The team at North Oakville’s Palermo Physiotherapy And Wellness Centre would like to wish everyone a happy and safe Thanksgiving long weekend.
Our clinic hours are as follows:
Saturday October 8, 2022 – OPEN 8-1pm
Sunday October 9, 2022 – CLOSED
Monday October 10, 2022 – CLOSED
Tuesday October 11, 2022 – OPEN regular hours.
We hope that you are able to enjoy the fall weather and beauty of the changing leaves around Oakville, Burlington, Milton and the Escarpment! All the best from our front desk team, and our team of Physio’s, RMT’s, Chiropodists, Acupuncturist and Yoga Therapists.
Just like adults, children can experience foot and heel pain. They may not be able to communicate what they are experiencing or feeling.
Parents may notice that their child complains of their shoes feeling stiff or tight. They may also notice their child walking differently, limping or having a change in activity level.
In children these complaints or changes may be are result of:
Sever’s Disease (an inflammation of the growth plate of the heel bone)
overuse injury
stress fracture
plantar fasciitis
achilles tendinitis
Poor fitting footwear
flat feet / high arches
Plantar warts
Ingrown toenails
Athletes foot / fungal infections
If your child has been complaining of foot pain or you believe they are experiencing one of the above issues, our Oakville Chiropodists are experienced in working with children and their parents.
In a previous blog post we spoke about thumb pain and chronic issues associated with the thumb. These included things like osteoarthritis and trigger thumb. Trigger thumb like most things are helpful if addressed early.
Accessing physiotherapy early for thumb pain or issues can help delay or avoid needing injections or less conservative care from an orthopaedic surgeon or plastic surgeon.
Thumb injuries and issues can also be more acute or sudden. Changes or an increase in activity or things like contact or a fall can often be culprits of thumb injuries.
De Quervain’s Tenosynovitis
For some this can be thumb pain that strikes seemingly out of nowhere. This pain may happen when moving the thumb, gripping, turning the wrist, or lifting something. The pain is located n the thumb side of the wrist / forearm and may also be tender to the touch.
This thumb pain is caused by the swelling of the tendons that help move thumb out / extend the thumb. The tendons of the thumb when swollen and inflamed take up space in the sheath they run through.
The type of thumb and wrist pain is more common than you think. It is classified as an overuse type of injury, and is often brought on with new activities or increasing intensity of activities. Many post-partum women experience it from lifting, moving and carrying their babies and carriers in different, new, and repetitive ways.
Your Physiotherapist will do a through assessment to ensure that this is the cause of your thumb pain. They will try and get to the root cause in order to provide education, possibly bracing, and advise on activity modification. They may provide supportive taping if it is impeding in your sport or daily activities.
In some cases less conservative treatment is warranted. Physiotherapy afterwards to work on scar tissue, strength and mobility can be helpful.
Like most things it is important to have your thumb pain addressed before if it is not improving or if it is impacting your activities and life negatively.
Skiiers Thumb / Game Keepers Thumb
This is the result of s sudden injury. It is a sprain of the inside ligament of the thumb or the ulnar collateral ligament. If it is not treated properly, it can result in long term problems of the thumb.
Manual testing and imaging will help in diagnosing the degree of sprain. The thumb should usually be protected from range of motion with a cast-like splint for a set period of time. During this time physio can start in a controlled way. If surgical repair is needed the surgeon will clear a person for physiotherapy after a certain amount of time to begin range and motion exercises and eventually strengthening.
Fracture / Broke thumb
Thumb fractures (or breaks) can happen in variety of ways. Falls, sport impact or getting caught in a door are some common ways people break bones in their thumbs.
If you are losing time from sport / activity due to having your thumb immobilized, a physiotherapist can help provide ways to move your body without negatively impacting your healing bone.
Once your cast or splint is removed and your are cleared for activity based on your x-rays, Physiotherapy can help you restore normal thumb, hand, and wrist movement, manage pain, increase strength and return to sport / activity.
Contact us at our North Oakville Physiotherapy, Massage, and Foot Clinic. We are happy to help you recover from pain and injury that is impacting your life and activity.
Many people equate RMT Massage Therapy with relaxation. There is nothing like slowing your day down and unplugging for an hour in a quiet room.
Our North Oakville RMT’s treat many people with tension from stress and work around their neck and shoulders, or low back.
As Registered Massage Therapists, they treat so much more than that also! Many of our patients that seek Physiotherapy do well when they see an RMT in conjunction with their Physio treatment. For example, frozen shoulder, the physio may spend more time mobilizing the shoulder and thoracic spine as well as stretching the shoulder and doing exercises with a person. An RMT will help immensely in working on the muscles and tissue in the shoulder, the chest and the shoulder blade. We often encourage patients to do their range of motion exercises after having a massage.
The timing of Massage and Physio can help helpful too. Your Physio and Massage Therapist will let you know what they suggest and why.
Massage Therapy can be helpful when recovering and rehabilitating after a knee replacement surgery or hip replacement surgery. The RMT can help work on the muscles and tissues around the joint and the scar tissue. People also often find they walk differently or were de-conditioned prior to their surgery. Because of this they may have tension and soreness around the low back and hips. You RMT can also help with these types of muscle tension and soreness.
Registered Massage Therapists, like Physiotherapists are also able to formulate clinical judgement based on your physical presentation and suggest exercises for you. They may suggest and perform stretches and send you home with information to enhance your treatment session.
Have you recently gotten a cast off? You Massage Therapist can help work gently on an area to help enhance mobility and decrease stiffness.
In order to reach your goals, it is helpful to have a few sessions with your RMT. They may suggest a weekly or biweekly session for a few weeks.
To book in with one of our awesome Oakville Massage Therapists contact us! We treat Massage Therapy clients from Oakville, Milton, Burlington and Mississauga. We are able to direct bill for most insurance companies for Massage Therapy and Physiotherapy as well, making it easier for patients.
Whether it be for relaxation and stress purposes or to treat a specific issue such as ITB friction syndrome, frozen shoulder, back pain, tennis elbow, plantar fasciitis etc our RMTs are here to help you.
It’s almost unbelievable that we have already reached the unofficial end of the summer with Labour Day weekend coming up. Before the kiddos head back to school next week, its time to have one more epic summer celebration!
As always, if you’re outside, don’t forget your sunscreen and bug spray! Trust me, it’s what all the cool kids are doing.
Ribfest
If you like ribs, funnel cake or just hanging out by the water, this is the spot for you. Burlington lakeshore hosts Canada’s largest ribfest and its finally back after taking a two-year hiatus due the pandemic. This is the perfect end of summer activity for the whole family – there’s food, live music and lots of activities along the boardwalk. If ribs aren’t your thing, you can always grab an iced coffee or ice cream from across the street, walk around and enjoy the good vibes.
Flower Farms
Flower farms are more than just a good Instagram photo op. Its fun to walk around and see the endless colors or get lost in the middle of a sunflower maze. Some places will let you pick flowers for a bouquet that you get to take home with you! It’s a nice way for the family to spend time together while getting a little sunshine.
Go For A Hike
We are blessed in the Halton region with lots of trails to walk, hike or even bike if you’re experienced. Make sure to bring water or snacks for longer hikes. And always wear appropriate footwear like running shoes or hiking boots.
Fireworks
Nothing says long weekend quite like fireworks! Canada’s Wonderland has a fireworks display on the Sunday of the long weekend. If that is too far of a drive, some parks in Hamilton are also having fireworks celebrations on Sunday.
Whether you have a weekend full of events or one where you are relaxing before the chaos of the beginning of the school year, we hope you have a wonderful and safe time with the family!
As in every year, here we are at the end of the summer and it feels like it has flown by!
We will be open on Saturday and closed on Monday.
We hope that everyone has a safe and amazing long weekend. It is sometimes nice to stay local on the last long weekend of the summer and enjoy what Oakville, Burlington, Milton and Halton have to offer!
Backyard Yoga
Have some friends over or keep it to the family. Set up some mats, towels or blankets and do some yoga. It can be quiet and peaceful or put a few yoga moves and reflections on cards and pick them randomly! New to yoga? or don’t know where to start? Our yoga therapist offers private and semi-private (bring and friend), yoga sessions. Contact our Oakville physio, massage and foot clinic to book.
Hike
There are so many amazing hiking trails within Oakville and the surrounding areas. From Lions Valley park to Bronte Creek in Oakville to the Conservation Halton trails that pepper the nearby escarpment, we’re lucky to have such beautiful outdoor treats!
Check out our blog post about hiking with tips and tricks from a physio perspective here!
Bike ride
Take advantage of one of the many bike trails around Oakville. We are so close from our North Oakville Physio clinic to the trails of Bronte Creek Park. Please make sure you wear a helmet on your bike rides. You can find our blog post on the importance of bike helmets here.
Splash pad
There are awesome splash pads around Oakville, Burlington and Milton. There are a few like Nelson that you need to prebook, but it is totally worth it. Pack a lunch and some snacks and make a day of it.
The closest splash pad to our North Oakville Massage clinic is Valley Ridge Park. It’s a great combo of splash pad and playground. There are nice benches and shaded areas. There are also some nice walking paths nearby!
There is actually a proposed splash pad at Palermo Park in the phase 2 development stage. Fingers crossed that it comes to be!
Local park
Enjoy a local park that you don’t normally go to, enjoy the play structure! Meet friends for pickup soccer, volley-ball or badminton.
Downtown Oakville or Kerr Village
Take a walk downtown Oakville and have a cool treat at one of the ice cream / gelato places. Enjoy an iced coffee or sit and people watch!
Lakeshore / Spencer Smith Park
It may be busy n the weekend because rib fest is back in Burlington. It’s an awesome time close to the lake with live music.
Enjoy local this long weekend and enjoy time spent with your friends and loved ones. It may be nice to slow down your pace before the rush of back to school and return to fall sports and activities.
If you are limited in your enjoyment of the above activities because of pain, injury or decreasing function, physiotherapy may be of benefit to you. Please contact us at our North Oakville clinic to see how we can help!
There are so many terms and word to sort through when it comes to our bodies. Skeletal muscles are contractile. They contract and shorten to produce movement. They contract to hold and joint in place. They lengthen under force as well eccentrically (picture lowering down stairs).
Ligaments connect bone to bone and help secure your different joints.
Cartilage covered the joint surfaces between joints. It provide shock absorption and helps with smooth movement.
Your tendons are an extension of the skeletal muscles that connect muscles to bone. They act with a pulley and lever system to help produce movement.
Forces in and on your body don’t take place in a vacuum. These structures as well as the bones help move you, stop you and absorb forces.
Your achilles tendon is the strongest and largest tendon in the body. It is vulnerable to injury due to its limited blood supply, age related changes and specific activities.
Injury to the Achilles Tendon:
Tendonitis
Tendonitis is the acute inflammation of the tendon. In this case the achilles tendon connecting he calf muscles to the heel bone becomes irritated and inflamed. This is often associated with overuse. This is often from doing more or too much too quickly for our bodies to adapt. For many people there is a sudden increase in exercise activity or intensity.
Achilles tendonitis can cause local pain and stiffness. The first steps after sitting or laying down may cause pain in the achilles area. Walking down stairs can also sometimes be painful or stiff feeling in the area of the achilles tendon.
Achilles tendonitis can be common in athletes like runners, soccer, basketball, and volleyball athletes with running and jumping repetitively. Sudden increases in volume as well as a persons body structure can play a role. It can be helpful to have the area looked at by a Physiotherapist and / or Chiropodist to provide specific treatment.
This type of treatment may include things to address the inflammation and pain in the short term. It will also likely include long term suggestions of strengthening, footwear modifications and possibly custom orthotics.
Tendinopathy
Achilles tendinopathy is a longer term overuse injury of the achilles and excessive chronic stress. Due to the chronic nature of this issue, there may be a range of changes to the tendon. These changes are more likely to happen when there are repeated bouts of tendonitis that are not treated, managed or prevented.
Higher risk factors are obesity, high blood pressure, sudden load changes to the achilles tendon, Type II diabetes, prolonged steroid use, inappropriate footwear, and a family history.
Rupture or tearing of the achilles tendon is the most common rupture in the lower body. It its most common in those aged 30 to 50. Patients often describe this injury as feeling like someone has kicked them. They may hear a “pop” or “snap” sound.
Achilles tendon ruptures, like many injuries are multifactorial.
Achilles tendon ruptures are most common in people who are active “on occasion”. This could mean mild activity during the week and some weekends playing a couple games of floor hockey or soccer. There is a small percentage of people (~10%) that report having tendinosis prior to the rupture.
Ruptures tend to happen around 2-4cm from where the tendon attaches to the heel bone.
Achilles tendon ruptures may happen from sudden and forced plantar flexion (pointing), direct force on the area or longstanding tendinosis.
Foot and ankle position as well as systemic factors can predispose someone to achilles tendon issues. It is important to treat and have best control of all factors for best healing of the area. Some system issues predisposing a person to achilles issues are diabetes, renal failure, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, gout, thyroid issues etc.
If you have been having heel or achilles pain that is ongoing, progressing or off and on, one of our North Oakville Physiotherapists or Chiropodists would be happy to assess you. They will take your health history, watch how you stand, move and walk and assess the area.
This thorough and individualized assessment will provide them an idea of factors leading to your achilles pain / dysfunction and allow them to give you individualized advice and treatment. Most insurance benefits cover physiotherapy and/or chiropodist assessments and treatments. At our Oakville clinic we are able to provide direct billing to most insurance companies.
Contact us to book your in person physio or Chiropody appointment at our North Oakville Clinic or virtual physiotherapy appointment.
While many people experience a pivot from an expected vaginal delivery to an emergency Cesarean Section (C-Section) birth. There are also many people who have a planned or scheduled C-Section.
If this is the case, Physiotherapist can help prepare you in advance for the birth as well as the first few days. While many people try and soften the process by titling it a “C-Section birth” and a view point that it is as valid of a birthing process as a vaginal birth (which it IS!). A C-Section is still a surgical procedure that has different considerations when it comes to recovery than a vaginal birth.
It is possible to have have pelvic floor issues post c-section even when / if a person has not laboured, had to push, or delivered vaginally.
Postnatal Physio-C-Section
These pelvic floor issues post C-Section may be:
Pain / discomfort with urination
Stress or urge urinary incontinence
Pelvic floor pain or discomfort
Bowel issues / constipation
Pelvic organ prolapse (POP)
In the early days post C-Section your pelvic floor focussed physio can provide you with a plan in how to set your home environment up to best help your own recovery as you care for a newborn.
Once your C-Section incision is healed, your pelvic floor focussed physio can assess and gently treat your scar / incision or the surrounding area. Your Physio can also assess your pelvic floor. You should be provided with some education and a plan of how you can self treat at home and how to fit it into your new life!
If you have not had your scar massaged or worked on by a physio and you are further down the road of your recovery, if is never too late. People are often surprised by how much C-Section scar work as part of physio treatment can help with low back issues and pelvic floor tension / issues as well as in the local area.
If you are interested in a pre-hab or prenatal physiotherapy session for a schedule C-section we are here for you. We are able to see you in person in our North Oakville Physio clinic. We are also able to “see” you virtually via Telehealth if you are residing or have a permanent address in Ontario.
This past long weekend marks 8 years since we opened the doors at North Oakville’s Palermo Physiotherapy and Wellness Centre!
Some of you may remember walking through the hallways of the brand new medical building in which our clinic is located, when there was no carpet and other units were still being completed.
We have grown and changed over the years. We have learned things about business, honesty, loyalty and service. Our team has always worked hard to provide you, our patients and clients the best possible professional services. Whether it be Physio, Acupuncture, Massage, Chiropody or Yoga.
We have seen many of our patients reach major milestones and helped you work towards your goals. You have trusted us with your care and the care of your loved ones.
We’ve seen team members reach wonderful milestones and goals as well. Palermo Physiotherapy and Wellness would not be where it is without every bit of positive energy contributed from our team members, students, and volunteers of these 8 years.
It has been wonderful to learn and grow as Oakville’s Palermo neighbourhood has developed. We have also loved being part of this building with some of our awesome neighbours.
Here’s to many more fabulous years of service to our Oakville and surrounding Milton and Burlington communities!
-Lisa Clifford Owner and Physio
Lisa Clifford Physio, Meeting Oakville Mayor Rob Burton at our Grand Opening ribbon cutting
“We”, in the physiotherapy field speak often about pre-habilitation. However we still see people after the procedures they have had, not necessarily while they wait for them.
With people waiting longer to see specialists it is not as commonly known as it should be that Physiotherapists are “direct access”. This means you can be assessed and treated by a Physio without a Doctor’s referral. It means that it is within a physiotherapists scope of practice to diagnose musculoskeletal issues (think knee sprains, ankle sprains, muscle pulls, tennis elbow etc).
It also means that even though you were not referred to a Physiotherapist by your orthopaedic surgeon or obstetrician, that it will not be helpful to prepare you for your recovery.
Picture this:
You are waiting for a knee replacement surgery. It is scheduled in 6(+) months time. Your knee has been sore, you are walking “funny”, you aren’t moving as much because your knee hurts. You stop doing activities of enjoyment…the muscles around your knee are getting more weak. They are atrophying. Your knee joint is getting more stiff. Your heart, lungs, brain, bones and body systems are declining because you haven’t been moving or exercising.
You see where this is going….
Then, you have the knee replacement surgery, or the hip replacement surgery, or even an ACL reconstruction, and the recovery seems HARD. It’s hard to get up and down from the couch and bed. It’s hard to move around it bed. You’re VERY tired from the exercises.
Recovery and rehabilitation from these major surgeries can be challenging at the best of times.
What if they can go more smoothly?
A Physiotherapist can help prepare you for these surgeries within your capabilities. It doesn’t have to be all or none. Your knee, or hip, or shoulder etc are part of a larger body system that doesn’t stop while you’re waiting to be seen by the Ontario medical system.
Choose Your Own Adventure:
Seeing a Physio for pre-hab doesn’t necessarily mean you will be seeing them multiple times a week leading up to your surgery or procedure. What it means it there will be an assessment and a discussion of goals.
If you are safe and independent you and your physio may choose to set up a home program that gets revisited, modified and made more challenging as needed every few weeks.
If you appreciate the help a physio can provide and know that you will not do a home program by yourself you may choose to attend an active physiotherapy program more frequently (think 1, 2 or 3 times a week).
As your surgery gets closer your physio may suggest some modifications you can make in your home during the early stages of recovery.
Remember, you do not have to decline while you are waiting for surgeries. Physiotherapists are educated and trained to help prepare you for these surgeries and to help with your recovery afterwards.
Why just “get by” when you can thrive!?
Our Physiotherapists and Massage Therapists are available to help you with your pre-habilitation and rehabilitation. We are able to treat people virtually all over Ontario and in person in our North Oakville clinic.
Virtual Physio available at Palermo Physio and Wellness.
Contact us to book in with one of our awesome Physios or if you have any questions in how we can help you!
