Hey There

If you came to visit me at my clinic in Courtenay or Campbell River, you wouldn’t know I was trained as a chiropractor.

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That’s because my focus isn’t on adjusting spines into “alignment” or rubbing sore muscles. Sure, these things can be helpful sometimes, but I help my clients in a completely different way. I believe we — chiropractors, physiotherapists, massage therapists, and even family doctors — can do better when it comes to pain, injury, and joint health.

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How did I get here?

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After graduating from Vancouver Island University with a degree in Sport, Health, and Physical Education, I knew I wanted to help people recover from injury and improve their joint health. I wanted to be a body mechanic, a “fixer.”

 

This is similar to most people who go into “musculoskeletal healthcare” — which is just a fancy term for physiotherapists, chiropractors, massage therapists, etc. Professionals who take care of muscles, bones, tendons, ligaments, and joints. In 2015, I applied to and was accepted into the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College in Toronto. The education was amazing. We dissected cadavers to learn about the beauty of human anatomy, were taught how to read and use research to help our clients, and learned how to diagnose hundreds of health and wellness problems.

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By 2019, I graduated and was ready to be the “fixer” of all musculoskeletal problems.

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Then reality hit me.

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I learned that the way we were approaching pain and joint health wasn’t working. Low back pain is the leading cause of disability worldwide, and hip and knee arthritis aren't far behind — and the rate of these conditions is rising fast. If all that body mechanic "fixing" we were doing really worked, why are pain and disability getting worse?

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We tell people in pain that the way to treat pain is to treat the symptom — to have someone rub it, crack it, inject it, poke it, replace it, align it, or stretch it. We treat the body like a car in an auto shop, as if we can just "fix" the problem. But what does this leave the person in pain with? No strategies to control their pain on their own. They become trapped in a cycle of temporary relief and constantly searching for the next “fix” when the pain returns.

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That’s how most of my clients feel when I first meet them—trapped.

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But the way scientists, researchers, and evidence-informed professionals, view joint health is changing.

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The science is clear: we need a new approach. We must move away from focusing solely on "structural damage" (like assuming a “mechanical fix” is the only option) and shift to a "person-centered" approach. This new method looks at the whole person and focuses on factors like lifestyle, activity levels, diet, stress, and emotions that we can work on to reduce pain and disability.

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To make this shift, professionals like me need to provide:

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• Clear, personalized education about your joint condition.

• Help in finding specific exercises and activities tailored to what you like doing and make it fun.

• Support for weight loss, especially for those with arthritis.

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This approach reassures you that you yourself can change pain, that you can build fitness back into your body, and that you can manage your condition without relying on quick fixes. There’s growing evidence supporting this method.

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To truly empower you, I focus on helping you:

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• Develop a positive mindset and understand that long-term self-care is key, rather than relying on quick fixes.

• Feel confident doing strengthening exercises and staying motivated and physical active you choose.

• Support you in your weight loss, if needed.

• Help you understand how other health issues like depression, sleep problems, obesity, diabetes, and heart disease affects your joint health.

• Adopt healthier habits in daily life.

• Learn how to handle flare-ups, knowing that they’re normal and can be used as learning opportunities.

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By taking these steps, I’ve shifted from being a “body mechanic” to becoming a joint health coach.

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If you’re looking for a new, science-backed approach to improving your joint health, one that you’re in the centre of, please don’t hesitate to reach out.