What's New at Physio Sport Med

NHL, NBA and MLB are on TV.   I am inspired by the new NIKE “Can’t stop us ad.”  (If you haven’t seen it, follow this link:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WA4dDs0T7sM).  Gyms across the province have opened.  And my family is returning to the ice and warming up for fall field lacrosse.   Sports are back.  They are different, but they are back.
There are few things to keep in mind as we return to the playing fields, courts, and workout centers.

1. The Canadian Academy of Sports and Exercise Medicine does not recommend exercising with a mask on.   Please wear it when you can, including walking around the space, changing and between bouts, but current recommendations are that it should be removed while exercising.
2. Your concussion base test may no longer be valid.   We have been off for longer than most of us realize and although feels like you may have just been baseline tested for your spring sports, sports stopped approximately 5 months ago.   For children less than 18 years of age, baseline testing should be performed every 6 months.
3. Watch your intensity.   For some us, time off has inspired us to create a home gym, start running and cycling and use the extra time to become stronger.  For others, we baked and caught up on all of our Netflix.   If you are the later, make sure to start slowly with workouts.  Although muscle lost will reappear quickly, a slow steady approach is important to prevent injury.   Even if you have been using a home gym, body weight exercises are less demanding, and you should be cautious before lifting heavy weights.
4. Warm up with some sport specific drills.  In the sports medicine world, knowing where your feet are in space and being to coordinate their movement is called proprioception.   This skill is critical for making quick cuts and sudden stops.   And this is a skill most of have not used at all for a few months.  Take time to run some sport specific drills on the ice or court to warm these reflexes to prevent ankle and knee sprains.
5. Have fun, but be careful.   We are all happy to have our recreational activities back.  Remember to approach with a guarded caution and to comply with all of the regulation so they remain open and available for us to enjoy. 

 We have now been seeing patients in the clinic for two full months and while things are a little different, providing first class care remains the same.

During the shut down we took this time as an opportunity to revamp our internal software system.  This dramatically improved our ability to take online bookings for many practitioners.  You can start by going here to see all your options.  We also started providing "virtual appointments", which we continue to provide as an option for those patients who feel more comfortable starting with an online visit.

1. If you are not feeling well, please stay home and give us a call.  We have options to "see you" virtually, and if that doesn't work we will waive any cancellation fees that might otherwise apply.
2. We are staggering appointments to avoid clinic congestion on arrival and departure.
3. Call us when you arrive, and we will let you know when it is safe to enter.  You can wait in your car or outside and when ready we will show you directly into one of our treatment rooms. If you do enter the clinic before your practitioner is ready we do have limited room in our waiting area which respects physical distancing.
4. When you enter the clinic you will be required to wear a mask, and sanitize your hands.  Practitioners will wear masks during the treatment, and will wear face shields as appropriate for close face to face examination and treatment.  They also wash hands between patients or wear gloves.  Please respect other patients and staff by keeping a 2 metre separation.  Avoid the clinic washroom where possible.
5. For your safety we complete regular cleaning that supersedes Public Health standards.  We sterilize each room after each patient and change linens.  We also regularly sanitize other clinic surfaces.
6. When you are done we are able to bill private insurance directly and/or take touchless payments using debit, Visa and Mastercard.  We can also provide you with receipts emailed directly to you.

While Ontario has done very well so far to bring Covid numbers down, we continue to recognize the need to be vigilant to help avoid local outbreaks and the feared second wave.  Please help us in this endeavor when you come to visit.

As you get back into your regular exercise routine rest assured that we are here to help with any issues or injuries that you encounter.

Thank you very much for your continued business!