Go West Physiotherapy Clinic
5834 Auburn Crescent V9L 4X4 Duncan, BC, Canada

It totally makes our day when we see things like this! :)

Where has the time gone? We are continuing to provide in-person physiotherapy care to all those fitting the criteria of urgent circumstances or with an essential need for physiotherapy services. To see if you qualify, go to our web page at: Phase 3 Guidelines (https://www.go-west-pt.org/guidelines) We are following the guidelines of the Provincial Government and our governing bodies. Minimizing cross-contamination continues to be our priority. Appointments are on...e person at a time and sessions are spaced out to allow for proper disinfection procedures. Our caseload is significantly restricted, but we are scheduling people in when their necessity for direct care is determined. Sometimes this means that appointments are more periodic and/or emphasis is placed on their home program (as if I didn't already stress its importance!). It has been awesome to get back to providing person-to-person care. Some people have managed to maintain the status of their condition with their home program; some have regressed by not being able to receive the therapy they required; and others have missed out getting the therapy they needed post-surgery or post-injury. Remember Virtual Care / TeleHealth is still available when clinically acceptable. For more details, review the information on our website at: https://www.go-west-pt.org/telehealth Finally, we had some luck on a recent hike and were able to get some wonderful views...enjoy!

As of May 19, 2020, we can begin a graduated process of reintroducing our physiotherapy services. Although this is very exciting, there are significant precautions and restrictions. Initially we are permitted to see only urgent/emergency cases much as was it was before. While slowly increasing our caseloads, there will be a continued emphasis on: proper physical distancing as much as possible, frequent hand washing and cleaning of equipment, tools and our facility as req...uired; and using PPE if having to work in close contact. We will minimize cross-contamination by spacing appointments; allowing only one patient in the clinic at a time; not allowing walk-ins; and using digital/electronic methods as much as possible for such things as forms, exercises, receipts. For more details, please go to our webpage at: https://www.go-west-pt.org/guidelines Our college and health officials are also recommending that we continue with Virtual Care / TeleHealth as much as possible when clinically acceptable. For more details, review the information on our website at: https://www.go-west-pt.org/telehealth See more

It sounds like BC is about to gradually open businesses again. It is unclear how this will proceed, but it appears that physiotherapy will be able to start up soon, with certain restrictions and requirements. We will let you know more as this information is provided to us. In the meantime, we remain closed except for urgent cases; and are accepting TeleHealth or Virtual Care appointments. ... Please call us at 250-746-1664 or email [email protected] for more information. Also check our website (go-west-pt.org) for a more in-depth description of these services. Thank you for your continued understanding, Gary and Sue

Virtual Health is coming! We are setting up Virtual Care to provide assessment and treatment. Although this type of visit does not allow for the direct hands-on approach that people know me for, I will still be able to do most other things that are important for assessment and treatment. ... These include: -> gathering of critical information on the history of problem -> observing and investigating your physical abilities and limitations -> providing education, exercise, and other self-management tools which I am famous for . Many problems can benefit from this virtual approach. Please call if you wish to use this service. In-person Services Our governing bodies have advised Physiotherapists to limit social contact further. All in-person services should be suspended immediately except in the rare and exceptional circumstance that would qualify as an allowable exception. Our situation at this clinic has not changed as described in previous posts. We will only have direct visits if all criteria have been met. Please call if you feel your situation fits in this category. Thank you for your understanding, Gary and Sue

Update We had hoped that by following strict hygienic guidelines we would be able to continue to provide physiotherapy to those in need. Unfortunately, my desire to help people is being superseded by the evidence and recommendations from the experts. Therefore, in order to further reduce the spread of COVID-19, we are closing the Clinic today until further notice. In the meantime, we will be available for any questions or a brief consultation at:... - phone: 250-746-1664 - email: [email protected] - I can set up with apps such as Telegram (telegram.org) or Signal (signal.org). Please phone or email to make arrangements if you are interested. We are looking at setting up Tele-Rehabilitation services to allow for online assessment and treatment. Presently we are not sure what the fees will be for this. If anyone needs urgent therapy that requires direct evaluation/assessment, please call or email the Clinic and we will see if arrangements can be made. We may be able to set up an appointment as long as all parties are healthy (symptom-free). We will continue to monitor recommendations/orders from our professional association and by governing bodies. As soon as any changes occur we will let you know. Please keep up to date with reliable sources of information: - https://www.who.int//novel-coronavirus-2/advice-for-public - https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html) In the meantime, we will keep a very close watch on our health, and hope you are able to stay healthy as well. Thank you again for you support and understanding, Gary and Sue

Information on COVID-19 After careful consideration of the following, we will remain open for business for the time being: - we are a small clinic with a staff of 1 physiotherapist and 1 office admin - we treat one person at a time... - we will minimize person-to-person contact by continuing 1-on-1 treatments and spacing sessions out to avoid overlap of treatments: allowing time to do more thorough cleaning and time for any self-hygiene - to our knowledge, we have not been in contact with anyone with any flu or COVID-19 signs or symptoms - we are following all the recommended precautions to prevent the spread of this virus (just ask our hands ) - we are advising everyone to consider the above with their scheduled or future appointments and to make a decision based on what they feel comfortable with - if you have any symptoms, or have been in contact with someone that has, please cancel your appointment and follow the recommended self-isolation procedure (there will be no fee for any cancelled appointments) We will continue to see as many new/urgent or ongoing people as our schedule allows. In the meantime, we will keep a very close watch on our health, the health of our valued patients, and recommendations/orders by governing bodies. Please consider the risks that any non-essential person-to-person contact imposes on yourselves, your family, and your community. We will keep you updated here, and extend any notices of closure by phone to those with scheduled appointments. Thank you for your understanding and patience during this difficult time. Take care, be safe, and stay informed, Gary and Sue (Maybe I should go hiking? - enjoy a picture of the beautiful Golden Hinde mountain in Strathcona Park)

Heard a strange rumor a few days ago that said I had retired??? This is a rumor - I have NOT retired... I still very much enjoy what I do and look forward to at least a few more years. Please let your family, friends and doctors know that the "reports of my retirement have been greatly exaggerated." We are open for business as usual.... Here are some Juan de Fuca Trail pics (2017) ... See more

Snow Day in the Cowichan Valley! Hope you all are enjoying the snow? (Although it can be a big headache and source of frustration for many.) It sounds like many places are closed & many events are cancelled. We shoveled our driveway last night and woke up to 7 more inches of snow! As you can see in the photo, we have cleared our driveway again (with a little help from our nice neighbors this time - yay!). We are open for business; most people booked for today have re-scheduled - we don't blame them! Same advice as last year: take care of your back and use your legs to lift and turn. Take your time, stay warm and keep limbered up. Hopefully you can relax and enjoy a little winter while it lasts...

I might have to give our tree some physio over the holidays as it has a bad case of scoliosis ;) Wishing everyone a wonderful Christmas! Sue and I are taking some time off to enjoy the holidays with family and friends. The Clinic will re-open on Friday January 3, 2020. We have a few appointment times available if Santa gives you some holiday aches and pains.

Hope you are enjoying the pictures. Here is another one of Della Falls showing its 440 metres (1443 ft) vertical drop. The other is our view from the top of Mount Myra. We were hoping for something like the view we got of Mount Assiniboine on a hike in 2016. Further to my previous post on activity and aging Because of the many work-related and other activities we do in life, we need to do what we can to try and maintain our strength and conditioning. Of course, this i...s much easier when we are young. As we get older, we naturally lose strength and therefore it requires a lot more effort to preserve what we can. If we dont, more and more things get harder to do and we are more likely to injure ourselves. Doing some basic conditioning exercises will go a long way to help at any age. Body mechanics are also important. Young or old, our knees, back, and neck need to be kept in good positioning with good stabilization. It is important to be aware of this in the long term because our joints tend to wear out, but we usually do not notice until the wear begins to cause pain. The sooner we take care of our joints, the longer they are likely to last. Unfortunately, accidents happen and there are many tasks we do that strain a body part with an awkward bend or twist. Mobility and keeping limber become more important as we get older, but are necessary at any age when injuries occur. Movement may be difficult right after an injury, but recovering mobility as soon as possible can greatly assist most problems. People are often surprised at how much pain can come from muscle tightness and/or spasms. Remember: "motion is lotion." Pay special attention to muscles and joints that are getting lots of use - they will thank you for it! Research shows that joints can benefit from a moderate amount of activity (helping to toughen/strengthen them), but they do not tolerate doing too little (weakening them) or too much (wearing them more quickly). Sore joints will always be protected by the surrounding musculature, so it is important to keep the joints and muscles limber to minimize the limitations and pain that may occur. If we take care of ourselves, we can continue to partake in the activities we love for a long time! See more

It is hard to believe Summer is nearly over. I managed to get some holiday time, which included hiking with my son, Stephen, to Della Falls (Canadas highest waterfall) and to Mount Myra - both up island in Strathcona Park. The weather was fairly good at Della, although we had rain on the trek up. Unfortunately it was too cloudy to get any good pics on the Myra summit. - Hiking these days always reminds me of the strength and vigour we have when we are young versus the d...ifficulty when we are older trying to continue to do the things we like. Typically, Stephen breezes through a hike like it is a walk in the park while I struggle along, just trying to keep up. - I have learned I have to take it much slower if I want to continue to enjoy the many wonderful sites we have on the Island, BC, and beyond. Stephen is great at slowing down and helping the old guy out as needed. - These hikes also remind me how important it is that we make sure we are well prepared for trips and that we play it safe. In my next post, I will go over some things to keep in mind to maximize enjoyment of these activities - especially as we get older. See more

It's Miracle Treat Day! The Duncan Dairy Queen is donating 100% of the proceeds from every Blizzard sold today to the Children's Miracle Network! What are you waiting for? ;)

Wow! Thank you to all our new followers! We are back at work after enjoying time away - Gary & Stephen on their hike, and Kolina & I at a resort up-Island (who do you think had the better time? ;) ) We've had a couple of cancellations for this week; glad to see people enjoying their Summer :) If you are looking for an appointment, we might be able to accommodate you, so feel free to contact us!

To our patients - please note that we will be closed this coming Friday, July 26th and will reopen on Monday, July 29th at 8:00am. Wish Gary and his son, Stephen, luck as they go hiking together for the weekend!

Wishing our physiotherapist, Gary Ecklin, a Happy Birthday :)

Another snow day in the Cowichan Valley. Hope you are all using your legs, not your back, to do all that shovelling. Also, don't forget to keep loose and limber up before you get moving again. Your muscles and joints will thank you :)

Thank you all for supporting and/or recommending my Clinic. The main reason for setting up this page was to have more online visibility of Go West Physiotherapy and the services I offer. FB seems to be today's "word-of-mouth" ;) I am not sure how often I will be able to post on this page. Although I have a great deal of information I would like to convey, it is finding the time to get it out there.