Dr Mark Ridgewell is a Consultant Sport and Exercise Medicine and Musculoskeletal Physician at Sancta Maria Hospital, Swansea. He was the first doctor in Wales to be appointed to the GMC Specialist Register in Sport and Exercise Medicine, in 2010, and has worked in elite sport since 1991. He has extensive experience treating patients across the full spectrum, from world, Olympic and Paralympic champions to recreational exercisers and those returning to activity after injury.

Specialist Interests

• Soft tissue and overuse injury management and rehabilitation
• Tendon injuries and shockwave (ESWT) therapy
• Shoulder, elbow and wrist pain
• Back and neck pain
• Hip, groin and knee pain
• Ankle and foot injuries
• Adolescent and female athlete injuries
• Image-guided injections (steroid, hyaluronic acid and platelet-rich plasma)

Conditions Treated and Procedures Offered at Sancta Maria Hospital

• Soft tissue injury assessment and management
• Tendon injury and tendinopathy
• Muscle injuries and strains
• Ankle sprains and ligament injuries
• Shoulder pain and rotator cuff injuries
• Knee pain including patellofemoral and meniscal conditions
• Hip and groin pain
• Back and neck pain
• Arthritis assessment and management
• Diagnostic ultrasound scanning in clinic
• Ultrasound-guided injections (steroid, hyaluronic acid, PRP)
• Extracorporeal shockwave therapy (ESWT) for tendon injuries

Elite Sport Roles

Dr Ridgewell has held lead medical roles across a remarkable breadth of elite sport over more than 30 years:

Tennis (current)

• Lead Doctor, LTA National Tennis Academy, Loughborough University
• Lead Doctor, LTA UK Grass Court Championships including the HSNC Championships at Queen’s Club
• Lead Doctor, all UK-based LTA tennis tournaments
• Players’ Doctor, WTA Birmingham Classic (2013 to present)
• Players’ Doctor, The Championships, Wimbledon (2023)

Other current roles

• Consulting Sports and Exercise Medicine Physician, English National Ballet School
• SEM Consultant, TASS (Talented Athlete Sponsorship Scheme) (2023 to present)
• Medical Adviser and Doctor, Pioneered Athlete Performance (from November 2025)

Previous elite sport appointments

• Lead Sports Physician, High Performance Unit, Welsh Institute of Sport, Sport Wales (2003-2020)
• Chief Medical Officer and First Team Doctor, Football Association of Wales (2005-2013)
• Lead Sports Physician, Scarlets Rugby (2010-2016)
• Team Doctor, Ospreys, Swansea RFC, Wales Under-18, Under-21 and Wales A Rugby (1991-2003)
• Lead Doctor, England and Wales Cricket Board, including England team tours (1999-2003)
• Consultant Team Physician, JLT Condor and Team Storey Cycling (2015-2021)
• Three Commonwealth Games as Doctor to Team Wales

Teaching and Education

Dr Ridgewell was instrumental in setting up and directing the internationally regarded Masters in Sport and Exercise Medicine course at Cardiff Metropolitan University between 1999 and 2019, and remains an Honorary Principal Lecturer at the university. He is also an Honorary Senior Tutor at Swansea University and has mentored many junior doctors and physiotherapists who have gone on to prominent roles in sport and exercise medicine.

NHS Practice

Dr Ridgewell was Clinical Lead of the Clinical Musculoskeletal Assessment Service (CMATS) at Swansea Bay University Health Board for over 22 years (2000-2022), one of the longest-serving clinical leads in that specialist role in Wales.