We’ve been watching a TON of the Olympics here at the clinic and this blog has been inspired but what we’ve seen.

I’ve heard countless athletes perform their post-game interviews and thank their coaches, parents, teammates, and everyone else involved in their win. This got me thinking of the team approach we use with care.

Check out this mini-blog and let us know if you have any questions, or if you want us to join your team!

We have a goal

Just like the Olympians have their goals (gold medal please), when my patients come into the clinic we’re always talking about goals. I’ve had professional and former Olympic athletes as patients, and while that’s awesome, I don’t think most of us need a goal that lofty for it to be meaningful.

Many of my patients are busy parents, weekend warriors, and desk workers who want to feel better, move better, and do the activities that matter to them with less pain. Here are a handful of examples of patients we’ve helped in the last month in the clinic:

• New mom who’s upper back is killing her from all the time she’s spending hunched over nursing her little one. It’s worth every ache and pain, but she came looking for some relief, and we used manual therapy and a couple of simple stretches to make her feel a lot better!

• University student home for the summer and taking up weightlifting but having some issues with their deadlift. We treated their low back and hip muscles, and performed a couple of adjustments to get everything functioning properly. Then we set up their deadlift in the clinic and cued them on how to move better to avoid this being a problem again.

• Desk worker who travels lots for their job had a couple of huge trans-Atlantic flights in a row and was absolutely beat up. They saw Adam for a massage and then came for chiro with Josh and had their hips adjusted. We also came up with a quick little exercise circuit to perform a couple of times per week after their dog walks and they’ve been much more comfortable ever since!

We don’t need to do this alone

What I mean by this is that we, as your healthcare team, can’t make you better alone. Every single one of my successful patients buys into the process. Getting manual therapy and adjustments and massage all feel great, but unless we continue that progress with better choices at home and at work, we’ll be spinning our wheels.

Our team will do everything in our power to help you achieve your goals, and most of our patients do amazing. When we work together, we achieve those goals faster, and with the confidence and skills to maintain the improvements we see. At that point, maintenance is a breeze and getting back to meaningful activity isn’t even a question.

We also don’t expect our patients to do everything alone. We’re here to help, patients put in the work, and the third part that sometimes gets missed is that we expect and encourage our patients to find the community around them that will support them too.

For some people it’s arranging coffee with a friend, or returning to their beach volleyball league (even if it’s just volunteering to help until they can play), or getting their spouse to help a bit more with the kids. Reaching out, asking for help, and getting involved can have a profound impact on our ability to recover, even from the worst of injuries.

Want to learn more?

At Highlands Wellness, we take a proactive, person-focused approach to healthcare. We use holistic and non-invasive strategies to help our patients get back to the activities that matter most to them with less pain. As well, we provide maintenance and plans for overall wellness to avoid the issue of pain and injury in the future.

If this sounds like something you’re interested in, then please contact the clinic at 613 501 2853 or email us at info@highlandswellness.ca.