Anna DiMarco Physio

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Anna DiMarco Physio

Anna focuses on physiotherapy and the Art and Science of Living Well.

She is particularly interested in the human response to nature, the arts and beauty, and how these topics all meet at the intersection of whole person wellness ... mind, body and soul.

01/09/2025

Where do you find hope ?

I find it in the forest, in the kindness of strangers' eyes, in the will and strength of my patients , and in my daily rituals.

"Hope is not blind optimism. It's not ignoring the enormity of the task or the roadblocks that stand in our path .....

Hope is that thing inside us that insists, despite all evidence to the contrary, that something better for us awaits us if we have the courage to reach for it , and to fight for it . Hope is the belief that destiny will not be written for us , but by us, by the men and women who are not content to settle for the world as it is, lwho have the courage to remake the world as it should be ." Barack Obama

25/08/2025

Training, whether for rehab purposes or for health and wellness , will never be a straightforward upward path of improvement .

Our bodies adapt to stress in a non uniform manner, involving periods of obvious improvement, plateaus And occasional setbacks .

Setbacks happen , sometimes involving stitches or other obvious interruptions, sometimes it's just about body adaptation or fatigue and recovery.

What we know for sure is that consistency is king .

18/08/2025

Leg Strength and Cognitive Function

A landmark study which compared 300 sets of female twins over a ten year period links stronger legs to improved cognitive function and overall brain volume ( Stevens et al, Gerontology, November 2015)

It appears that leg strength may be a good marker for the kind of physical activity that promotes brain health.

While intervention style studies have produced inconsistent results, this long term observational study clearly revealed the positive relationship between muscle strength and brain function even when accounting for cardiovascular health and controlling for genetics and an early life environment shared by the twins.

This study adds to a robust body of literature highlighting the importance of physical fitness in cognitive and brain ageing and was unique in focusing on muscular strength.

The mechanisms behind this association are not entirely clear but four potential mechanisms have been identified:
cardiovascular (improved small vessel blood flow)

immunological (age related changes in immune function and inflammation are improved in individuals with a life long life history of intense exercise)

neuroendocrine (age related changes in endocrine function are improved in individuals with a life long history of intense exercise)

and neurotrophic signalling (neurotrophic factors are critical for the survival of neurons and contribute positively to memory and learning. Physical activity increases the levels of BDNF…brain derived neurotrophic factor. This may then protect against neuronal damage and improve cognitive function.

12/08/2025

I do not come to you from a place of mastery. I come to you from a place of process.
————Sarah Blondin————

Remember when I asked if anybody had a physiatrist, sports med doc, physio who was especially well- versed in the treatment of EDS ?

Well, sadly, you were all messaging me that you did not know anybody and you too were on the lookout for said professionals.
And you did ask for any info I gathered.

So, although I did not gather any helpful info with my quest , I do have a little update for you courtesy of one brave and brilliant client.

Said client has been very well motivated has been incredibly well looked after by a team of specialists in Winnipeg. Most recently, she was assessed by a physiatrist at the Health Sciences Centre who has a special interest in EDS.

He likes to recommend the MULDOWNEY METHOD.

He says it’s the only physio protocol he knows of that has been effective for pain control and improved sense of joint stability and functional improvements.

I ordered the book and while on holidays, dodging cougars in the wild, I have been slowly making my way through it.

A lot of it is “intuitive” to those of us who have treated people with joint hyper mobility and chronic pain, but it is helpful for clients to have a “full regimen” that they can see progresses in a reasonable manner and with specific guidelines.

I do not profess to be a MULDOWNEY METHOD expert yet, but I am happy to share this little bit of light in the dark tunnel of EDS.

(If you don’t want to order the book right away, you can find a fair bit of info online with some sleuthing).

09/08/2025

Spending time in nature is healing, psychologically, cognitively and physically.

Dosage required: 120 minutes per week

A landmark study conducted by Matthew White and team (European Centre for Environment and Human Health) involving 20K people found that people who spent 2 hours per week in green spaces were “substantially more likely” to report good health and psychological wellbeing than those who did not.

Two hours was a hard boundary according to the research findings. Those who spent less time in green spaces did not report the same good health or psychological benefits.

Furthermore, their findings remained consistent across a diverse population (ethnicity, socioeconomic status, chronic illness and disability).

In Canada, PaRx now has 18K prescribers, including physicians, nurses, counsellors and physiotherapists harnessing the evidence based power of nature to transform patient care.

If you aren’t already on the prescriber’s list, and you are a regulated health care provider in Canada, you can find the link to register as a PaRx prescriber in my bio.

PaRx prescriptions offer discounts and benefits (free access to some parks and nature spaces via partnerships with a number of organizations) to encourage time spent in nature to improve the health and wellbeing of Canadians.

05/08/2025

Photos from today's athletic adventures in Whistler !

Morning 5 Mile intervals run along the Valley Trail ....

📸 detour off the path and into the forest trail to the public dock at Alta Lake

And an afternoon hike along the Trash Trail that runs by the Cheakamus River

📸 a few of my fave offerings along this path. I will never stop photographing the beauty along this trail or the magnificence of the Cheakamus River and her waterfalls and pools along the way .

03/08/2025

Kadenwood climb ....1432 feet of elevation .

I felt more proud of myself on the descent when I fully realized how long that climb was !

This type of urban ride with elevation is not my preference. Especially with a heavy mountain bike . Give me the forest trails with their slow but gruelling incline any day . The scenery and gentle bouncing over rocks and roots keeps me happily engaged.

BUT I decided I wasn't brave enough to enter the steeper forst trails yet .

Whistler Blackcomb has had a number of cougar sightings. A pair of cougars (believed to be siblings) were reportedly charging at and stalking hikers and mountain bikers. Many trails and lifts were closed for a period of time at the end of June and early July .

The cougars have avoided capture but may still be in the region , so I'm a bit more cautious than normal .

23/07/2025

YOUNG ADULT CANCER CANADA
Wants to hear from you if you are or know a young cancer survivor .

YACC is looking for Canadians diagnosed with cancer before the age of 40.

The goal is to help improve outcomes of young survivors and the current "recruitment "
Is for the purpose of gathering info via survey .

If you'd like more info , follow the link in my bio .

17/07/2025

This is one very simple but incredibly powerful way to organize ourselves when we are feeling stuck....in a rut, in a pattern, in a mood , etc or when we are in the midst of crisis or transition .

This method of categorizing actions into 3 categories is often used in business teams dealing with crisis or transitions .

We can adapt this to a method of action based personal reflection, giving us a structured approach for self assessment and positive change .

START: focus on actions, habits or behaviours that could be beneficial to incorporate into one's routine

STOP: identify actions, habits or behaviours that are unproductive , negative or detrimental to personal growth, sense of wellness , life situation, primary or secondary relationships etc

CONTINUE : focus on identifying actions, habits or behaviours that are positive , effective and should be maintained or strengthened .

Give it a go !

15/07/2025

RIP Andrea , August 13, 1975 - July 14, 2025

This quote from the beautiful poem , The Nutritionist .

10/07/2025

Or at least to survive one more day in a situation that feels soul crushing and insurvivable (because we have all been there ) ?

What practices / rituals do you have in your life that help you flourish when things are stable and help you to stay afloat when things feel overwhelming (surviving is thriving sometimes) ?

Who are the people you turn to , your "lighthouses" , your underground faithful network of nourishing souls who lift you up to thrive or at least survive ?

Journal prompt is from THE BOOK OF ALCHEMY , by .

01/07/2025

Happy Canada Day ! From ....peeps are already showing up for the festivities!

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Tuxedo Physiotherapy

Tuxedo Physiotherapy (formerly Anna DiMarco Physical Therapy) has been providing quality care since 2003. We are a physiotherapist-owned and managed rehabilitation clinic located in the heart of Tuxedo. We offer orthopaedic/musculoskeletal physiotherapy, acupuncture treatment for pain, occupational therapy and massage therapy.

We will conduct a thorough assessment of your particular situation and provide you with a customized treatment plan to address your personal needs. We are dedicated professionals with a firm commitment towards listening with empathy, acting with integrity and providing quality care. We will provide effective, evidence-based services in a comfortable environment and empower you with the knowledge to live well and stay strong.