Physiotherapy Blog

Is joint pain connected to the weather? Many people are surprised when their knees ache before it rains, or when their back feels tight on cold mornings. At PhysioNow, we hear these concerns every single week, especially during seasonal transitions in Canada. Us Canadians know just how our weather can swing back and forth. While some people assume it’s “just age” or “just arthritis,” the truth is more complex: Weather changes can genuinely influence your joints, muscles, and nervous system. Importantly, this does not mean your joints are damaged. Rather, it means your body is reacting to subtle environmental changes,…

Many of us have been watching the Winter Olympics eagerly for the past couple of weeks. We’ve watched our athletes showcase thier speed, power, precision, and skill. However, the same forces that allow elite athletes to perform at world-class levels, also create predictable injury patterns. For physiotherapy clinics, winter sports Olympics injuries are not limited to Olympians. Recreational skiers, snowboarders, hockey players, and winter runners frequently present with similar conditions. Below is a summary of the five most common Winter Olympic injuries and how physiotherapy manages them. 1. ACL Tears (Anterior Cruciate Ligament) Common in: Skiing, snowboarding, ice hockeyMechanism: Rotational…

The Winter and Summer Olympics are awaited eagerly by both viewers and athletes across the world. We get to witness amazing feats of athleticism and elite performance across all kinds of sports! For a competing athlete, the Olympics can be everything to them. It’s the ultimate goal, allowing them to push through pain, injuries and intense stress, all for the chance to prove themselves on the world stage. For one incredible Team USA athlete, their leadup into the Olympics was one of resilience and determination. This is the story of Lindsey Vonn. What is Lindsey Vonn’s story? Lindsey Vonn is…

Medical terminology can be a patient’s biggest nightmare. During a session, a lot of unfamiliar terms describing symptoms, conditions, muscles, and more can be used. Today, we will be discussing a process called centralization and peripheralization that is encountered a lot during physiotherapy. To elaborate, spinal and musculoskeletal pain and other symptoms can sometimes move, change location, or feel different with certain movements or exercises. The two important terms physiotherapists use to describe these changes are centralization and peripheralization. Understanding these concepts helps you understand your treatment, reduce fear, and improve your rehabilitation outcomes. What is centralization? Centralization occurs when pain that was felt farther…

Medical imaging is something many of us are familiar with in Canada. Whether you’ve had an x-ray, ultrasound, MRI, or CT, you may have had to undergo one or the other at some point in time. For many people, they think of it as the gold standard for understanding their pain or injury. In fact, i’s completely natural to want answers, but here’s something us physiotherapists wish more people knew: Medical image findings are poorly connected to pain, and you don’t need imaging to start recovering with physiotherapy treatment! What is the connection between medical imaging and pain? One of…

A motor vehicle accident (MVA) can cause high degrees of neck and back pain, even if the impact seemed minor. Oftentimes, people will feel pain, stiffness, headaches, and/or reduced movement. Additionally, these symptoms may occur immediately, hours after, or even days or weeks after the accident. Thankfully, physiotherapy plays an important role in helping your body heal properly and prevent long-term complications. In Ontario, most people fall into the Minor Injury Guidelines (MIG) after a car accident that entitles them to $3500 of medical treatment, including physiotherapy. This is usually sufficient to treat less severe injuries such as strains, sprains and whiplash…

Ankle mobility, or rather the lack of it, is often overlooked. Many people assume ankle problems only matter if they’ve had a sprain or fracture. In reality, limited ankle mobility can affect your entire body, from your knees and hips to your lower back. At physiotherapy clinics, it is very common to see patients with knee pain, hip pain, or back pain where the root cause is actually poor ankle movement. Understanding ankle mobility and how it ties into the whole body can help you proactively prevent pain and reduce your injury risk. What is ankle mobility? Ankle mobility refers to how well your ankle joint moves. Normally, the ankle joint moves into dorsiflexion (bringing the foot closer to the ankle), plantarflexion (pointing the foot away from the ankle), inversion (sole of the foot towards the middle), eversion (sole of the foot away from the middle), and a combination of…

Why does shoveling cause many low back injuries each year? While shoveling is a simple, everyday chore which Canadians need to endure each winter, it is also one which catches many people off guard. Unfortunately, shoveling can lead to many aches and pains, injuries to the shoulders, slips and falls, and last but not least, low back pain. As physiotherapists, we often see patients with injuries which can be prevented with some tips and improvement to their technique.  Why does such a seemingly easy task cause so many injuries, you ask? Well, for those unfortunate enough to be placed on shoveling duty, they’ll be the first to tell you how physically demanding of a task it really is. Shoveling requires repetitive pushing, lifting, bending and twisting of the back while carrying heavy loads. Not to mention, the freezing temperature causes our muscles to stiffen up, causing them to be more…

Better sleep, a goal that many of strive for day after day. Unfortunately, the struggle to get a good night’s sleep may be known to many of us. Tossing and turning, waking up with a stiff neck or sore back, or feeling exhausted even after a full night in bed, sound familiar? At PhysioNow, we often see patients who come for back pain or neck pain, but once we treat the underlying physical tension, they start sleeping better too. Ultimately, that’s because your body and sleep quality are closely linked. Physiotherapy helps your body relax, realign, and recover, so you…

What’s the difference between leg extension and squats, and which ones better for you? If you find are an avid gym goer yourself, you’ve probably heard some version of this argument. When discussing leg workouts, there is much debate surrounding the importance of leg extension versus squat movement. Although both of these exercises can be performed in a gym setting, they provide different results based on how each exercise incorporates various types of movement patterns into your workout regimen.  Breaking down leg extensions vs squats Let’s begin with understanding the basis of these two exercises. Leg extensions are a targeted…