MAP Physiotherapy

03/28/2026

It's nearly that time of year again! Time for the ultimate plant sale/local vendor craft market/brunch/beer party! Come and join us at at Broadhead Brewery on Mother's Day and support the SLAY Society. For more info about how they help families dealing with a loved one with glioblastoma check out their website.

https://www.slaysocietyinc.ca/

P.S. They also have herbs and vegetable plants if you kill everything else like me.

03/26/2026

The whole subject of going no contact with someone, particularly a parent, has blown up on social media lately. Oprah got a face full of it when she did a recent podcast, was subsequently accused of being a champion of walking away for no legitimate reason, and then did a second podcast to follow up.

The thing is, most people who go completely no contact with a parent do so for absolutely legitimate reasons. But if the parent is a narcissist then to only hear their side of the story does indeed make it look like their adult child walked away on a whim.

I did not speak to my mother for the last 20 years or so of her life, and I did not rush to her beside when she was dying, nor did I attend her funeral. While that may seem harsh to some of you, I can assure you that I did it for my own self-protection. I can also tell you with absolute certainty that had you heard only her side of the story you would have thought I was just plain horrible.

What are your thoughts on the subject? Have you ever completely walked away from a relationship with a friend or family member?

No contact is kind of a “break glass in case of emergency” option for toxic relationships. If you’re unsure if it’s warranted, keep reading.

03/24/2026

When I hit menopause I stopped sleeping. For two years. I mean I literally got 3-4 hours of sleep every night for TWO YEARS. I went to see my doctor. No mention was made of menopause and how this could be the reason I suddenly stopped sleeping when I had never had difficulty before and absolutely nothing had changed in my life. She prescribed sleep medication, which helped only minimally.

Most people have no idea that sleep disruption can be associated with perimenopause/menopause. And we all know that poor sleep can have countless detrimental effects on us including a compromised immune system, increased mental health challenges, and just being plain unpleasant to be around.

If your sleep is disrupted, seek help. Don't suffer for two entire years like I did. The cost of that is just too high.

03/22/2026

One opening Tuesday at 9:00!

03/22/2026

My state of mental health is generally quite good, and I believe this is due in large part to how militantly I protect my sleep. On the off night that I don't sleep well (enter child with a late night crisis) I definitely see events more negatively and struggle to find joy in small things like I usually can.

If you have existing mental health challenges then these will most certainly be worse with poor sleep. While we sleep the brain is actually being cleansed of toxins. And the quality of our sleep is perhaps even more important than the quantity.

So leave your cell phone downstairs when you go up to bed. Try reading a book instead. You won't regret it.

Discover how sleep impacts mental health. Learn why rest is essential for mood, focus, and resilience — plus practical tips to sleep better every night.

03/20/2026

Why does no one know about this?? Stop dealing with sleepless nights and endless stress watching your baby suffer. We can help. Link in bio.

03/20/2026

03/19/2026

Are there truly values that we as Canadian parents generally want to instil in our kids? When you think about it, I would say actually yes.

Saying sorry is obviously one of them. That is, after all, what we are known for. But things like fairness and inclusion are also inherently Canadian. Then of course there is the get-your-butt-ouside-no-matter-what-the-weather philosophy. If it wasn't for that our kids would spend most of their lives on the couch.

And let us not forget the quintessential Canadian butter tarts or Nanaimo bars! What would life be without sharing those with your kids?

Yes we know kids in France eat endive salad at daycare and that Tiger Moms produce straight-A students. So what might Canadian parenting be? Is that a thing?

03/17/2026

Menopause Series - Mental Health

This is such an important post from Dr. Mary Claire Haver, OBGYN and menopause expert, on the link between mental health and perimenopause/menopause. People are experiencing increasingly serious mental health challenges in this period of life and are often either brushed off or given antidepressants which in some cases don't really work.

Dr. Haver shows the data to support how the abrupt decline in the prescription of menopause hormone therapy in 2002 (thanks to the unfounded hysteria created by the misinterpretation of data by the Women's Health Initiative study) is directly linked to a doubling in the prescription of antidepressants and a simultaneous dramatic increase in su***de rates in people in the perimopausal/postmenopausal years.

If you are in perimenopause and have developed mental health issues that you never had before, or a worsening of existing ones, please see your health care provider. We can't afford to lose any more of us.

03/15/2026

Ah, the ups and downs of teens' appetites. It can be challenging to ensure they are getting a healthy diet with all of society's pressures to be thin and look perfect, all the while pushing nothing but junk food on them.

This article gives lots of practical tips on how to encourage teens get a well-balanced diet. I think the most important one is to model this for them. Kids go for the familiar, so if they are used to fruits and veggies being around all the time, they will still go for that even as they get older.

As the article mentions, it's also important to talk openly about things such as emotional eating and whatever diet is trending on social media. Burying your head in the sand definitely achieves nothing.

The new year is a perfect time to reset and refocus on health—especially for teenagers, whose eating habits can fluctuate with growth spurts, social pressures, and busy schedules. Whether your teen is overeating, undereating, or just stuck in a snack-food rut, these strategies can help foster a ba...

03/10/2026

Menopause Series - The Far-Reaching Effects of Declining Estrogen

This is an excellent summary of all of the things that can happen post-menopause when estrogen levels plummet. The critical message is this:

"The most important clinical reframe: menopause is not just a symptom experience. The silent changes are where the long-term damage accumulates."

"This is perhaps the most important point in this entire series, and it is the one that gets lost most often in clinical care. A woman who has no hot flashes is not a woman who is sailing through menopause without consequence. She may be a woman who is quietly losing bone density. She may be a woman whose cardiovascular risk is rising without a symptom to signal it. She may be a woman whose insulin resistance is building, whose visceral fat is accumulating, whose muscle mass is declining, all without a hot flash in sight."

Educate yourself. Know the true risks. It's only then that you can make a truly informed decision about things like menopause hormone therapy.

Menopause is not a single symptom. Estrogen loss reshapes brain, bone, heart, metabolism, and long-term health.