Preventative Physiotherapy
Physiotherapists are often the professional you seek after an injury has occurred or after a nagging pain has become too much to shrug off. From this perspective, physiotherapy is a reactive measure to taking care of one’s physical well-being. Although this is an important role that physiotherapists play within a person’s rehabilitation and recovery, preventative physiotherapy, the component of preventative care, often goes missing. Compelling evidence suggests that physiotherapy interventions demonstrate the ability to prevent future injuries from occurring¹. In other words, we could take better care of our physical well-being by avoiding injury altogether. A systematic review of [...]
Workplace Wellness Programs Increase Productivity
Workplace wellness programs are becoming increasingly important in Canada, where the population is aging and the number of people with disabilities, chronic conditions, and work-related health issues is growing. With many of us spending up to two-thirds of our day at our jobs, it can be a challenge for many to find time in our busy lives to take care of ourselves in a way that maintains our health and prevents health problems before they occur. That is why Propel Physiotherapy offers workplace wellness programs for companies that want to encourage their employees to maintain optimal health and implement [...]
My Traumatic Brain Injury Road to Recovery
Eighteen Months into Rehabilitation I am a 50-plus, professional, reasonably athletic mother of three. I am currently 18 months into recovery from a serious accident that caused me many physical injuries, including a traumatic brain injury. I am writing about my experience as part of my therapy and hopefully to provide some context or helpful information to others who have been impacted in some way by something similar. I do not remember the day of the accident itself or the month afterwards. As much as I am writing about what happened, it’s all second-hand from my husband. Further, if [...]
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 [...]