Have you ever considered the idea that things have to be “just right” to be able to move forward or make progress?
 
This is highlighted by a conversation that occurs on a regular basis in the office. It goes something like this:
           
“Don’t turn 50, everything goes downhill at 50.”
 
“Don’t turn 60, I never had a problem like this until I turned 60.”
 
Even people as young as 25 have brought forward some version of this topic. And each of those people have their own stories which are entirely true. At a certain point, things did not go to plan.
 
While it is not possible to go back in time and reclaim the benefits of youth, which depending on who you ask is anywhere from 17-40, it is still definitely possible to claim what’s left.
 
None of us get through life without some bangs, bruises, and scrapes along the way. No one is in mint condition. Most people aren’t operating anywhere near 100% of their capacity, because that would be exhausting.
 
The bottom line is that thinking about perfection when it comes to the human body is more trouble than it’s worth. Wouldn’t it be better instead to consider how we can move forward? Getting 1% better than we were last week, 5% better than we were last month? What would the limits be if we stopped focusing on the end goal and started to dig deeper into the daily and weekly changes that we can make to spur progress, however gradual and incremental, towards the type of life and the type of body that we want?
 
While it’s true that things get harder as we age and acquire new injuries along the way, everyone can improve something about their situation. Everyone has so much potential, regardless of age, and I look forward to seeing that over and over again, moving into the future.
 
-Trent, Physiotherapist

Human beings by nature need structure. As a general rule we thrive with a set of rules and organization to live within. For example, we have set hours that we go to work for. We usually drive to work on the same route each day. Our meal times are pretty consistent.

With this in mind we like to plan our lifestyle as well. Some of us will plan the meals for the upcoming week. We set a schedule of meetings, kids’ activities, and social events. Especially as we age into adulthood and middle age, we schedule regular dentist visits, eye visits, and physicals with our doctor. Some of us meet regularly with our bank or financial planner to plot out our financial strategy.

We need structure.

When dealing with an injury or physical condition, structure is important for successful and timely recovery. Our philosophy at Donald Physiotherapy is to create a plan with you to map out what needs to be done to achieve success. Many of you will have created a written plan with your physiotherapist that outlines what you need to do as well as what the therapist needs to do. This team approach between physiotherapist and you creates the needed structure and expectations for both sides.

The successful plan depends on your WHY.

The end goal is different for everyone so it is imperative for us to work with you to clearly know what we are working towards.

Is to run 5km? Is it to play on the floor with grandkids? Is it work on the computer without back pain?

The successful plan has to have an end-goal.

And as physiotherapists, there is nothing more rewarding than seeing someone achieve that goal.

~ Trevor, Physiotherapist

Today I was pondering what to write on.  As most of you know, I have many interests, from Women's Health, Strength and Conditioning, Acupuncture, Dry Needling, Persistent Pain Science....the list could go on.  I am also a mother, a wife, a business owner with my husband, Trevor (and trust me, people ask me how that goes!!)  So today as I was trying to plan my day, realizing the mountain of things I am seeing that I could be doing, should be doing, and figure out what needed to be done, the idea of a blog came to me.  And it came to me because a dear friend sent me an email with the words in it "You ARE enough. You ARE kind. And you've got this."

You see, on a daily basis, I see clients for various ailments and they can be effecting their quality of life - their time with their spouse, their children, their ability to do the things they love.  And today, as I'm trying to figure what to do and when to do it, I realized, these lovely clients I have the privilege of getting to help, they are taking time for themselves - or doing Self Care.  It's become a very notable word at the moment - almost trendy at times to discuss, but the reality is I have seen now, how important it truly is to take time for yourself.  Despite my clients being there, and being present for their treatment and education, I do frequently get asked, how can I take care of myself?

Recently I had the opportunity to take some time and explore the West Coast.  I headed out to Nanaimo, BC, and up to the Tofino area.  There I explored the Wild Pacific Trail, read a book, slept for 8 hours, and missed my family.  But it was a time to step back and enjoy the world around me instead of rushing through it.

Realizing this was a special circumstance, this trip to BC, it is not always how self care has to or can happen.  It can be the smallest things including:

• a cup of coffee in the morning before everyone is awake
• a short walk
• 5 mins in your office at work or home, to breath
• being in bed 30 mins earlier than normal
• reading a book
• going on a field trip with your child's class (I truly found this amazing!)
• driving in the vehicle by yourself
• being kind to yourself
• ​come up with the PRIORITY of the day rather than trying to find BALANCE
  

The list could truly go on, but I thought, after reading my email from my, I was inspired to speak to it. 

Who is this dear friend you may ask...it's Amanda of Grounded Goodness, and she knows just what to say when to say it.

I have only scratched the surface of this topic...there is so much more that could be said. But, let's have just a brief snippet sit and take it in.

Have an enjoyable weekend, and looking forward to chat with you soon.

~ Michelle, PT
​

Today I will be continuing the discussion on Chronic Pain with a topic that comes up on a very regular basis during a typical week. It will usually begin with some version of the question, “It started in my hip, now my knee is starting to act up, why is that?”.
 
I encourage anyone interested to look back at the previous blog post on pain for some background information on the factors involved in pain and tissue sensitivity at a local level. Once symptoms and dysfunction persist for a long enough period of time, they begin to enter a period that is referred to as chronic. When things get to this point, a number of other changes and adaptations begin to take place within the body. The portion that we will be focusing on today is the idea of the sensory homunculus.
 
The homunculus refers to a representation, or “map” of our body that resides within our brain. Every time we feel something from a particular body part, or move a particular body part, there is a corresponding activity in the part of the brain that is assigned to that area. This has many benefits, including allowing us to be aware of our entire body at any time, simply by thinking about it. Even with our eyes closed we can make very precise movements, such as touching our nose or ears with millimeter accuracy. Below is an image that shows how the homunculus is laid out in the brain.

I hope you enjoy this blog post I wrote to share with you all some observations I have made over the past year working as a physical therapist. As I continue to learn and support others I have been making observations and have slowly been adding to a list of skills from my physio brain perspective that are important to not only maintain but enhance quality of life!

• Getting on and off the floor. Why? Because to get on and off the floor means that our lower bodies joints have to be flexible and our leg muscles have to be able to lower and lift us. This in my opinion is also a functional task because with this ability we are confident and strong enough to get down low to reach something we dropped on the floor, get something from the bottom shelf if we need to be on our hands and knees, as well as allows us to play with littles ones who frequently are on the floor.
• Spine Mobility. Why? I can’t tell you how important is it to have a spine that is able to move in all directions. There are few things that are worse than neck pain or back pain and in many cases untreated pain in the spine at one level manifests into troubles up or down the system. Our spine is our “back bone”, one of the more major joint systems in our body that allows us to function and accomplish the tasks we want to!
• Glute strength. Why? Our glutes support us in some many ways - they support the pelvis, the low back, and are even working when we are reaching for an item on the top shelf, or swinging a golf club. Our glutes/buttocks muscles are mover muscles and we use them constantly to support our everyday movements.
• Maintenance of Balance. Why? Without our balance we are unable to move safely and poor balance predisposes us to falls. Balance is something I feel we take for granted because it is a skill for most of our life that we don’t have to practice, but as we get older, if our activity levels decrease and our joint range of motion and strength becomes limited we naturally are not challenging our balance. This meant that slowly over time our balance decreases. One of the best ways to maintain balance is to keep active, keep moving!
• Health and Well-being goals. Why? When we have goals it means that we are working towards something, and this generally means that we are active. Having movement or fitness goals for yourself as we progress through life I believe are truly some of our most valuable goals. Movement supports our ability to get out and socialize, participate in the activities we love, supports or physical health, as well as our mental and emotional health. This goal can be as simple as “until the end of my days I will always be able to get on and off the floor”. Having a goal of this nature allows us to check in with our health status and supports everything else we wish to achieve.