Helping Foreign Physiotherapists Succeed in Canada
Program Helps Internationally Educated Physiotherapists Bring Valuable Skills to Our Health System As a physiotherapist who has had the opportunity to work in my field overseas, in Australia and New Zealand, and as a volunteer in South East Asia, South Asia and the Pacific, I appreciate the benefits of allowing foreign trained PT’s to practice their craft here in Canada. The breadth of knowledge, complimentary skills and language abilities that overseas trained physiotherapists bring to the country is invaluable, especially considering the diversity of our client population here in Canada. The Ontario Internationally Educated Physical Therapy Bridging (OIEPB) program [...]
The Benefits of Group Exercise
Strength in Numbers Why do so many people avoid regular exercise when the benefits are so hard to ignore? Whether it’s improving your mood, controlling your weight, preventing disease, recovering from injury, or increasing your energy, exercise is just plain good for you. However, many people lack the motivation to be consistent with workouts over time; others find it difficult to build it into their busy schedule; and some just find it too boring. In order to be successful with any lifestyle change or rehabilitation program, it is important to remove potential barriers; and a great way to overcome [...]
Hands-On Cueing Improved Posture and Gait
My childhood and adolescence was peppered with physiotherapy. I didn’t spend Saturdays as a teen sleeping in – I was at physiotherapy, preparing for my patience to be tested. Specifically, I was at physiotherapy to address my standing posture and functional walking ability (aka gait). I have cerebral palsy, and I walked with my left foot turned in and up on my tiptoe with my left hip stuck out. To me, this didn’t feel unnatural; it was just what my body did. During my physiotherapy sessions, my therapists and mother would grab my left hip and push it in. I [...]
Mindfulness: Reduce Stress & Chronic Pain
Retrain Your Brain for Better Physical and Mental Health How many of us have gotten to our destination after driving in our cars, only to ask ourselves, how did we get here? Or, have had encounters with coworkers, friends or family members only to ask ourselves what did we talk about? Our lives have turned into an endless assembly line, breakfast, work, gym, supper, work, bed… wake up and repeat. We are often so out of touch with what is happening in our daily lives, that often days, weeks or even months go by unnoticed. It often takes a [...]
A Customized Wheelchair Improved My Mobility and Independence
When I was in high school, my friends and I almost never ate lunch in the cafeteria; everyone I hung out with lined the hallway floors. Sometimes, if I was feeling up to a little discomfort, I’d get out of my customized wheelchair and sit on the floor with them –it was nice to get down on their level every once and a while, considering how often they did it for me. “Ninety-five per cent of my waking life is spent sitting in that chair, so yeah –it better be comfortable.” Over the years, I’ve let a handful of [...]
Adapting traditional exercise for function
Adapting traditional exercise for function Lifting for a reason I first began resistance training to make myself a better athlete with some pretty unrefined goals in mind — throw further, kick harder, and jump higher — and I continued with resistance training and weight lifting after finishing my athletic career. However, as I furthered my studies in physiotherapy, I began to realize that the traditional exercises I became accustomed to would not necessarily help my clients achieve their personal goals for functional movements like sitting to standing, lifting up a box, or better posture. At this point, what some [...]