It's in our hands

samantha harding Physiotherapist

This physiotherapy practice strives to provide comprehensive quality care. Treatment is evidence-based and up to date with the newest treatment modalities.

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At our practice we are a treatment team of four physiotherapists.

From left to right: Samantha Van der Walt (nee’ Harding), Mickayla Morgan and Shabnum Shah

The Team

This physiotherapy practice in Empangeni has a strong dynamic team of physiotherapists. We treat our patients with a holistic team approach. Our aim is to help our patients the best that we can and to maintain a high quality and friendly service. Our physiotherapists treat patients in hospital at Life Empangeni Hospital and at Richards Bay Melomed Hospital, as well as out patients at our practice no. 5 Addison street.

Samantha Van der Walt (nee' Harding)

Samantha Van der Walt is a qualified physiotherapist with a passion for helping people to live a better pain-free and healthy life. She qualified in Bloemfontein in 2009 with a Bsc. Physiotherapy (uovs). She completed her post graduate Orthopaedic Manipulative Therapy (OMTC) in 2011.During this time she became very interested in post operative orthopaedic rehabilitation and the treatment of back, neck and joint pain. Samantha continued to complete various post graduates in this area of physiotherapy, and continues to do so even today.

In 2012 she moved to Kimberley and started working in a large physiotherapy practice where she was mainly involved in outpatient care. It was in Kimberley that she discovered a special interest in treating shoulder conditions, headaches and knee injuries. She got more involved in treating sports injuries and various athletes especially runners and rugby players.
In 2014 she moved back to Kwa-Zulu Natal and opened her practice in Empangeni. It was in this time in her career when she started her quest on learning more about how to treat chronic pain and has since completed multiple post graduates through the train pain academy on the neuroscience of pain and how to manage these patients.Samantha started presenting body conditioning exercise classes in 2016 at her out patient practice. In 2017 she started furthering her training into the area of womans health physiotherapy and treating pelvic conditions such as urinary incontinence, pudendal neuralgias and vulvodynia.

In 2020 Samantha started to train in paediatric pelvic health and treats urinary and faecal incontinence in children as well as bed wetting.
Samantha is trained in the application of dry needling, taping, mulligan techniques, maitland techniques, pain neuroscience education, graded motor imagery, connective tissue and fascia mobilisation and mindfulness. She is trained in exercise prescription with regards to appropriate loading to specific tissues while respecting the phase of recovery post operatively, post acute and chronic injury, in the recovering athlete, chronic pain patient, ante and post natal.
Samantha believes in the value of continued learning to give the best evidence based treatment to her patients. At her practice the continuation of professional development of herself and her staff is a priority. Samantha is kind and friendly, and cares about her patients. She will always do her best to help, or to get them the help they need if it's not within her own expertise. --------------------------------------

Shabnum Shah

Shabnum Shah is a physiotherapist with a deep passion for helping people move better, feel stronger, and get back to doing what they love. She graduated from the University of KwaZulu-Natal in 2016 and completed her community service at Ngwelezana Tertiary Hospital, where she gained valuable experience working with a wide variety of patients and conditions.After completing her community service, Shabnum returned to her hometown of Durban, where she worked as a locum physiotherapist at several hospitals. In February 2018, she made the move back to Empangeni and joined Samantha Harding Physiotherapists. Since then, Empangeni has become her home—a place where she’s continues to grow, both personally and professionally, surrounded by a team and community that inspire her every day.

Over the years, she has pursued further training in Dry Needling, Kinesiology Taping, Tanya Bell’s Lower Quarter Course, and the treatment of Sacroiliac Joint Dysfunction. She has also completed courses in pain management and pain neuroscience, and is trained in Orthopedic Manipulative Therapy (OMT), with experience in both Maitland and Mulligan techniques. She is also certified in Pilates, which she often incorporates into her treatment approach.

Shabnum is a strong believer in lifelong learning and has recently begun exploring women’s health—an area she is excited to grow in.She enjoys working with a broad range of conditions, whether in hospital or outpatient settings. Her special interests include neck pain and headaches, post-surgical rehab, neurological conditions like strokes and spinal cord injuries, SI joint dysfunction, and care for patients in an ICU setting.

For Shabnum, physiotherapy is more than just treatment—it’s about walking alongside her patients on their journey to recovery, celebrating every step forward with them.

Mickayla Morgan

Mickayla Morgan graduated from the University of KwaZulu-Natal in 2023 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Physiotherapy. She completed her community service in 2024 at Sundumbili CHC and General Justice Gizenga Mpanza Regional Hospital, where she developed a strong interest in paediatrics and neurological conditions.

Since joining Samantha Harding Physiotherapist in April 2025, Mickayla has pursued a wide range of postgraduate training. She is certified in kinesiology taping, dry needling, Clinical Pilates, and advanced upper cervical, thoracic and upper limb rehabilitation, and has completed specialised training in the assessment and treatment of high-risk babies. She also holds internationally recognised training in the McKenzie Method for lower back pain—a scarce and highly sought-after qualification known worldwide for its effectiveness in helping patients achieve long-term relief from back issues.

Mickayla’s approach is centred around her patients’ goals. Whether it’s taking your dog for a walk, playing with your children, or training for a marathon, she is passionate about helping people return to the activities that matter most in their daily lives.

Services

SPORTS PHYSIOTHERAPY

We are trained in the management and rehabilitation of sports injuries. We can assess for any muscle imbalances that may be the cause of the injury or contributing to poor performance. If you have had any sport related injuries or want to improve your performance, make a booking to see us.

Woman’s health

Persistent pain

Pain is very complex with multiple factors influencing our pain experience. It is vital to understand that on-going pain can be due to the way the brain processes information from the body, and not necessarily from damaged tissue. Pain is an experience we have in order to protect ourselves from further injury- in other words our brain decides there is a threat to us and the output the brain sends is pain.

Often when you have suffered from ongoing pain your nervous system becomes over sensitive- this means it over reacts to stimuli in the area of your pain.