Meet the team

  • PhD, ATC, GSR - Founder, Clinical Lead

    Originally from the United States, Rachael is a certified athletic trainer and a registered sport rehabilitator who specialises in sport-related injuries and full return to play rehabilitation programmes. She has worked across a wide range of sport settings including American football, football (soccer), lacrosse, basketball, baseball, softball, volleyball, and tennis. In the UK, she has continued to develop her work with elite level athletes, including Commonwealth Games & Team GB athletes, Paralympians, Women’s Basketball League (WBBL), marathon runners, university scholars, Premier League (EPL) officials, and English Football League (EFL) officials.

    Alongside her clinical work, Rachael works at the University of Salford where she helps deliver on the undergraduate and master's sport rehabilitation courses. In addition, her work in research seeks to identify potential interventions for individuals suspected of developing Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) symptoms - a neurodegenerative disease linked to a history of repetitive mild traumatic brain injuries (mTBI) (concussion) and contact sport.

  • Clinical Student

‘A treatment plan cannot be successful without a holistic, person-centred approach. That means considering not just the present injury and surrounding areas, but also prioritising the needs and personal context of the client.'

- Rachael Hearn-Connolly

Our story…

DT Sports Medicine is named in honour of Demaryius Thomas, a former National Football League (NFL) player. Demaryius, also known as DT, played for the Denver Broncos, Houston Texans, New England Patriots, and New York Jets. He was a Super Bowl winner with the Denver Broncos in 2016.

DT developed epilepsy following a car crash. Two years later, he passed away after having a seizure at his home in Roswell, Georgia, aged just 31 . He was later diagnosed with Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), the latest in a growing line of former NFL players.

Also from Georgia and with a deep-rooted love of American football, our founder, Rachael Hearn-Connolly, is passionate about athlete care as well as identifying potential interventions for CTE symptoms: “I began to fear seeing the names of my former athletes in the headlines. After realising no treatments were being developed, I decided I wanted to be part of the solution.”

DT serves as a constant reminder of what athlete care should look like in the modern age: personal, protective, and performance-based.