So, you have a bad back you want to take care of, and you have insurance benefits to use. Exercising your valuable benefits can be a bit of a maze to navigate, especially if you’ve never used them before. Here’s a list of common items you should understand about your insurance policy, before beginning physiotherapy, to avoid nasty surprises. TERM WHY IT MATTERS Co-payment A co-payment is the portion of the treatment fee that you will be responsible for paying. It is usually a certain percentage or a set fee. Some plans may not have a co-payment (congratulations, you have a great plan!) Minim ..read more

If you ask a random group of people who have done physiotherapy, some will inevitably tell you they’ve had success, and some won’t. What determines who have success and who do not? Aside from medical considerations, there are four important elements you need to have to maximize your likelihood of achieving positive outcomes. Have an open mindset. If are needing the expertise of a therapist, you will be seeking advice and recommendations from someone who is more knowledgeable than you about human physiology. Our preconceived notions about our problems can lead to certain biases that may hinder ..read more

The internet recently turned 30 years old, and it’s even younger when you only consider the time from which it became mainstream. Yet, in just a relatively short period of time, it has changed the world immensely. In particular, it has made many things instantly or very quickly available. Hungry? Uber Eats will deliver within 30 minutes. Need something? Amazon can deliver on the same day. Bored? Watch a movie on-demand on Netflix. Want the news? Catch up on Twitter through 280-character tidbits. And by the way, why do pigeons bobble their heads? Just ask Google. Is Our Patience Waning? While t ..read more

A serious injury can change your life in an instant, even if temporarily. Suddenly you may not be able to walk, work, or continue an activity or sport you love so much. The consequences of an injury can be devastating and significantly reduce your quality of life and independence. Healthcare providers and patients often ask and talk about physical pain after an injury, but what doesn’t get as much attention is emotional pain. While physical pain can usually be managed by medications and modalities such as ice and nerve stimulation (both of which require minimal effort on the patient’s part), e ..read more

Spring is upon us, but just a month ago, we were still deeply entrenched in winter weather. Winter is a season associated with decreased physical activity. The weather can greatly affect our activity level. Consider the following findings from a study examining leisure time physical activity of Canadians aged 19 and over from the Canadian Community Health Survey: 64% of Canadians were inactive in the winter while 49% were inactive in the summer Total average daily energy expenditure was 31% higher in the summer than the winter Canadians were more likely to participate in physical activity for ..read more

Can seeing a therapist make your pain worse? As much as I hate to admit, I think so. Recently, I listened to a very interesting TED talk and I encourage you to watch its entirety here. The main idea was that people tend to latch on to negative events much longer than positive ones. It takes greater time and effort to convert losses to gains than to convert gains to losses, the presenter explained. We experience temporary highs and long periods of despair, thus getting stuck with the negatives. If we consider that physiotherapy is highly interactive, therapists should be very wary of their man ..read more

Life is all about competition. When we were kids, we fought our siblings for the last cookie in the jar. When we were teenagers, we fought for a spot in higher education. When we became adults, we fought for jobs. And throughout life, we fight for love (…coincidentally, today is Valentine’s Day). Participating in competition prepares us for battle in everyday challenges, and whether we win or lose, we learn to accept the result with confidence and resiliency. How does competition relate to exercise? Well, we all know we should exercise more often to reap the physical and mental benefits, but f ..read more

If you want to get in shape, how do you plan on doing so? Do you think about getting a gym membership? Perhaps joining a rec league? There’s nothing wrong about either (and other) options, but fees and scheduling can be prohibitive. So how can we improve our fitness if such barriers are present? One of my favourite ways to stay in shape is to run to a local park, do exercises in the playground, and then run back home. The running serves as a warm-up and cardio component to the workout. Many people go to a gym, but I seldom see people taking advantage of a free playground. Unless you have ..read more