​This West Coast winter, we have been having more than our usual share of snow and cold spells. We, in the Lower Mainland, are not used to this crazy weather. Snowstorms, several inches of snow, and all the chaos that goes with it!
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This kind of winter weather brings a lot of snow and so many problems with it. I’ve treated several patients with incidences of low back and shoulder pain after shoveling. Most people hurt themselves from sudden exertion and overloading the spine. So, I wanted to share some tips on how to shovel snow safely.

When all eyes were on each country’s best soccer players competing for the illustrious FIFA World Cup, Brazil’s hopes of winning the cup took a potential hit when their star player Neymar suffered an ankle sprain during the preliminaries. How did one of the best soccer players from Brazil get back to playing in the elimination round of 16s? Was there magic involved? Let’s take a deeper dive into the potential ankle rehabilitation program that got him back so quickly. 

Sports are a fantastic way of keeping our kids active, strong, and having fun. But what happens when that nagging ache continues to persist and your teen starts to complain of knee pain? 
 
You might ask yourself: Is this a normal part of youth sports? Will it go away with time? Should we rest it and if so, for how long? Do we pull our children out? When do I see a physiotherapist?

Truth be told if you asked me to perform physiotherapy through a computer monitor a few months ago, I’d say no way.  I am a manual therapist and need my hands, or so I thought.  However, as social distancing didn’t allow for traditional in person visits, I had to adapt. 
 
Physiotherapy is a health care profession directed at assisting people to restore, maintain and maximize their movement, strength, function, and overall well-being. It includes rehabilitation, as well as prevention of injury, and promotion of health and fitness. Everything in this definition can be done online!  We can still offer the same expertise in musculoskeletal injuries as we did in person.

​I want you to pause for a second and take a look at your posture. Is your chin poking forward? Are your shoulders hunched and slouched over as you are reading this? What about your arms, low back, and feet?  Are they supported or dangling in space? 

What is happening? Why is this such a contentious issue? Why is it getting so much attention? Should I be concerned about my own kids? What can I do to protect my kids?

As a parent and physiotherapist these issues are of interest to me. As a former volleyball collegiate athlete I reflect on my own experience and wonder what has changed?

Why do we put our kids into organized sport? I think most parents would ultimately say for fun. Did you know the number one reason kids quit sports? It is no longer fun!

“Happy new year!”  It’s an inherently positive message meaning let’s look forward to a bright new start but you can’t see the horizon (much less what’s in front of you) if you’re looking at the ground.   Over my twenty years in Physiotherapy practice, I have seen the decline in people’s posture in general.  About 90% of my patients have arrived with poor posture and likely posture was a contributing factor to their ailments in 70% of those patients. ​