About

The About section is often where I'll click first when looking up a healthcare provider because it helps give me a sense of who I might be dealing with. And earlier in my career I would have started my bio by listing the all reasons I’m qualified for people to choose me (I’ll still get to that a little further down). But I’d like to open instead by telling you a little about why I like my work so much.

I like connecting with people over back pain. And more than just figuring out what the cause of the pain is, I like to learn about how it’s affecting them, and what it will mean to get them feeling and functioning better again.

I get excited about expanding people’s knowledge on back pain and how it works. It’s a great feeling when someone has that ah-ha! moment, and they see that there are a variety of ways to approach their condition. I often hear patients say:

• “No one has taken the time to explain things like this to me” 
• "I feel like I’m being heard” 
• “I feel like I have some hope again”

I like finding ways to communicate with people and to meet them where they’re at. Even when what I have to say might not be what they were hoping to hear. Because disappointingly correct information will set you on a far better path than the false hope of pleasingly wrong information.

Now, why am I qualified to help manage your back pain?

I have been a chiropractor for over twenty years. For the first fifteen I worked in private practice back in my home province of BC, and then later in Ontario.

In 2018 I transitioned from private practice to a new hospital role when I was hired on as the Practice Lead for the province’s Rapid Access Clinics for Low Back Pain in the Waterloo Wellington region. And this is where I continue to work full time. 

It’s in this new role that I trained with our region’s surgeons, upgrading my diagnostic skills and experience in understanding back pain. I continue to work daily with surgeons, radiologists, physiatrists, nurse practitioners and family doctors. I routinely refer patients for advanced imaging, spinal injection therapy, and surgical consultations. I have had access to experiences, professionals, and therapies that I would never have had in private practice. It’s helped to broaden my scope of experience, and round out my knowledge as a back pain expert.

When it comes to virtual back pain care I have a wealth of experience. In 2020 we pivoted to online assessments - offering both video and phone. It was a steep learning curve to start, but it’s a style that I’ve become very comfortable and confident with when it comes to understanding back pain, and offering advice on next steps. And in my hospital role I’m now happy to offer both in-person and virtual back pain consultations, depending on which suits the patient’s needs best.