https://linktr.ee/boldbypamelap

Pamela Parker - Physiotherapist, Educator, Prince George, BC (2025)

04/25/2025

I have a lot of discussions on the daily about footwear, and my responses to questions often surprise people as it’s typically not what the flashy shoe companies are telling you.

These are the shoes I wear in the clinic everyday, only because I can’t be barefoot 👣 .

I try to do as much as I can barefoot - particularly strength training. I’m also working my way to reducing the amount of protection in my footwear for all activities (walking and jogging included) to optimize my feet acting like feet.

What do you wear all day and are you letting your feet be feet?

07/05/2024

The most I’ve felt like myself in a while ❤️.

12/30/2023

My 2024 Ins and Outs: Physiotherapy Edition.

The things I’m taking with me into 2024 and the things I’m doing my best to leave behind!

Thoughts?

Post inspo:

12/08/2023

Taylor Swift just provided the best example of training specificity and building physical resiliency in her Time “Person of the Year” article.

Some people might think that running around in heels, singing and dancing for 3 hours, multiple nights a week would lead to inevitable injury, but here’s the kicker - not if you’re trained to that capacity. Not if you’ve gradually exposed your body to more and more over time and given your body the opportunity to accommodate to the challenges and build up your tolerance. Not if you also incorporate strength training to ensure overall fitness.

How do you apply Taylor’s Era Tour prep to your own rehab or activity goals?

1. Give yourself enough time to make progress (she started training and physically preparing 6 months before tour!)

2. Make your training specific to your goal: high/low intensity (fast vs slow songs), environment (wearing heels 😳), duration (40 songs set list = building up to a 40 song training session). The more you “practice like you’re going to play”, the more successful you will be in your goal activity.

3. Always include strength training. This is a requirement for musculoskeletal health. Period.

4. No activities are inherently dangerous - it just depends on whether you’re conditioned to them. It’s not inherently dangerous to run in heels, and the risk of injury can be low if you’re accustomed to it (aka it’s just normal for you, you’ve done it so much). Just like it’s not inherently dangerous to lift with a flexed back, squat with your knees over your toes or have a slumped posture if it’s something you are accustomed to and strong within. Injuries are more likely to occur when we push outside our usual capacity or attempt something we’re not accustomed to (ie run and dance in heels for 3 hrs with no prior conditioning or gradual progression).

Let’s train like Taylor ;)

10/09/2023

Things that came up at the Thanksgiving dinner table this year:

🧡 So grateful to be home, together
🧡 Grateful to the friends and family who have supported us over the past 2 months
🧡 Grateful for medical care and cancer research
🧡 Grateful for our work opportunities and life in a relatively affordable community
🧡 Grateful for each other: for each family member helping in their own way and sticking together

We’ve come a long way in the last 6-7 weeks. The gratitude we feel this year on Thanksgiving (🇨🇦) hits different after these past few months, that’s for sure.

and I are committed to doing everything we can to continue to raise awareness and support causes that hit close to home and that help us on this journey. The Ken Project. continues to give us an opportunity to do that while also helping us recover after a very difficult 2 months. Here’s a reminder of what’s currently on our radar:

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month (Pink Ribbon Version tees and crews in the shop)

BC Cancer Foundation: BC Cancer Centre of the North here in PG (Family Tree hoodies in the shop)

Team Pamela CCS 80km Run Challenge in November Facebook Fundraiser vs. Team Ken Movember Facebook Fundraiser - Yes, we are competing against each other until December 6 and both fundraisers are LIVE NOW! And Yes! There will be new items in the shop next week for both campaigns (scroll for sneak peeks!)💙

If you read all that, we love you for it! Thanks for being one of our people and HAPPY THANKSGIVING 🧡🧡🧡!

https://thekenproject.myshopify.com/

09/17/2023

The Ken Project. at its first, annual Terry Fox Run PG. I can’t even express how grateful we to all those that came out, that donated and that sent well wishes 🧡. Thank you!!!

Thank you so much for pulling this event together in 2 weeks Sylvia Masich!!!!

Who wants to get us to our goal of $500 raised with one more $25 donation?!?

https://run.terryfox.ca/team/thekenproject

07/08/2023

A funny thing about pain, is that it is not a reliable measure of damage.

When I completely ruptured my Achilles Tendon I had ZERO pain but the most damage. On the contrary, immediately after it was confirmed that my healing was adequate and it was safe to move from the cast to a walking boot, my pain went through the roof when I tried to weight bear for the first time.

Why? Because pain is more about the threat of damage (real or PERCEIVED) than the damage itself. My body was warning me not to get too crazy on my newly healing tendon - message received loud and clear. This pain message did not, in anyway indicate something had gone wrong with the surgery or that there was another problem to be addressed- it was simply protective.

But what happens next? If I had stopped, panicked, or avoided walking again my nervous system would have taken on that feedback and learned that yes, walking is dangerous, should be avoided and is a threat. Cue more pain. Fear of pain leads to avoidance which leads to more perceived threat which leads to more pain 🤯.

But that’s not what I did, and that’s not what we encourage our patients to do. We re-establish movements that are important to us by working WITH the pain. Yep. The pain is going to be there, right beside you, trying to stop you like some nagging, overprotective parent. We breathe, we use positive self-talk (I am SAFE, I am RESILIENT, I am STRONG, this is NECESSARY), and we start moving to teach our pain response that there is no threat, that the movement is safe, and there is no need for all the warning bells to be firing off.

If you’ve had pain for a while, and that’s led you to avoid some movements or activities, it’s not too late! Yes, you might temporarily awaken the pain beast, but that’s part of reconditioning the system and you CAN get to the other side!!!

We’ve got this.

(Check out the video in the comments for the first few steps then check my recent reels and stories for where I am now, 5 months post surgery!)

04/12/2023

I am 10 weeks post surgical repair of my Achilles Tendon rupture, and the improvement I’ve noticed from week 8 to week 10 has been very significant. I am back to all my normal workouts, with the exception of jumping and body weight calf raises. I don’t have any pain and my walking is improving by the day. I’ve been able to restore my ankle range of motion and my squatting has come along with that.

There are now times when I do things without thinking about my leg, which is an amazing feeling. While I will continue to do extra work on my right leg balance, proprioception and calf strength during my usual weekly workout schedule, I do not have to make any special considerations for my Achilles anymore. Over the next four weeks I will continue to work on calf strengthening and my goal is to be able to go for a 30 minute walk.

I believe 100% that my success in rehab so far has been my commitment to doing as much as I safely could at every stage of my recovery: continuing to work and continuing to work out were by far the most beneficial commitments I made. I believe more than ever “if you don’t use it, you lose it” and “MOVEMENT IS MEDICINE”!!!

Keep following along to see my progress!!!

04/06/2023

Join us for a Spring Info Session on April 26th. Department representatives will discuss the profession and admission requirements for the MPT-North program followed by a Q&A session. Learn more and register https://bit.ly/3TAFCWt

04/05/2023

The definition of “listening to my body”!!!

If my Achilles could talk, this is what I would have heard loud and clear during today’s rehab session. After a weekend of travel and catering to 12 year old volleyball players, there wasn’t much left in the tank.

So I listened. I’ll get a good nights sleep and I’ll try again tomorrow.

Recovery isn’t linear and as I start to expand my participation in other activities (aka life) I may have to pull back on workouts or extra sets of rehab exercises, and that’s ok! It’s all part of moving forward ❤️‍🩹

If you feel like you are hitting speed bumps like this in your recovery, think beyond your rehab exercises and consider your overall participation in life - I bet it’s improving more than you realize! Stick with it!

03/23/2023

Achilles Update ❤️‍🩹

I had a 6 week follow up with my super stellar surgeon last week and I mentioned that my scar was more red than I’d like. I also pointed out that there was a spot that was a bit reluctant to heal and was looking a bit suspicious. He expected that I had a suture knot working it’s way out and prescribed a course of antibiotics just to be careful. Sure enough, later that afternoon when I was checking my scar I was able to feel and extract a tiny double knot (last pic if you’re interested)! Since then I have healed up very quickly and the colour seems to be improving. The guy really knows his stuff.

Now, I’m just over 7 weeks post-op and I really feel like I turned the corner after that 6 week mark: I’ve started feeling more activation in my right calf with standing exercises like one leg balance, squats and hip hinges, and I can even do calf raises with almost equal weight on both legs and just a wee little bit of support with my hands 🙌🏻 .

I still get a little bit of pain if my Achilles stretches too much, and once I hit the 8 week mark I will work more on stretching the right Achilles length to get my full ankle mobility. For now I’m working on all my lower body fundamental movement patterns, balance, and continuing to work on upper body strength, trunk, hips and core (while also trying to clear all the snow off our deck so that I can pretend I’m on a Spring Break vacation). Doing anything that involves pushing through my toes, like a calf raise or a push up position is still very weak but I’m seeing improvement everyday 😊.

I’m looking forward to the 8 week mark when I can start stretching the length, improve my gait, increase my walking, and continue to amp up lower extremity strengthening, balance and proprioception. As always, I’m sharing it all here :)

03/21/2023

📣 My friends local to Prince George, BC: I’m opening up some additional in-clinic, in-person availability for new clients for the first time in 3 years!

Send me a message if you’re interested in booking an in-person Physiotherapy session with yours truly ❤️.

Pamela Parker - Physiotherapist, Educator

04/25/2025

07/05/2024

12/30/2023

12/08/2023

10/09/2023

09/17/2023

07/08/2023

04/12/2023

04/06/2023

04/05/2023

03/23/2023

03/21/2023

Address

Website

Alerts

Contact The Practice

Shortcuts

Share

Category