About Christine Campbell

Christine is a Registered Physiotherapist, and the sole owner of Move Authentically Physiotherapy.  Christine previously worked at Podium Sports Therapy for the past four years and has recently decided to venture out on her own! She loves helping her clients reach their goals and enjoy life pain free!

Examine The Whole Body as a Unit 

It would be so easy if our bodies functioned like a computer. If one part isn’t working, we could replace that part and life would be good again. Our bodies however, are complicated, intricate specimens that are constantly adjusting based on the input from the external world. We need flexibility, strength, balance, and motor control to move effectively. That being said, why the heck would a good therapist only look at your shoulder if you have shoulder pain? Let’s talk about the shoulder just as an example! A great deal of your shoulder blade muscles connect to your neck. If you don’t have sufficient neck movement, those muscles will lose leverage and force, which can create neck and shoulder pain. Another aspect of shoulder girdle function is the upper back or thoracic spine. If this area of your back isn’t moving as well as it should your shoulder blade won’t be able to get into the proper position, which can lead to shoulder pain. Even dysfunction in your low back, can cause shoulder pain. I know, you’re probably shaking your head right now and about to say, “that Christine she’s so crazy,” but hear me out! If you don’t have enough strength and control through your low back and pelvis, your center of stability, your limbs are going to have to work harder to control your movements. If this is happening, it is only a matter of time until you demand too much and start to get pain. SO WHAT? Well, your therapist should examine whole body, functional movements in order to visualize the whole puzzle. Often, if you have reoccurring problems or you just can’t seem to get to 100% it’s an issue away from where the pain is.

Focus on Manual Therapy and Evidence Based Treatment

A great deal of therapist are too reliant on machines or modalities. You’ll hear people, did she use ultrasound with you? Or did you get the laser today? It’s not that I’m anti-modalities, I am pro-evidence based therapy. What does that mean? Research indicates that in order for modalities (such as ultrasound, laser, TENS) to be effective they need to be used in conjunction with other treatment techniques.  Some modalities have very little evidence to suggest that there is any change after treatment. This is why I feel that a stronger emphasis should be placed on manual therapy or hands on treatment, and examining and correcting dysfunction throughout the whole body.

Move Well, Then Move More

Often we decide on Monday morning, that this week we will be active! So we set out with the best intentions and by Thursday we are crippled, and don’t want to have anything to do with physical activity ever again! Usually this happens for two reasons: firstly, we need to move well before we start doing a whole bunch of volume. Secondly, we need to gradually and incrementally challenge our body and give it enough time to recover. If you haven’t been running in the past 6 months and you sit at a desk all day long, it’s probably not the best idea to just go run 5km today. Do you have enough hip mobility to allow your hips to extend to run properly? Do your calf muscles have enough flexibility and strength to push off? Does your upper torso rotate well to allow for a normal twist during running? All of these things, and many others, play a role in how well you will make out in your run. If you can’t do one cycle or step properly what makes you think doing 5km (~6000steps) is a good idea? Therefore, we need to move well, then move more!

Move Well. Live Well.