Traveling Physio, Guelph, ON (2025)

11/06/2022

Meet Valerie! She's the newest member of the Traveling Physio team.🎉
Valerie is a hard working and passionate physiotherapist who will be working with orthopedic and pelvic floor clients in Guelph/Fergus/Elora.
If you've been hoping to book an appointment before the year is done, now is a fantastic time. Valerie has availability every Friday for in-your-home appointments.

01/09/2022

Potty learning🚽
Lockdowns sure are a bummer, but I'm seeing many families decide to work towards day time continence with their children (since we're all stuck at home anyways!).
Pediatric pelvic floor physiotherapists can help support you and your child on the potty learning journey and help set your child up for pelvic floor success.
We cover lots of topics in potty learning such as
🚽Potty readiness
🚽Potty anxiety
🚽Positioning
🚽Pelvic floor friendly bowel and bladder habits
🚽Constipation
🚽Gentle parenting friendly potty tips
🚽Hydration
🚽Potty learning schedules
🚽And more!!

We also work on night time continence as well as elimination communication.
Do you have any potty learning questions? 🚽🙋‍♀️

10/27/2021

Option 3) All of the above!
Hi everyone! I'm temporarily back from my self-induced social media break! I find Instagram stressful and was finding I wasn't really enjoying creating content and realize I should take a break. 😴
Social media can be tricky, so I'd encourage anyone who is feeling even a touch burned out to step away from the gram now and again! 📱
The good news is, while I've been away, there have been some exciting developments. 👏I'm apart of two business programs and am laying the groundwork for 2 new programs starting in 2022.
👏Pediatric pelvic floor difficulties and pelvic floor post gender affirmation surgery referrals have gone through the roof and it's been a privilege to be able to expand my pelvic floor offerings.
👏I'm in the process of hiring a new physio!!! This is a very very slow process and likely will be a several months (maybe longer??) endeavor as I have a very particular "type" of physio I'm looking for (hit me up if you know of any ortho/pelvic floor PTs who practice from a trauma-informed, BPS, empowerment over fear style of PT).
👏I'm so thankful to have such a supportive community of professionals who I can cross-refer to; it's been the biggest game changer to be able to support a client's needs to a professional who can best be apart of their journey.

03/17/2021

Covid Precautions 😷
Let's chat about benefits to the patient of having mobile physiotherapy during a pandemic as well as the logistics for the physiotherapist.

Benefits
✅ You can control the level of infection control in your own home
✅On warmer days, we can do physio in your backyard
✅ Avoid interacting with other professionals, staff and patients in a clinic environment
✅ PT sees less patients then they would in a typical clinic (my average day in mobile therapy is 10-12 patients vs 16+ in clinic)
✅ Virtual appointments also available

Logistics for the PT
👉I personally wear a KN95 or N95 covered with a surgical mask and a face shield for every single patient. I also wear gloves as soon as I leave my car until I get back (this is so I intentionally don't touch my car until the gloves come off and I can sanitize).
👉 I have packs of my supplies ready for each patient so I know I have the supplies needed. I reuse the zip lock bags to save plastic. I also keep extra PPE in my trunk for last minute appointments.
👉I change clothes and socks between appointments and when I can I wear birkenstocks so I'm not having to touch my shoes (doesn't work so well in the winter!). Since I'm often not near home when working, I hangup sheets in my car windows and change in my car (it's not perfect but it works!!)
👉I use Jane to keep track of contact tracing.
/self reported symptoms.
👉If I need to make notes, I use a seperate notebook and pen for each house I enter (and I don't re use that book for at least a week).
👉I clean my table using Caviwipes. Prior to Covid, I used other cleaners, but Caviwipes is my preference now. I hangout in a parking lot while it dries or if that's not ideal, I use my backup trunk table or book appointments such that I can come home and clean the table properly.

Pop any questions about the logistics of being a mobile PT in the comment section or DM me! :)

03/04/2021

Covid Vaccine Dose 1 Recap 🥳THIS IS NOT MEDICAL ADVICE. This is my own experience with the first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for Covid-19. I know I scoured my favourite site for crowd sourcing info (Reddit) before I got my vaccine to know "what it's really like". And just like how every single pregnancy and birth is different (see how I made this pelvic floor related ;), everyone is going to have a different experience.

The process was easy! I signed up for an appointment time and showed up (very early) to my appointment.👩‍🦼 If you have mobility difficulties, plan to have someone with you to wait in line on your behalf. I stood outside for about an hour before my appointment.🚶‍♀️

The injection itself felt like a flu shot. It was nearly painless. I was asked to wait for about 15 minutes after to make sure I didn't experience any adverse reactions.🕑

A few minutes after receiving the vaccine, I started to shake quite a bit. This lasted for about an hour. I truly believe this was due to a) being out in the cold for so long b) being really excited for the vaccine. I don't attribute this to the vaccine, but to my excitement. I felt mild arm pain develop about 3 hours after getting the vaccine. At its worst (24 hours after the injection) it was maybe 2/10 discomfort. 7-8 hours post-injection I had a very slight fever and headache which resolved by the next day. My arm pain was gone by the 48 hour mark.💪

My first dose had similar side effects to many other vaccines I've had, but the vaccine doesn't change how I treat the pandemic. I will continue wearing my masks, practicing physical distancing and hand hygiene.💉

If you have questions or concerns about receiving the vaccine when your time comes up, I urge you to speak to your primary care practitioner.👨‍⚕️👩‍⚕️

02/25/2021

Peeing your pants ✔
Call a pelvic floor physio👩‍⚕️
Along with being a pelvic floor physio, I like to make content that includes:
Bad off key singing ✔
Enthusiastic dancing ✔
Pelvic floor education ✔

02/18/2021

How many times does this happen to you?💁‍♀️
You are listening to someone's story and while they're talking you are already forming a reply in your head. Maybe it's helpful advice, a story from your life or something related.💬
In physiotherapy (and healthcare in general) patient's stories are a critical part of our assessment. But every so often, I'm so excited by the privilege of knowing how to help someone as they are sharing, that I'm already brainstorming our treatment plan and my response to them before their even finish talking.🧠 I risk missing out on part of their story. LISTEN means:
Lean in to demonstrate attentiveness
Imagine yourself in the patient's shoes
Show genuine interest
Time (do not rush your patient through their story)
Empathetic support
Non-judgemental environment

Make sure your patient feels heard 👂
Ask questions to clarify 🗨💬
LISTEN more than talk
You can always take a moment after your patient is done talking to jot some notes and gather your thoughts before responding 📝

Do you listen to understand or listen to reply?

01/28/2021

(Story shared with patient consent).
TW: mentions of su***de and su***de plans
I walk into my patient's house. It's an ordinary day for me. This is my last patient of the day. I am excited to see the progress they have made recovering from their injury. The patient has seemed down lately. I've already given them the business card of a local psychologist that I think would help.
I set up my table and make small talk. The patient seems even less themselves than usual. We have a great rapport. I ask them what is wrong and they snap back at me. I take a step back, unsure what I've done wrong. The patient begins to cry. We sit in silence for a moment.
"Are things a big heavier today then they have been lately?"
"Yes"
"Have you talked to (partner's name) about this?"
"No, they don't understand"
"How bad is it"
"Bad"
"On a scale of 0-10"
The patient starts to cry. I get a really bad feeling. The next question is the one that is the hardest to say out loud.
"Is this bad enough that you don't want to live anymore?"
What happens next is something that still brings me to tears. The patient points to a bottle of pills on their counter.
They had a plan. They had the means. They had written a note.
The patient was admitted for further mental health care that day. It was a long road. In speaking with the patient about this earlier this week, they are doing much better today.

Similar stories to this have already occurred in my career. All so far have had optimistic endings. The individual was able to get the help they needed. I worry one day, I may not ask enough questions at the right time.
Check in on your friends, family members and patients. Today, tomorrow and always.

01/21/2021

The best posture is the next posture!!! 🏃‍♂️
It's so easy to stay in one position too long! And even a "good" posture held too long can cause difficulties. Instead of trying to maintain "good" posture at all times, try these tips!
👉Get up and move every 30 minutes, even simply standing up and then sitting down can help!
🤸‍♀️Take breaks frequently from any prolonged position! Standing too long, sitting too long, lying too long, anything too long can cause changes in function!
🤳Set a timer on your phone to help keep you accountable.
🙌If you do have to sit for longer than 30 minutes (I'm looking at your Zoom meetings that could have been an email!) try to move a bit in place in your chair, use a lumbar roll, move your feet a bit, or anything you can (subtly) do to increase some movement!

If working or doing school from home is a literal pain in your back (or neck, or butt etc) check in with your local physiotherapist or message me for recommendations!!!

01/14/2021

About to sit down to read a book? Hmmm better p*e just in case. Running out to get the mail? Hmmm better p*e just in case. Please. 🛑. "Just in case" p*eing is a learned behavior that creates problems for your pelvic floor! Your body learns that your bladder can not hold very much, which increases the need to go more often!🚽
If this sounds like you, feel free to send me a DM to help find a pelvic floor physiotherapist is your area! This is a problem that we are well equipped to help you with 👩‍⚕️

01/07/2021

Has this happened to you 🚽
It's ok if this happens every so often, like after chugging your large Starbucks drink (coffee is a bladder irritant, but we'll save that for another post!)☕
If this is happening to you frequently, don't stress! Although typical, having to run to the bathroom should not be considered normal.
This type of bladder difficulty often starts early but lasts a lifetime. While annoying when you are younger, I have had older patients come to see me for physio after breaking their hip trying to run to the bathroom 🏃‍♂️. This can be a lifelong issue, but is treatable!
Check in with your local pelvic floor physiotherapist who can help you!

12/31/2020

Happy New Years eve! With resolutions for many starting tomorrow, let's chat about something that holds back many older individuals from being active!
Arthritis sure can be a pain in the butt..or knee..or back.🦴
But it shouldn't mean giving up the activities you or other loved ones enjoy! Working with a physiotherapist can help decrease pain associated with arthritic changes and help keep us active and strong.🤸‍♀️
As physiotherapists, we see this all too often. A well meaning careprovider takes x-rays which demonstrate arthritic changes in a joint. The patient worries doing activities will create further problems and decreases their activity level.💃
This leads to a downward spiral of loss of strength, endurance, balance etc. that further exacerbates the problem.
Instead, work with a physiotherapist to address changes in function and pain to help keep you or your loved ones active and healthy! 🥳

Traveling Physio

11/06/2022

01/09/2022

10/27/2021

03/17/2021

03/04/2021

02/25/2021

02/18/2021

01/28/2021

01/21/2021

01/14/2021

01/07/2021

12/31/2020

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