Get to know our Pickering physiotherapy clinic manager and registered physiotherapist Alanna Holz a little better. This is the third installment of a video and blog series to spotlight our clinicians in 1-on-1 interviews that aim to help you get to know them a bit more on a personal level.

In these candid discussions, we talk childhood injuries, childhood dreams, education, career paths, parenthood, and best advice for new physios and the general public. I’m so excited for you to listen to check out this episode, where I chatted with Alanna.

Alanna is passionate about helping her clients achieve their goals and get back to activities that are important to them. Her attentive and encouraging approach helps her develop a strong rapport with clients and makes them feel at ease.

At Propel Physiotherapy, we strive to build meaningful connections with all of our clients. One of the parts of this job that many of us find the most rewarding is seeing that connection open people up to reaching for their goals and achieving them.

Whether your time with us is just a couple of sessions or a lifelong journey, we want to get to know you by being fully present in every interaction and listening actively. We also know that it is equally important for you to get to know us so that you can trust us to provide the highest quality of care.

Before you come for your first session with one of our therapists, we hope that you have checked out our bios on the company website, read a few reviews online, or that you have been referred by a trusted friend or health professional. You can also see what we are up to in and out of the clinic on our socials regularly. Plus, we are always looking for new ways to engage and interact with you.

In this interview, Alanna answered a few of my questions about her education and career and also shared some nuggets of wisdom, like:

  • How a childhood injury ultimately led her to a career in rehabilitation.
  • How her caseload shapes her career path.
  • Why she uses a holistic approach to treating clients.
  • What surprised her most about working in neurological physiotherapy.
  • What makes Propel Physiotherapy different from acute rehabilitation care in hospital.
  • What skills she has gained as a new mom that she has been able to leverage in her job.
  • Why she loves working with neurological injury population.
  • Her best advice for people starting out in the physiotherapy profession.
  • Her best advice for anyone struggling to meet their daily physical activity requirements.

Plus, Alanna closed out the interview by indulging me on a rapid-fire question round that gave us a chance to get to know her in a more personal and fun light.

Here’s a glance at this episode…

  • [1:08] My first introduction to physiotherapy was I had a bad ankle sprain when I was skiing as a kid. I think I was about eight. I didn’t really know like what it was as a profession before that because I had never seen it before.
  • [2:20] I really like to see who I’m treating in the clinic and then tailor my coursework to help them best. So, it does kind of depend on what my caseload looks like, and then I’ll take courses to tailor to their needs so I can try and help them as best as possible.
  • [3:25] I think it’s really important to be looking at both sides of the lens, just from a really holistic view. If someone with a neuro injury has other overlying orthopedic issues, or has a history of orthopedic issues, or if they had a stroke but they also have osteoarthritis, you have to come at it from different angles to provide the best care for them.
  • [4:48] I think kind of like the way that they frame neurological injuries in school. It’s like they have this type of injury. This is kind of what you’re going to see. But realistically, when you have someone coming into the clinic, they have the same injury on Paper and present totally differently.
  • [5:40] We’re seeing people when they come out of acute care…They still have all these goals that they want to work towards…that you can’t necessarily address in acute care…What else can we work on to get you back to those meaningful activities in your day-to-day life?
  • [7:14 ] My son had a little bit of torticollis when he was little so…I had to do a little bit of pediatric physiotherapy. And I think it was just really good experience…getting a lot more exposure to young kids and working with them and the specific techniques that you need to use.
  • [8:51] I just find [neurological physiotherapy] so complex…You can really make meaningful changes over time and helping them get back to things that are important to them.
  • [12:53] I think my biggest piece of advice is to find a mentor, or to find two mentors…a mentor outside of the clinic that you work at…and then find someone in your clinic so that you can kind of bounce ideas off of [them], or that you can practice your skills on — is so important.
  • [15:05] The biggest thing that I recommend for my clients is find something that you enjoy doing, and then be consistent with it. If you don’t like it, you’re not going to do it, or you’re not going to enjoy your time doing it.

Written by

Hoong Phang
Hoong PhangManaging Director & Physiotherapist
Hoong holds a Bachelor Honours Health Sciences from the University of Western Ontario (2008). He has also completed a Master of Science in Health and Exercise Psychology (2010) from McMaster University, and Master of Physiotherapy (2012) from McMaster University. Hoong is currently published in the academic journals “Disability and Rehabilitation” and “Spinal Cord.”

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