Get to know Physiotherapist Ivan Wong, the November spotlight at Health Bound! We are thrilled to shine a light on one of our valued team members at Health Bound’s Pape location. In his past two years at Health Bound, Ivan has made lasting connections with his clients. Numerous individuals come back to seek his assistance and guidance whenever they encounter physical issues. Building long-term trust in your practitioner is a significant aspect of the healing process, and our team is dedicated to steering you in the direction of good health and wellbeing. Our practitioners will help you work towards greater mobility and strength through mindful everyday activities. Ivan’s passion for physiotherapy is evident in his commitment to educating patients on exercises they can do at home, tailored to their unique needs and current situation. All exercises are personalized for you and your current situation.
Ivan studied in the UK and has an international perspective on treatment, which he has been able to bring to Health Bound Health Network. We asked Ivan a series of questions about working as a Physiotherapist, in which you can find below. We aim to provide you with a comprehensive understanding of his education, expertise, and experience, enabling you to make a confident choice in selecting Ivan as your physiotherapist!
How long have you been working as a physiotherapist?
In Therapy for 5 years, as a physiotherapist 2.
Figure 1. Ivan is here educating our patient on how this exercise will help with their mobility. This is one of our MVA patients who is relearning how to walk after an accident.
What do you appreciate about Health Bound?
The autonomy that I have to treat the patients, the facility and space that we give is something that most clinics do not have. We have a wide selection of equipment such as Litegait, Mynd move, a hydrotherapy pool, and a professional gym to use. The company really invests in machines that can help speed the recovery process of our patients. I love working for a company that cares about our clients and allows us to learn more about ways to improve treatment. It makes a big difference to have these machines at the clinic and pairing it with the training needed to incorporate these activities in our sessions.
Do you have any specializations or additional training?
I specialize in musculoskeletal, orthopedics and sports injuries. I am also a physiotherapist that has training in soft tissue mobilization and acupuncture.
How does physiotherapy benefit people?
We keep you accountable for your own well being. I am certain most clients do not want to be coming to physiotherapy for the rest of their lives. We help through education, injury prevention and health and fitness.
Working in the field of health, there are so many different events and situations that alter how people have to move their body. As we age or accidents occur, changes need to be made to help stay healthy and mobile. In Figure 1, you can see some exercises done during a session with one of our MVA patients. We asked Ivan a few questions to help give the public some tips on how to be proactive and when to see a professional. Ivan’s answers are below.
Any tips for injury prevention?
Stay active, be as active as you can. The body learns and adapts if you stay inactive your risk to injury is significantly higher. Whereas if you are physically active the way to adapt to stresses will prevent you from getting injured. Imagine being sedentary and then deciding to go 10 km, you will be in a lot of pain at the end of it. The best way to tackle this would be to TRAIN for it. Therefore I always recommend everyone to focus on strength based exercises and also a form of cardio based exercise. Not one or the other but the mixture of both.
Any advice on when someone should visit a Physiotherapy Clinic?
As a physiotherapist we specialize in understanding the human body. So if you have questions about doing something or wanting to reach a certain physical goal you can always ask a physio for advice. In terms of an injury or pain, you should seek attention immediately, we help as a quick triage. Physiotherapists will go through an assessment process and if we can help we will definitely help. If we think that another medical practitioner is more fit to help we would advise them too. We are here to help.
Figure 2. Ivan gives his one on one attention when working with clients, making sure each exercise is manageable to the patient. If any pain occurs during the session, which can happen, Ivan will be able to modify it.
Is a doctor’s referral necessary for treatment?
Referrals are not needed to get treatment. However, if you have been to the doctor and they have given you a referral, please bring it to your appointment. We would love to be able to review recommendations from your physician to be able to treat you in the best way possible.
What should one expect during a physiotherapy treatment?
Education to understand what is going on and how I will tackle the problem you are facing. Exercise the reason we get soft tissue injuries in most cases is the poor ability of the tissues to tolerate load. Therefore the best way to heal those injuries is to promote exercise to tolerate load. We are here to teach you what will work best for your body and give you all the information and tools you need to succeed.
What should one wear to a treatment?
Loose fitting clothing is the best. However if you know you are having a knee issue, shorts would be the best choice. If you have a shoulder injury a tank top or sports bra would allow me to see that area of injury better.
An example of what to wear is seen also in Figure 2. Each session will have more than one exercise guided to help create mobility in the body. It is always refreshing to see someone who is passionate about their job. Going the extra mile to make sure that you are doing your best is one of the reasons why Ivan Wong was chosen as a Spotlight for this month. In the two years that Ivan has been working for us at Health Bound, many patients have been able to recover through his guidance. During the interview process, we wanted to ask some more personal questions to see what Ivan has learned and his favorite parts about his career in health. The last questions that were asked are below.
Have you discovered anything interesting from working as a physiotherapist?
Listening to a client’s story tells me more of what I need to do than the actual injury itself. I always thought that the main idea is to heal or fix the area of pain. It is still the primary goal but the auxiliary information I gather about what they do or need in life tells me a lot more than just how they injured themselves.
Figure 3. Each session in our facility will take advantage of the resources we have available. Depending on what is needed for each body, different equipment will be used. Ivan is a professional who will be able to guide you through each session.
Do you have any future career goals?
Maybe open up my own clinic one day.
What is your favorite part of your job?
It gives me the ability to educate people about being physically active and the benefits of exercise. In most cases it gives me joy to help people get back to the things they like to do whether it’s gardening or playing high level sports. Seeing people get back to old hobbies or activities really shows how much my effort can help make a difference in people’s lives. I look forward to problem solving and seeing where the recovery process goes. It is a very rewarding career.
Health Bound Health Network is very proud to have Ivan Wong be a part of our physiotherapy team at our Pape location. Ivan’s skills are being put to good use at our clinic. In Figure 3, we are able to display a portion of the facility that is used during the exercise portion of treatment. Our team loves to utilize our resources to help your healing process go smoothly. We hope that this post gave you a glimpse into some of the things we have to offer and the team you would be working with to improve your health. But the best way to really get to know Ivan and his abilities is to come to the clinic and work with him yourself!
If you are interested in receiving therapy from Ivan, he is available to take in new clients on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 909 Pape Ave. This location is two bus stops away from Pape station or a short 10 minute walk. We are located on the first floor so it is easily accessible with reception directly to the right when you enter. For booking appointments, please call 416-548-7872. If you have any questions about what services we offer, or how Ivan can assist you, please feel free to contact us. If you feel more comfortable writing to us, we can also be reached at i[email protected].
Written By: Maria Votsis
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