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.

Virginie sought to improve her knowledge of on-field intervention by becoming a Sports First Responder. She was fortunate to work with the Lynx de la Rive-Sud Volleyball Club, helping the athletes perform at their best throughout the season. Following her interest in sports, she then began gearing her practice towards cycling sports to help cyclists of all kinds achieve their sporting goals.

This passion for sports comes largely from her past as an athlete, where she played with the Nordiques du Cégep Lionel-Groulx and McGill University’s Martlets volleyball team. She set herself apart from the rest through her persistent dedication and was presented the Thérèse-Quigley Award for leadership and social commitment throughout her volleyball career.

Virginie grew interested in working with children by volunteering at the Shriners Hospital.  She helped the Jeux du Québec and Défi Sportif Altergo to promote sport for both adolescents as well as children with disabilities respectively.  She liked the way kids responded so quickly to physiotherapy, and how the progress they made could have a direct impact on their quality of life.  Virginie has continued her commitment to the community by giving lectures to young student-athletes on how to find balance between academic and athletic life.

Virginie made contact with physiotherapy early in her athletic career through a shoulder injury.   She turned to physiotherapy to help her return to the game painlessly and safely.  After a few sessions, Virginie quickly realized that this profession was made for her. She was inspired by how physiotherapists could make a positive difference in the daily lives of their patients, from helping them achieve their sports-specific goals to encouraging them to lead an active lifestyle!

Virginie is now eager to try different sports. This past year she has focused her attention on running and cycling and would like to combine both and have a go at a duathlon.  She loves to spend her time hiking trails in the Upper Laurentians or rock climbing in the summer. In the winter, telemark and cross-country skiing occupy most of her free time. No matter the sport, she’ll take every opportunity to be active and play outside!

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.

Lydie-Anne decided to orient herself towards orthopedic physiotherapy. She enjoys the challenges that come with piecing out the different causes of the problems that her patients come in with to ultimately help them get back to their maximum functioning. Explaining her clinical diagnoses and exercises to her patients also allows her to put her teaching skills into practice. Given the importance of staying up to date, she pursued her training in manual therapy with the Orthopedic Division of the Canadian Physiotherapy Association.

Another area of physiotherapy that caught Lydie-Anne’s attention early on is vestibular rehabilitation. This field is often unexplored by physiotherapists, which drove her to prepare a presentation aimed at enlightening other physiotherapists about unilateral inner ear dysfunction and Ménière disease, which affects the vestibular system. She is actively pursuing post-graduate training in this field to render vestibular rehabilitation more accessible to all.

As a former gymnast, Lydie-Anne loves sport. It was the many years of training that lead her to discover physiotherapy and have allowed her to develop the ability to analyze movement of the human body. Regardless of the season you’ll find her outside, running shoes on enjoying the fresh air whenever she can. You’ll definitely have the opportunity to cross paths with her at one of the many races she participates in.

Passionate about travel and photography, Lydie-Anne loves to visit new places and immerse herself in different cultures. Among her favorites is a trip she took to Greece because of the breathtaking landscapes and delicious flavors. Bring up your favorite travel destination, she’d be happy to hear about it!

*Publication of the article entitled “Knowledge Translation in Physiotherapy” from her master’s thesis coming soon.

«Strategies to Move Knowledge into Physiotherapy Practice related to Common Musculoskeletal Conditions : A Systematic Review»

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.

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!