River Valley Physiotherapy
As with many things in life, we don’t realize just how useful, necessary and precious something is until we lose it!
Even something as simple as tying our shoelaces, for instance, or buttoning our shirts is all but impossible without two hands.
So when something happens to impair our range of motion, strength or physical mobility ,we need to recover it as soon as possible. Physiotherapists have the training and experience needed to assess what is going on with our bodies. They understand how the body moves, what keeps it from moving well, and how to restore mobility and strength.
Barb Green is a licensed physiotherapist who, along with her partner Sandra Banks, provides a variety of physical therapies for clients in the St John River Valley. They employ four other Physiotherapists that work in their Woodstock clinic.
Barb and Sandra opened River Valley Physiotherapy in two locations in 1996, one in Woodstock and one in Perth-Andover. The current clinic in Perth was built in 2000, and is also Barb’s home.
Barb sees clients in Perth who come in when they have a movement issues, or problems with physical functioning. She works primarily with soft tissue damage, but as she runs a small clinic in a small town she has quite a few tools in her kit to help her clients restore function and mobility.
Barb deals with mostly orthopaedic problems at her clinic….clients come in needing help to recover from injuries received during sports, or at work or from motor vehicle accidents. She also helps patients suffering from arthritis and other chronic conditions, including, MS, stroke and fibromyalgia.
Weather changes bring changes in activities and so there are seasonal injuries that physiotherapists see, from gardening accidents in the spring, to snow removal mishaps in the winter.
After Barb evaluates a client’s condition, she addresses their needs in a number of ways. The clinic has a treadmill, two stationary bicycles, a pulley weight system and other gym supplies for exercise.
There is a whirlpool tub in which heated, circulating water warms and gently massages injured muscles. The clinic offers ultrasound, LASER and electrical current stimulation to help the healing process and to reduce the pain of inflamed tissue.
A few years back, when there was the great swine flu scare, or whatever germ terror du jour the mainstream media was trumpeting, magazines disappeared from waiting rooms…. banned, one presumes, as carriers of disease, destruction and death.
This wonderful supply of reading material is not to imply that you’ll have a long wait at the clinic, but if you do want something to read there’s an interesting and eclectic selection to choose from, not just one or two fusty old back issues of Prevention Magazine!
Barb became certified to do acupuncture in 1996 through the Acupuncture Foundation of Canada.
Acupuncture is a very ancient form of healing that originated in China and pre-dates recorded history. Stone needles that were used for healing, dating back thousands of years, have been discovered.
Western medicine has come to recognize that our ancestors knew many ways to heal the body that we are only just now rediscovering.
Although the ancients may not have had the same names for the effects, stimulating the energy meridians of our bodies through the use of acupuncture releases endorphins, which provide natural pain relief.
People with chronic pain issues have found relief through acupuncture. Rather than taking pain killers, which are addictive and harmful to their bodies, acupuncture helps them to produce natural pain suppressing chemicals within their own bodies.
Barb studied Myofascial Release techniques with John Barnes in Sedona, Arizona. John Barnes is an internationally recognized physical therapist, lecturer, author and is the leading authority on Myofascial Release.
Trauma, inflammatory responses and surgical procedures create Myofascial constrictions within the body. Myofascial Release is a safe and effective hands-on technique that involves applying gentle pressure into the Myofascial connective tissue to eliminate pain and restore motion.
Myofascial Release has helped relieve or eliminate many physical issues including back pain, migraines, whiplash injuries, sports injuries, chronic pain, neurological function, adhesions, carpal tunnel, chronic fatigue and more.
River Valley Physiotherapy also offers a physical assessmentof the feet and assessment for custom orthotics. Barbs uses a computerized pressure mat to assess the biomechanical function of your feet as you walk so that your orthotic is perfectly designed to address your needs.
The clinic carries a supply of compression stockings. Wearing this specialized hosiery helps to relieve and prevent venous disorders and to relieve heavy and aching legs. Barb can assess your needs and recommend the perfect pressure hosiery to help relieve your legs.
River Valley Physiotherapy is a private clinic, so is not covered by Medicare, but is covered by most private third party insurance plans, WorkSafe NB, and motor vehicle insurance in the case of accidents.
But our health is our most valuable personal resource, worth any price!
Call the clinic at 273-9601 for further information.
