Matthew has spent his life around sports, competing primarily in sprint kayak. His career as an athlete transitioned to the coaching side of sport, and sparked his interest in better understanding injuries and increasing his involvement in rehab and return to sport. This led him to McGill University for a Master’s degree in Physiotherapy. During his time at McGill, he occupied the position of graduate representative of the Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy department, where he enjoyed being involved with the graduate student association.

Matthew values the importance of professional development as a physiotherapist. The constantly growing amount of research available guides best practice in the management of injuries. In order to stay up to date with this information, he has attended a variety of continuing education courses and conferences, notably those from the Advanced Physical Therapy Education Institute, SMARTERehab, and The Running Clinic.

Beyond furthering his own education, Matthew advocates for the development of the profession. Since completing his Master’s degree, Matthew and his colleagues from McGill developed a workshop focused on the role of physiotherapy within populations with intellectual disability. In an effort to contribute to the professional development of future physiotherapists and in conjunction with Special Olympics Quebec, this workshop has since been integrated into the curriculum of the McGill Physiotherapy Master’s program. He maintains his involvement in the course along with his colleagues as guest lecturers since its integration.

Analysing the technical aspects of body mechanics in sprint kayaking to maximize performance drove Matthew to pursue Exercise Science at Concordia University, obtaining a Bachelor’s degree with Distinction. Credentialed with the National Strength & Conditioning Association as a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist, the combined knowledge optimizes his patients throughout their rehab back to sport and performing to their full potential.

Since hanging up his paddle and stepping away from competitive kayaking, Matthew continues to train primarily with conditioning, running, and yoga. Combined with his passion for travel, he is always open to suggestions for new hikes to try, here or abroad!

Talia obtained her Bachelor of Science in Physical Therapy in 2013 and in the following year went on to pursue her Masters of Science in Physical Therapy. Throughout her degree she enjoyed getting involved in student-life, acting as president of the Physical and Occupational Therapy Undergraduate Society. She received the Sandra Perlman Memorial Prize, awarded for best exemplifying a caring healthcare professional.

Having played competitive sports such as basketball and volleyball for many years, Talia took the opportunity to channel her interest in team sports. She volunteered as a part of the medical staff of the McGill Track and Field and Basketball teams. She loved the energy that came from being ready on the sidelines and continued to gain more on-field experience working with rugby and hockey teams.

With a clear desire to work in an orthopedic setting, Talia went on to further her knowledge of manual therapy through the Orthopedic Division of the Canadian Physiotherapy Association (CPA). She strongly believes that integrating these skills with motor control plays a vital role in getting someone back to their best functional capacity in the most efficient manner.

During her time at McGill Talia’s interest in pelvic floor physiotherapy was sparked. She was motivated by the fact many people do not know about this domain of physiotherapy, which can be so effective for treating genito-pelvic pain and urinary incontinence. She has since develop her expertise in this field and would love to answer any of your questions about how this type of treatment works.

Passionate about travel, Talia takes every opportunity she can to further her professional development in an international setting. In 2012 she travelled to a small village in Peru to work at a school for children with developmental disabilities. The limited resources available allowed her to build her creativity. She worked one-on-one with each child, creating fun-filled games to improve each child’s motor skills and function. She also spent some time at a non-profit center providing services to adults with physical disabilities, getting them moving as much as possible. This experience broadened her perspective on how culture can shape one’s health beliefs. Another occasion to travel and put to value her skills came along when Talia embarked on a trip to Tanzania to research the prevalence of injuries in porters on Mount Kilimanjaro.

Talia spent many winters working as a ski instructor and loves to take advantage of a fresh snowfall. In the summers you’ll find her spending most of her free time outdoors – running and biking or playing beach volleyball with her teammates.

Having always been fascinated by how the human body works, Sarah knew she would be working in the health field. She chose the profession of physiotherapy because it involves a great deal of human interaction. She feels privileged to be able to help people achieve their goals through a personalized, professional and dynamic approach.

Sarah’s initial contact with physiotherapy was as a patient in the course of her athletic career. She has been figure skating since an early age and she continues to thrive on the ice as a member of the national synchronized skating team. This sport gives her the opportunity to constantly surpass herself and she appreciates the bonds she builds with her teammates. Being competitive, she is driven by the opportunity to deliver performances for the public by competing in international events several times a year. Therefore, as a physiotherapist Sarah wants to help everyone attain their objectives, regardless of their goals in order to allow them to enjoy their activities.

Sarah’s passion for skating drove her to train to become a figure skating coach. She is working with several athletes of various levels allowing her to easily teach and collaborate with individuals of all ages. This capacity and keenness to share her knowledge is a major strength for the practice of her profession, as she wants all her patients to understand the nature of their injury. Consequently, teaching is an integral part of her treatments.

Besides figure skating, Sarah has an interest for travel and enjoys winter and summer outdoor activities!

Joseph obtained his bachelor of science in physical therapy in 2002. He then went on to graduate studies at McGill University. His major interest of study was the brain’s ability to change. Through his involvement in academic research, Joseph has had the privilege of presenting his work at the 2002 Canadian Congress of Physical Therapy in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He also presented his work at the 2003 World Congress of Physical Therapy (WCPT) in Barcelona, Spain. In 2004, Joseph received his master of science applied in rehabilitation sciences with a thesis centred on physical therapy outcome measurements for vertigo and dizziness conditions.

Joseph is a physical therapist working in an orthopaedic setting. His major orthopaedic clinical interests are motor control and kinetic dysfunctions and the manual therapy treatment of injuries. Following the completion of his master’s degree, he continued working with conditions pertaining to vertigo, dizziness and the vestibular system. Through his years of practice, Joseph has always made it a priority to stay up-to-date with the scientific literature related to physical therapy treatment of orthopaedic conditions. This has lead him to follow many post-graduate continuing education courses offered by l’Ordre professionnel de la physiothérapie du Québec (OPPQ) and the Orthopaedic Division of the Canadian Physiotherapy Association (CPA), as well as courses offered by experts from countries such as England, Australia and the United States.

Outside of physical therapy, Joseph is a fan of winter. You will find him snowshoeing up the hills in the Montérégie and skiing down the slopes in the Eastern Townships. During his years as a student, he was a lifeguard and spent many summers teaching swimming and lifeguarding lessons.

His excellent abilities as a physical therapist have been recognised among elite athletes. Claude is the physical therapist for many sports teams and takes part in different tournaments. He has treated players of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) as well as football players from the Montreal Alouettes.

Claude regularly competes as an athlete in Road and Trail running events. He is an endurance athlete as evidenced by his 80Km races! He is also passionate about cycling and cross-country skiing, which he practices extensively. Climbing high mountains guides his choice of travel destinations. In search of these summits, Claude traveled the European and New Zealand Alps, the Rockies, the Andes and the Pyrenees. In the past, Claude has competed in international soccer and badminton competitions as part of Team Quebec.

In the United States, Christian completed his post-graduate education in manual therapy with courses offered by the University of St-Augustine and the McKenzie Institute. In addition, he followed a series of courses offered by Mrs Shirley Sahrmann, PhD and her team for the evaluation and the treatment of motor control dysfunctions. Additionally, he obtained from the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) the accreditation of Orthopaedic Certified Specialist. Since his return, Christian has continued his training to reach the level III (E3-V3) in manual therapy from the Orthopaedic Division of the Canadian Physiotherapy Association (CPA).

Christian competed in volleyball at the national level as captain of the Titans of the Limoilou College and as captain of Team Quebec. As well, he is an alumnus of the l’Université Laval’s Rouge et Or volleyball team. After those years of competition, he now got acquainted with golf, running, tennis and squash.

Her love for working out at the gym drove her to certify as a personal trainer in 2013. Her passion for sports, medicine and the musculoskeletal system made her realise that physiotherapy was the perfect field for her. She loves the thrill of breaking down a movement pattern to find the source of the problem so that active people can perform their activities without pain.

She developed her expertise in sports rehabilitation while working with the Carabins hockey and rugby teams at l’Université de Montréal. She was driven by the intensity that came with helping athletes return to their sports as quickly as possible while still performing at their best. This attitude has followed her into her practice today as she strives to achieve excellence with everyone she works with.

She has continued taking post graduate courses in manual therapy through the Association Québecoise de Physiothérapie Manuelle Orthopédique (AQPMO) and the Orthopedic Division of the Canadian Physiotherapy Association (CPA). She is constantly looking to refine her expertise in kinetic control and vestibular rehab.

To Marie-Pier, being a physiotherapist is all about helping people achieve their absolute best. In her eyes, many people have a tendency to accept their aches and pains far too quickly. While it is normal for us all to experience pain, there is so much we can do to address it head on. Marie-Pier loves playing detective to find the real problem at hand and give people the tools they need to get rid of it for good.

Marie-Pier has always been interested in physical activity. She figure skated for many years before turning to the gym to get her workouts in. She now dedicates the majority of her training time to kickboxing.

Since her graduation she has always worked in the field of orthopaedic sports physical therapy. She is committed to staying abreast of new developments in her field, and strives to continuously improve her skills and maintain her knowledge up-to-date by attending professional conferences and taking part in various continuous education courses. This led her to develop her expertise in manual therapy and motor control. To date, she has completed manual therapy levels E3 and V3 and has attended a number of training sessions pertaining to, among others, lumbar stabilization and shoulder complex. Céline puts her skilful expertise to worthy use by joining the medical team that supervises adventure races organized by Endurance Aventure.

Originally from Brossard, Céline developed into a remarkable gymnast reaching the elite level. Over a period of more than 10 years, she took part in numerous international competitions. She succeeded in attaining the “Senior High Performance Level”, alongside the top athletes in the country. She finished 3rd at the balance beam event and ranked 6th overall at the 1996 Canadian Championships competition. Artistic Gymnastics allowed her to travel throughout Canada, the United States and even Russia. Following her early successes, she carried on as a competitive level trainer and choreographer of floor routines, allowing her to share and pass on her passion for the sport to a new generation.

In her spare time, Céline likes to remain active and her interests are quite diverse. Cycling, snowboarding, cross-country skiing, rock climbing and hiking are some of her favourite activities. She is also the mother to two energetic young boys who keep her extremely active!