Beyond Physiotherapy
Movement is medicine. If I have done my job, you will graduate from physiotherapy and be able to engage in movement in the community. One of the disciplines that I think has tremendous potential to change the movement experience in your body and move your physical skills forward in functional, and measurable ways is Pilates. For local, excellent and supervised Pilates-based movement training my go-to is Small Conversations for a Better World‘s co-host, Susannah Steers, and her studio in North Vancouver, movingspirit.ca.
Menopause Resources
Navigating menopause can feel like it takes a University Degree. For access a 20,000 strong community of menopausal women built by a Canadian named Shirley Weir, head to www.menopausechicks.com. Shirley is a regular woman who, when menopause symptoms derailed her life she was told to take anti depressants and get on with it. She said no and asked why. Since then she has cracked open many difficult conversations with the Private Online Menopause Chicks Community (it’s free), hosted many local in-person events designed to educate and inspire, written a book called Mokita: Navigating Menopause with Confidence and Ease that can be found at all major online booksellers, and began the Mokita Fund for Women that donates gift certificates to women in need for whom finances are a burden to accessing healthcare. There is a lot of information on the site, which reflects that there is a lot of choice out there in how you can manage your symptoms of menopause. Feel free to reach out to me with questions not answered.
Here is a link to a Q and A session that I did with Shirley on the Private Online Community about pelvic health. www.facebook.com/physiogillian/videos/3414604341945373/?filter=2403390403309059.
Yup, that’s Gillian with pictures of poo
Remote Pelvic Floor Strengthening programs
Sometimes it can be impossible to get to a Pelvic Health Physiotherapist. Or you can get to one, have an assessment to confirm that you are doing your contraction properly, but cannot access ongoing treatment. Or you know what exercises you need to do but really need an accountability partner to get them done. I recommend Kim Vopni, a personal trainer that has created Kegel Mojo, an online pelvic health training program with workouts for beginners, intermediates and experts alike. There’s an app, too! It’s easy to follow and comes packed with bonus pelvic health information from medical practitioners like pelvic health physiotherapists and gynecologists.
Prostate Cancer Recovery
To find a well-written book with illustrations and easy to understand explanations of how to recover well after surgery for Prostate Cancer please head over to www.samhughesphysiotherapy.com/book.html. This physiotherapist written book covers an excellent overview of what happens during surgery for Prostate Cancer, what happens after and how to manage that time to optimize your recovery. It’s called The Guide to Optimizing Recovery after Prostate Surgery. To learn more about Sam Hughes, Physiotherapist and Author and the book, listen here.
For more information about ConnectTherapy™ and the Thoracic Ring Approach™ head to www.ljlee.ca.