Cancer Recovery Cancer is devastating. The Canadian Cancer Society, Public Health Agency of Canada and Statistics Canada released a report showing that up to 45% of males, and 42% of women will suffer from cancer at some point in their lifetime. However, this report also states that our success at treating it is getting better and better (www.cancer.ca). Cancer recovery is more likely than ever. The treatments however can be tough on our bodies, causing fatigue. The exhaustion from cancer recovery can be so severe that it prevents us from returning to our normal lives. This includes work and social activities. Exercise can help. But that idea can be very scary for someone who has just faced a lot of treatment. Often the fatigue is so severe that the idea of getting started on an exercise program is overwhelming. And those that are determined to begin anyway do not know…

Dr. Mike Evans is a family doctor who works for University of Toronto and St Michael’s Hospital. He also works for the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute. This institute presents medical information in an understandable way via you tube. A few years ago, Dr. Evans decided to find the most important single thing that someone could do to improve their health and prevent disease. His answer? Exercise. He created a video called “23 and half hours”, in which, he asks you to be at rest only 23 and ½ hours a day. You can see this engaging video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUaInS6HIGo. Stretching before a walk or run For many of our clients it is difficult to be active for even 30 minutes a day. And although we have to recognize the difficult pressures of work and family, these clients find it difficult to exercise due to pain…

Sport Physiotherapists are registered physiotherapists who have completed post graduate education. They have developed expertise in sports therapy and the special challenges that occur with all athletes – elite to the weekend warrior. They are on-field experts with advanced first aid and concussion assessment skills. They also have extra training in many areas needed for returning to sport at the best level and with a decreased risk of reinjuring. To truly be ready to return to sport and to perform at your best, your physiotherapist should look not only at the area of injury but how it relates to the whole body’s movement. Many of us have heard that a soccer kick comes from the hip, or we have practiced winding up for a slap shot. An example of a this is how the forces travel from the hip through the knee and into the soccer ball. A Sport Physiotherapist…

Athlete Stretching-  Knee Pain As we start into the fall and winter sports seasons, many people have asked about knee pain in their early teenaged or pre teen children. This pain is at the front of the knee and is not usually due to falls or sudden injuries. The most common cause is something called Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome. This is swelling and pain in the joint between the knee cap and the thigh bone. Often it will start at the beginning of a new activity or if the amount of training is suddenly increased. However, knee pain can also happen after a growth spurt or for no reason at all. The cause of the knee pain is the kneecap is not tracking properly. In a healthy knee, there is a groove in the thigh bone,  that the knee cap travels up and down as we straighten or bend the knee. If…

Back Pain- do you need surgery? Back pain is one of the most common injuries that we see at our office! Most pain medications barely touch the pain- they just take the edge off and knock you out. The good news is that back pain is  an injury that can be treated conservatively by a skilled physiotherapist! There are several different sources of back pain with the most common being disc pain due to a disc bulge or herniation. The source of the pain is often simple to diagnose. Assessment can be completed quickly in one visit and treatment can start the same day. In my experience, more than 75% of patients are fast responders meaning that their symptoms can begin to lessen very quickly after the first visit. The trick to shutting off back pain is to identify the location and angle of the disc injury.  Very simple stretching…