Physical Therapy for People with Dementia
Today, more than 500,000 Canadians live with dementia. The Alzheimer’s Society of Canada estimates that by the year 2031 this number will rise to over 937,000. The prevalence of this disease has made education and training for health care professionals, care providers and family key to providing quality care. At Propel Physiotherapy, our extensive experience working with people living with a a range of brain injuries and illnesses has helped to prepare many of our therapists for addressing the challenges facing this specific population. Many of the strategies we use are pertinent to both groups. Strategies for Managing Symptoms We [...]
Lower Back Pain Treatment
One of the most common issues people come to our clinic to get addressed is lower back pain. It’s not surprising when you consider that up to 85 percent of working people can expect to experience some form of lower back pain during their lifetime.¹ Specifically in Canada, the lower back medical costs are a significant strain on our workforce’s productivity and a massive cause of missed workdays.² The good news is that an active physiotherapy program can help people get back to work and their regular routine with more lower back resiliency. We see clients with a wide variety [...]
Adaptive Sports Provide Ways to Enjoy Winter
It’s that time of the year when many of us are bracing ourselves for the inevitable onslaught of cold winter weather. While you may shiver at the thought, the cold, snow and ice shouldn’t spell an end to your physical activity. It may be time to consider adaptive sports. The winter season is too long, in Canada, to deprive ourselves of the many benefits of regular physical activity for such an extended period. This is especially true for persons with physical impairments and disabilities. Exercise provides some major benefits like: Strengthening the cardiovascular system Regulating fuel use in our bodies [...]
Pelvic Floor Muscles’ Five Important Roles
The pelvic floor muscles play five important roles in the body: 1. Organ support The pelvic floor muscles support our bladder, uterus, rectum, and important abdominal organs against gravity and any added downward pressure. 2. Stability The pelvic floor is one of four muscles making up our inner ‘core’, which stabilizes our pelvis and lower back. 3. Sphincteric function These are the muscles which control both the opening of the urethra, where urine comes out, and rectum, where feces and/or gas come out. The pelvic floor muscles prevent leakage of urine, feces and gas. 4. Sexual Function The pelvic [...]
Improving Balance and Posture Makes Daily Activities Safer
What is Balance and Why is it Improtant? Balance is the communication between your brain, inner ear, visual system, and sensory system. This communication helps us as humans maintain equilibrium and helps us stand, walk, and do functional movements without falling over. Improving balance and posture can therefore make every day activities like like grooming, toileting, walking, stairs safer and easier. How Does Posture Influence Balance? As we age or if we are physically limited due to injury or disease, we tend to lose mobility in our backs, form rounded shoulders, increased curves in our spines, decreased arches in [...]
Propel Opens Physiotherapy Clinic in Pickering
We’re really excited to be teaming up with the group of experienced occupational therapists at Complex Injury Rehab to offer our physiotherapy services to people in Pickering and surrounding communities!With therapists from both practice areas sharing a space, it not only provides a unique opportunity to offer full spectrum rehabilitation therapy services from one location, it also enables us to share knowledge and expertise on a daily basis, which will benefit our clients as well as our practice.Complex Injury Rehab Inc. is owned and managed by occupational therapists Tracy Milner and Heather Condello. Their team of therapists provide high-quality rehabilitation [...]