate qualifications in sports chiropractic, a master of Chiropractic Sports Science, Macquarie University (2000), ICCSP (2006), ICSC (2019).
- In 2015 Pete became the first chiropractor to be admitted as a fellow of the Australian Sports Medicine Federation and also the first person to stand up paddle on Australia’s 5 glacial lakes during a 13 hour hike/paddle through the Australian alps.
- Dr Garbutt is the Founder (2011) and Director of ENHANCE Running and served as the Chairperson for Sports Chiropractic Australia between 2007 and 2013. In 2016, after 6 years, Pete stepped down as the 2nd longest-serving president of his state branch of Sports Medicine Australia and stepped into the role of president of FICS. Later the same year, Pete was awarded Australian Chiropractor of the Year and published his first book, ‘The Running Machine’.
- Pete lectures nationally and internationally and his extensive sports chiropractic experience includes being Medical Coordinator for the Australian Beach Volleyball Tour which he held from 1996-2018 and being the official chiropractor for Australian national events and teams in various sports including soccer, triathlon and water polo.
Interests
- Appointed member of ACT Chiropractors and Osteopaths Registration Board 2003-2010
- National Executive Board member of the Chiropractic and Osteopathic College of Australasia 2000-2011
- Chairperson for Sports Chiropractic Australia (National) 2007-2013
- ACT Academy of Sport chiropractic representative 2004- 2018
- President Sports Medicine Australia (Canberra Branch) 2010 - 2016
- Sports Medicine Australia (Canberra Branch) Board/council member 2007 - 2018
- C.C.E.A Committee for professional specialisation 2011
- Bone and Joint Decade Sports Injury Working Group 2011
Experience & Publications
* 2011 – Current. Founder/Director ENHANCE Running
* 2001 – Current. Director/Sports Chiropractor at Enhance Healthcare multidisciplinary clinics Canberra, ACT.
* 1996 – Current. Health Services co-ordinator for Australian Beach Volleyball Tour.
* 2016 - 2019 - President, FICS
* 2009 – 2020 - Co-founder/Director, RecordPro Software
* 1996 – 2001 Associateship at OG Chiropractic and Sports Injury Group. Dee Why NSW
* 2008 Health Services Director for FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour Adelaide Open
* 1996-1999 Health Services Director for Australian 5-a-side Indoor Soccer National League.
* Books: The Running Machine: A User’s Guide, 2016
* Blinded Peer Reviewed (Category C1): Journal
* 2009 - Hoskins W, Pollard H, Garbutt P. How to select a chiropractor for the management of athletic conditions. Chiropractic & Osteopathy 2009, 17:3 (10 March 2009)
* https://chiromt.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1746-1340-17-3
* 2007 - Pollard H, Hoskins W, McHardy A, Bonello R, Garbutt P, Swain M, Dragasevic G, Pribicevic M, Vitiello A
* Australian chiropractic sports medicine: half way there or living on a prayer?
* BMC Chiropractic & Osteopathy 2007, 15:14 (19 September 2007)
* https://chiromt.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1746-1340-15-14
* Publications: Poster Presentations (Peer Reviewed)
* 2007 - Hoskins W, Pollard H, Daff C, Odell A, Garbutt P, McHardy A, Hardy K, Dragasevic G
* A Cross Sectional Survey of Low Back Pain in Elite Senior and Junior Football Players, with Non-Elite and non-Athletic Controls
* World Federation of Chiropractic Biennial Conference Lisbon, Portugal May 2007.
* 2006 - Hoskins W, Pollard H, Daff C, Odell A, Garbutt P, McHardy A., Hardy K, Dragasevic G
* "Low Back Pain In Elite And Semi-Elite Football: A Cross-Sectional Survey With Non-Athletic Controls"
* 11th Annual Congress Of The European College Of Sport Science
* 5-8 July 2006 Lausanne Switzerland
* Pollard H, Hoskins W, Daff C, Odell A, Garbutt P, McHardy A, Hardy K, Dragasevic G
* Low Back Pain In Elite And Semi-Elite Australian Football Codes
* American College Of Sports Medicine 53rd Annual Meeting 31 May To June 3 2006, Denver Colarado USA
* 2005 - Hoskins W, Pollard H, Daff C, Odell A, Garbutt P, McHardy A, Hardy K,
* Low back pain in elite and semi-elite Australian football codes (Australian rules football, soccer, rugby league and rugby union)
* Australian Conference of Science and Medicine in Sport 2005
* Melbourne, Australia – October 13-16, 2005
* Hoskins W, Pollard H, Daff C, Odell A, Garbutt P, McHardy A, Hardy K,
* Low back pain in elite and semi-elite Australian football codes (Australian rules football, soccer, rugby league and rugby union)
* 11th Biennial South African Sports Medicine Association Congress
* Johannesburg, South Africa – September 28 – October 1, 2005
* Blog Posts (Peer Reviewed):
* 2017 - Garbutt P Considering psychological stress alongside training load – A reflection on the “How much is too much’” IOC Consensus Statement
* https://blogs.bmj.com/bjsm/2017/03/08/considering-psychological-stress-alongside-training-load-reflection-much-much-ioc-consensus-statement/
* Anderson N, Ougra B, Garbutt P Dealing with injury trends realtime: Reflections from Sydney’s Volleyfest 2017
* https://blogs.bmj.com/bjsm/2017/12/22/dealing-injury-trends-real-time-reflections-sydneys-volleyfest-2017/