JOURNAL
Stories from the studio.
Recovery and training notes from our physiotherapists, chiropractors, RMTs and kinesiologists — short reads, written for the people we treat.
ConditionsGolfer's Elbow: What Actually Rebuilds Medial Elbow Pain
If the inside of your elbow flares every time you grip, lift, or flex your wrist, the choice usually comes down to rest, physio, or a cortisone shot. Here is what the tendon is actually doing, why loading is the part that rebuilds it, and why the injection that feels best early often ages the worst.
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ConditionsCarpal Tunnel Syndrome: Conservative Care Before Surgery
Numb thumb and fingers that wake you at 3am usually point to the median nerve, not the whole hand. Here is what conservative care can do before anyone reaches for a scalpel, and the signs that mean surgery should not wait.
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ConditionsKnee Osteoarthritis: Why Physio Comes Before Surgery
An aching, stiff knee after fifty does not mean the next stop is a replacement. For most people, exercise and load management come first, and the guidelines say so plainly. Here is what knee osteoarthritis actually responds to, and where surgery fits.
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ConditionsCervicogenic and Tension Headaches: When Treating the Neck Helps
Some headaches start in the neck, not the head. Here is how to tell a cervicogenic or tension headache from a migraine, what the neck assessment looks for, and where physiotherapy actually helps.
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ConditionsBPPV and Vertigo: When a Repositioning Maneuver Fixes Dizziness
If the room spins for a few seconds every time you roll over in bed or tip your head back, there is a specific, common cause with a treatment that often works in one or two sessions. Here is how to tell what it is and who treats it in BC.
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ConditionsAchilles Tendinopathy: Load It, Don't Just Rest It
If your Achilles is stiff and sore for the first ten minutes every morning and resting only buys a few good days before it flares again, you are treating it like the wrong problem. Here is why a tendon that hurts usually needs load, not time off.
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ConditionsRolled Your Ankle? Why It Keeps Happening and How to Rebuild It
If you have rolled the same ankle more than once, the problem is rarely bad luck. A sprain that was rested but never rebuilt leaves the joint quietly under-prepared. Here is why the cycle repeats and what actually breaks it.
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ConditionsRotator Cuff Injury: Physio First, Surgery When?
A sore, weak shoulder does not automatically mean an operation. Here is how clinicians sort tendon irritation from a real tear, why most cuff problems start with rehab, and the specific cases where surgery moves to the front of the line.
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ConditionsSciatica: Is It a Disc, the Piriformis, or Something Else?
Leg pain that shoots from your back or buttock gets blamed on the piriformis far more often than it should. Here is what sciatica usually points to, what the names actually mean, and which symptoms are a reason to skip physio and call a doctor today.
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ConditionsWhiplash After a Crash: WAD Grades and What Recovery Looks Like
Your neck stiffened up a day after the crash, you have opened an ICBC claim, and you are worried this turns into pain that never leaves. Here is how whiplash is actually graded, what the evidence says about getting moving early, and how the first weeks of treatment work in BC.
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ConditionsTennis Elbow: Why Rest Alone Won't Fix It
If your outer elbow has hurt for weeks every time you grip, lift, or hold a mouse, the choice usually comes down to rest, physio, or a cortisone shot. Here is what the tendon is actually doing, why rest stalls it, and why the shot that feels best at first often ages the worst.
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PerformanceBike Fit in Metro Vancouver: What a Physio-Led Fit Includes
A shop fits the bike. A physiotherapist fits the rider, injury history and all. Here is what happens inside a two-hour physio-led bike fit, who actually needs one, and why the difference matters once something hurts.
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TreatmentsShockwave Therapy for Plantar Fasciitis: Sessions, Cost, Evidence
Shockwave gets pitched as either a miracle or a gimmick for heel pain. The evidence sits between those, and the timing of when it enters your plan matters more than the machine. Here is the honest version, including what it costs and how many sessions to expect.
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TreatmentsClinical Pilates in Vancouver: Who It's For
Clinical Pilates is not boutique Pilates with a stethoscope. It is rehab programming delivered through Pilates equipment, supervised by a physiotherapist or kinesiologist. Here is who actually benefits, and who is better served by a regular studio.
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ConditionsPrenatal Physiotherapy: What It Is and When to Start
Pregnancy changes what your body is carrying faster than your tissues can adapt. Here is what prenatal physiotherapy treats, when in pregnancy it makes sense to start, and what the Canadian guideline actually says about exercising while pregnant.
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CoverageDoes MSP Cover Physiotherapy in BC? What's Actually Covered, and What Isn't
The short answer is no for most people — but there's a specific exception, and a clear set of alternatives. Here's who MSP covers for physio, what it pays, and what to do if you're paying out of pocket.
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TreatmentsRMT vs Physio: Which to Book First
Sore, tight, or freshly injured, and both calendars have openings. The front desk gets this question daily, so here is the actual triage we use to decide whether massage therapy or physiotherapy goes first.
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RecoveryConcussion Recovery Timeline: What the First 6 Weeks Look Like
The first question after a concussion is almost always how long. Here is what the first six weeks usually look like, what counts as normal slow progress, and the signs that recovery needs reassessment rather than more patience.
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ConditionsTMJ Physiotherapy: How Physio Helps Jaw Pain
Jaw pain sits in a gap between dentistry and rehab, and a lot of people bounce between the two without a plan. Here is what physiotherapy can actually do for a painful or clicking jaw, and when the dentist needs to be involved.
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TreatmentsChiropractor vs Physiotherapist: When to See Each
We have both professions on staff, so we have no reason to talk you into one over the other. Here is how we actually decide which clinician a new back, neck, or joint problem should see first.
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TreatmentsDry Needling vs Acupuncture: What's Actually Different in BC
Dry needling and acupuncture use the same thin needle, but they are regulated differently in BC, trained differently, and chosen for different reasons. Here is how to tell which one your presentation calls for.
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ConditionsPlantar Fasciitis: The First Six Weeks of Treatment That Actually Works
Plantar fasciitis is one of the most over-treated and under-rebuilt conditions in foot and ankle physiotherapy. Rolling the foot on a frozen water bottle isn't the rebuild. Calf-and-foot strengthening, calibrated load management, and time are.
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CoverageKinesiology vs Physiotherapy in BC: Different Scopes, Different Roles, Different Times to Use Each
Kinesiologists and physiotherapists both work in rehab and active recovery in BC, but they are not the same profession. The scope difference matters, especially for ICBC and WorkSafeBC claims where each plays a distinct role in the recovery arc.
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ConditionsRunner's Knee in BC: Why Patellofemoral Pain Keeps Coming Back, and What Actually Rebuilds It
Patellofemoral pain — runner's knee — is one of the most over-rested and under-rebuilt injuries we see. Rest reduces the pain. It rarely resolves the problem. The rebuild that does is a graded loading program targeting the hip as much as the knee.
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ConditionsLower Back Pain: How a Physiotherapist Tells Disc, Facet, and Muscular Apart
Most lower back pain is non-specific — but within that label sit three distinct mechanical sub-types. Sorting between them is one of the most useful things a physiotherapist does in a first session, because the treatment for each is genuinely different.
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ConditionsConcussion Return-to-Learn and Return-to-Work: The Staged Protocol BC Clinicians Actually Use
After a concussion, the recovery question is not whether to rest. It is how to graduate back to thinking, screen time, work, and sport without setting recovery back. The international guidelines describe a staged protocol — and the version your clinician uses follows it closely.
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ConditionsPelvic Floor Physiotherapy Postpartum in BC: What the First Visit Looks Like, What It Costs, and When to Go
Postpartum pelvic floor physiotherapy is one of the most under-utilized parts of recovery after childbirth in BC. The first visit is straightforward, the coverage often surprises people, and the conditions it treats are far broader than incontinence.
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ConditionsFrozen Shoulder in BC: The Three Stages, the Real Timeline, and What Physio Can and Can't Do
Frozen shoulder is one of the most misunderstood orthopaedic problems we see. It is not a stiff shoulder you can stretch out of. It is a staged condition with a predictable arc — and the right physiotherapy approach depends entirely on which stage you are in.
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ConditionsVestibular vs Cervicogenic Dizziness: How Physiotherapists Tell Them Apart
Dizziness after a neck injury or inner ear problem looks similar from the outside. Physiotherapists use specific assessment tools to distinguish vestibular from cervicogenic dizziness — because the treatment is completely different.
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CoverageWorkSafeBC vs ICBC Physiotherapy: Which Claim Applies to Your Injury?
A work injury and a car accident can both land you in physio with a fully covered bill. But WorkSafeBC and ICBC are separate systems with different paperwork, different clinician rules, and different timelines. Here is how to tell which applies and what to expect from each.
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TreatmentsShockwave Therapy vs Cortisone Injection for Tendon Pain
Both shockwave and cortisone can reduce tendon pain. They work differently, carry different risks, and are indicated at different stages of a tendinopathy. Here is what the evidence says about each.
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TreatmentsIMS vs Acupuncture: Same Needle, Different Scope
IMS and acupuncture use the same thin needle but they come from different colleges, follow different clinical logic, and treat different problems. Here is how to tell which one fits your presentation.
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CoverageICBC Physio Past 12 Weeks: How Extensions Actually Work
Most BC crash recoveries fit inside the 12-week pre-approval window. Some don't. Here is how the extension process actually works, who initiates it, what gets documented, and what changes in your physio plan past week 12.
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CoverageICBC Physio vs RMT vs Chiro After a Crash: Which Clinician to Start With
Physiotherapists, RMTs, and chiropractors all treat motor vehicle injuries. They are not interchangeable. Here is which clinician fits which presentation, and how to sequence them across your ICBC pre-approved visits.
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CoverageYour ICBC Claim Number and the First Physio Visit
The paperwork side of ICBC physio in BC is shorter than most people think. Here is what you need before session one, how direct billing actually clears, and what the first appointment usually looks like.
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CoverageICBC Physio in BC: A Plain-English Guide to Coverage, Care, and Recovery
Everything we get asked about ICBC physio, in the order people usually ask it — pre-approval, paperwork, the first session, which clinician to start with, and what happens if 12 weeks isn't enough.
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CoverageICBC Physio: What the First 12 Weeks Actually Look Like
After a BC car accident, you can start physiotherapy before your claim is even open. Here's how the first 12 weeks of ICBC-covered physio actually work — from claim number to whiplash grading to discharge.
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