Hannah Ferguson
LL04-1054 Monaghan Road K9J 5L3 Peterborough, ON, Canada

Please sign to help Osteopathic practitioners in Ontario get back to work! We are able to practice in every other province. Osteopathic treatment is essential care.

Going into Lockdown April 4th 2021... On Thursday, the Government announced that the entire Province will be placed in an Emergency Break to try to slow the third wave of the pandemic which is currently overwhelming our hospitals and causing an alarming number of infections and deaths. The Emergency Break will come into effect April 3, 2021, at 12:01 am and will remain in effect for at least 4 weeks, until May 1, 2021. The Ontario Osteopathic Association (OOA) is making every... effort to persuade the Government to include osteopathic practitioners on the list of essential services however, the Government has not budged and Osteopathic treatment remains in the personal services category. Unfortunately, no personal services will be permitted whatsoever during this time and therefore, no members of the Ontario Osteopathic Association (OOA) anywhere in the Province can practice. I will be cancelling all appointments for the next 4 weeks. On a positive note, last week Osteopathic practitioners were notified by the OOA that once the Emergency Break is lifted, practitioners will be able to return to practice because the Government will allow personal services in grey lockdown zones with certain restrictions (which Peterborough Osteopathy follows at all times). Osteopathy is still a small profession in Ontario so we do not yet have a loud enough voice for the Government to recognize the benefit we provide to our community. During the last lockdown the OOA sent out a survey for patients to complete regarding their feelings about Osteopathy. I am waiting to see if the OOA is adjusting this survey and will send an email with a link to it when it becomes available. If you have any questions or concerns about the status of my practice, Osteopathy, or your health at any time during this lockdown - do not hesitate to contact me. I love hearing from you! I will be posting on Instagram, Twitter, and sometimes Facebook if you would like to follow me on any social media to keep in touch. I will be providing updates on those platforms as I get them. I will send an email when I am able to start booking again or if for some reason my lockdown is extended past April. Please be smart and stay safe - Wishing the best to you and your family as always, Hannah

The foot is complicated! ... I am incredibly lucky to come from a family of health practitioners - my parents are both Podiatrists (/Chiropodists) and feet were actually my first introduction to manual therapy! My parents both started to learn manual therapy techniques for the feet when they were getting frustrated with a lack of progress with a certain population of their foot pain patients. When I was still in University, my parents invited me along to a manual therapy cou...rse to see if it was something that sparked an interest with me... and it totally did! I had just finished a full year of intense anatomy study and the rationale made perfect sense to me. Sometimes these darn foot bones shift out of place and can cause all sorts of problems! It should not be surprising that the foot bones shift - we walk a lot of kilometers with our feet over the years and experience a lot of changes in our bodies! From weight fluctuations, trips and falls leading to ankle injuries, bad shoes, bad flooring... they have to deal with a lot! So why would we not assess and treat the entire body when considering foot problems? The way we stand, where we bear our weight on our feet - all impact us. Sometimes a foot problems is not just a foot problem! More often than not, when I asses the foot I find related problems all the way the legs and hips. Osteopathic practitioners want to understand why your body has made the changes it has! #osteopathy #footpain #ptbocanada #ptbobusiness

High Heels!.... Women love their heels! But long-term, heels can make a big impact on our bodies. Heels change our center of gravity, which means that we walk differently, we load our structures differently and our bodies have to adapt to this. ... If you are wearing a heel that is 2 inches or higher, consistent use will change the ability of the muscles in the back of your leg to lengthen appropriately. This can lead to diagnoses such as achilles tendonitis or plantar fasciitis. It is also likely that there will be a shift in the bones of the feet due to the change in loading. I will expand on this effect in another post! Meanwhile, you can mitigate the negative effects of wearing heels by: - Change your footwear up! Move to a slightly shorter heel or a flat. I typically recommend footwear where your heel is secured and supported. Or reduce the frequency of use. - Be sure to stretch and move through your health and comfortable range of motion in your legs and feet - If you are quite active, you could reduce the frequent stress put on your hips, knees and feet - See your osteopathic practitioner! #highheels #fashion #ptbocanada #ptbo #osteopathy

Online booking is open! ... There is a link to my website in my bio where you can book online. My appointment times have changed slightly, so make sure you double check your time and complete your COVID Self-assessment form prior to your appointment! #ptbo #ptbokawartha #ptbobusiness #ptbobusinesswomen #ptbocanada

Finally!!! After the provincial government's announcement on Monday February 8th 2021, it looks like my practice will be permitted to re-open on Tuesday February 16th! If you had your appointment cancelled due to the lockdown or reached out to me during the lockdown, I will be in touch tomorrow (Thursday) to get you in as soon as possible. ... My online booking system ** is now open! If you are eager and want to make sure I do not miss getting in contact within the next couple days, please send me a DM, email, or text - please refrain from leaving a voicemail if possible. I cannot wait to get back to work and see all of you! #osteopathy #lovelocalptbo #ptbo #ptbocanada #ptbokawartha #kawarthalakes

UPDATE! I just wanted to pass along this update to my patients that I received from the President of OSTCAN. It looks like are making progress on getting back to work! Thank you for filling out the osteopathic survey if you were able to do so! ... I was in communication with Mayor Diane Therrien before the new year just to let her know about Peterborough Osteopathy opening and to let her know about the concerns that many of you brought up with me about my practice closing. She got back to me quite quickly and told me that she would be discussing those concerns with MPP Dave Smith and Dr. Salvaterra. I know of a few of you who have written to the mayor about your concerns for Osteopathic practices being closed and I feel so lucky to have patients who feel confident enough about my practice to speak out. I have not had an update from Mayor Therrien herself, but I feel encouraged that our efforts may have made a small impact at least! I absolutely cannot wait to get back to work, I dreamt about treating my cat last night. It's getting bad! I will keep you updated as I can. Stay safe, Hannah

Our bodies are so good at hiding when there is a problem that often, we are not conscious of the small changes it makes to accommodate for the activities that we do every day until you reach a point where something just starts not feeling right, or you begin to get discomfort, and eventually pain. Pain is one of the last things that your body does to let you know that something is going wrong, so you should listen to your body when there is pain. It is there for a reason. What do you typically do for yourself when you experience pain? #osteopathy #osteopathyworks #ptbocanada #ptbokawartha #ptbobusiness

What is Osteopathy? I have put up my first blog post on Osteopathy which you can read by following this link: www.humanbodymechanics.ca/blog-1 (~3 min read) I'll be posting the main blog post on my Facebook page each Monday, but I will be breaking the post down over the week on my Instagram (@humanbodymechanicsptbo) and Twitter (@osteopathyptbo) pages! ... Have a great week! Your Osteopathic Practitioner, Hannah

I graduated in April and finally received and framed my diploma! I left a big space on my office wall for it and was able to stop in to put it up when I went to check on my office plants. I am incredibly proud of this beautiful diploma from @caoosteopathy The amazing anatomy art work is by @lightandpaperali

Unfortunately in light of yesterday’s announcement about the upcoming provincial lockdown, osteopathic practices have to close for the duration of the lockdown. I will be starting to cancel appointments for next week and the upcoming month. If you have an appointment cancelled, I will be in touch in January to rebook when I have a better idea of when I will be able to reopen. After I have rebooked those cancelled appointments, I will send out an email to let everybody know th...at booking is open and you will be able to book online again. I will be active on social media, so be sure to follow my Facebook, Instagram and/or Twitter to keep in touch over the break. Don't hesitate to contact me with questions/concerns, or if you want to see me post any specific content about the human body, rehabilitation and/or exercise science. Wishing you a safe and restful Christmas - see you in the New Year!