Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Introducing our staff - Mike Forgrave



Mike Forgrave earned his Pedorthics credentials from both the US and Canadian Boards for Certification in Pedorthics. He has been in private practice in Kitchener, Ontario since 1985 and acts as chief Pedorthist for Mike Forgrave & Associates. Mike and his team are clinical Pedorthists to 14 medical clinics throughout Southwestern Ontario.

Having successfully grown his private practice, Mike began teaching other clinicians and footwear affiliates using his abundant knowledge in those areas.  Mike's passion comes from athletics and his interest focuses on sporting injuries and how orthotics and proper footwear can improve training efficiency and performance outcomes.  Mike has worked with Canada's national team members in Track & Field, Badminton, Downhill Skiing, Bobsleigh, Swimming, Triathlon, Field Hockey, Rugby, and Tennis. He has been the Pedorthic consultant to the Hamilton Tiger Cats, Kitchener Rangers, the AEK Football (soccer) Club of Athens, Greece and most recently the San Diego Chargers of the NFL. Mike headed up the Foot and Ankle division of the Polyclinic at the 2004 Olympic Games.
Mike has been published in several Journals on topics such as "Lower Limb Dysfunction and the Kinetic Chain" and "Introduction to Pedorthics".  He has written articles for "O & P Business News", "Athletic Therapy Today", "Pedoscope", and "Current Pedorthics". He is presently serving on PFA's Council on Pedorthic Education, the Canadian Pedorthic Professional Development Committee and has been on the PFA Board of Directors since 1995. He is currently serving the role of Immediate Past-President and continues to chair PFA symposia. Mike has just returned from Adelaide, Australia where he was a guest lecturer at the Australian Pedorthic Association annual conference.

Mike is a former Canadian Track Champion (400mh) and represented Canada internationally including the Commonwealth and Olympic Games. When not at the office Mike enjoys most sports and is still active in cycling, running, slo-pitch, and triathlon. He loves to travel and has been to some exciting destinations including Antartica, Africa & the North Arctic Sea.

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Introducing our staff - Philip Murphy



Philip completed his Honours Bachelors of Arts in Kinesiology at the University of Western Ontario in 2002 and graduated with distinction.
He then went on to complete his Masters of Science in Physiotherapy at McMaster Univeristy in 2004. Since graduating, his focus has been on the rehabilitation of musculoskeletal injuries and conditions. His on-going post graduate education has included manual therapy courses through the Canadian Physiotherapy Association, acupuncture through the Acupuncture Foundation of Canada Institute, and McKenzie therapy with the McKenzie Institute.

Philip applies a comprehensive approach with emphasis on manual therapy, tailored active programs and education to provide individualized client care. His goal is to optimize clients’ recovery and help them achieve their rehabilitation goals.

Philip has also enjoyed an athletic background as a competitive swimmer for 10 years, representing Barbados at the national level on several occasions.

Monday, April 2, 2012

Introducing our staff - Heather Chinnick


Heather graduated from the Unniversity of Western Ontario with an honours BA in Kinesiology.  She furthered her education at the University of Toronto where she graduated with a BSc in Physical Therapy.  Heather is a member of the Canadian Pysiotherapy Association and is currently working toward her Advanced Diploma in Manual and Manipulative Therapy.

Heather has been working in private practice since 2001 and has successfully treated a wide variety of clients, from the competitive athlete to the weekend warrior.  Her treatment philosophy is to use manual therapy techniques to restore joint and tissue mobility and then apply a guided and specific exercise program to restore full function and prevent reoccurance.

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Introducing our staff - Marcia MacVicar


Marcia has been practicing physiotherapy for the last 13 years; the last four with the Elliott Sports Medicine Clinic.  Her interest in working with athletes/active individuals began as a junior competitive badminton player.  This interest continued at the University of Waterloo where she completed her Honours Bachelors of Science Degree in Kinesiology with a specialization in Sports Medicine, and through playing for the varsity badminton team.  After working for a year as a Kinesiologist and coaching varsity badminton at the University of Waterloo she returned to school to complete her Bachelors of Science – Physiotherapy from the University of Toronto where she graduated with Honours. 
Her on field experience includes working with both badminton and rugby.  Marcia’s continuing education has focused on exercise based therapy, with an emphasis on the body as a whole: correction of abnormal movement patterns/mechanical dysfunctions as well as injury prevention in the athlete and active individuals.  She completed the McMaster University Contemporary Acupuncture Program in 2010.

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Introducing our staff - Ashley Halket


Ashley graduated from the University of Western Ontario with an honors degree in Kinesiology in 2002. She went on to pursue Athletic Therapy at Sheridan College where she was the recipient of the Hamilton Tiger Cats Scholarship. After beginning a career in private practice, Ashley decided to expand her academic foundation by completing a Masters Degree in Rehabilitation Science at McMaster University. Her thesis focused on patient outcomes following total joint arthroplasty and resulted in two journal publications. Ashley is also a Registered Massage Therapist and Strength and Conditioning Specialist. This has allowed her to work in a variety of sport settings including Varsity and Professional football, Super League rugby, hockey, and the HSBC Triathlon Series.   Last year, she completed the Contemporary Medical Acupuncture Program at McMaster University.

In addition to running her clinical practice, Ashley teaches part-time in the BAHSc.(AT) & BAHSc. (ESHP) programs at Sheridan College as well as the Massage Therapy program at Humber College.

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Introducing our staff - Jessica Price





Jessica graduated from a joint Honours Bachelor of Science in Human Kinetics and Diploma in Sports Injury management from both the University of Guelph and Sheridan College in 2002. Upon graduation and successful completion of her professional certification exams in June of that year, she began working as a Certified Athletic Therapist at The Elliott Sports Medicine Clinic (formerly Levy Elliott).
Jessica has continued her education since becoming a Certified Athletic Therapist. In addition to continuing education classes such as muscle energy, she began a Master's in Kinesiology in 2003 at Bowling Green State University in Ohio. She received a graduate assistant position at BGSU and had the opportunity to be an Athletic Trainer with the NCAA Division I football team, including their invitation to the Motor City Bowl.
Jessica has also worked with numerous local teams, including the Burlington Cougars, Burlington Chiefs, Milton Merchants, as well as professional teams such as an internship with the Buffalo Bandits and the Columbus Landsharks of the National Lacrosse League. She has worked with the Junior National Field Lacrosse team at the World Championships in 2003, 2008 and will be working with the team in 2012 as it travels for the tournament to Finland.
In 2009, Jessica graduated from the Ontario College of Health and Technology with a diploma in Massage Therapy and becam a Registered Massage Therapist with the College of Massage Therapists of Ontario.  In 2010, she completed the Contemporary Medical Acupuncture program at McMaster University.

Friday, January 20, 2012

Introducing our staff - Dr. Laura Purcell


Dr. Laura Purcell is an Associate Clinical Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario.  She completed her Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees at the University of Toronto.  She obtained her medical degree from McMaster University.  Her residency training was in pediatrics at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia.  She completed a sport medicine fellowship at the Fowler Kennedy Sport Medicine Clinic at the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario.
Dr. Purcell is the founding president of the Paediatric Sport and Exercise Medicine Section of the Canadian Paediatric Society and has served in this capacity for 9 years.  She is a liaison member of the Healthy Active Living and Sport Medicine Committee of the CPS and has authored many position statements and practise points for the CPS journal.
She is also the founding chair of the Pediatric Sport and Exercise Medicine Committee of the Canadian Academy of Sport and Exercise Medicine.  She was the chair from 2003-2009.  She was involved in two joint statements between CPS and CASEM.
Dr. Purcell is a member of the Concussion Education and Awareness Committee of ThinkFirst Canada.  She has published many articles on sport-related concussion in pediatric athletes and was an invited panellist at the 2008 Zurich Concussion Consensus conference.  
She has practised pediatric sport medicine for 9.5 years and is currently working as a pediatric sport medicine physician at the David Braley Sport Medicine and Rehabilitation Centre at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario and at The Elliott Sport Medicine Clinic in Burlington, ON.  She has also practised pediatric emergency medicine for 12.5 years and currently works at the McMaster Children’s Emergency Department.

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Introducing our staff - Cliff Watling


Cliff Watling has been a Certified Athletic Therapist for 18 years.  He joins The Elliott Sports Medicine Clinic team where he will also be treating as a Registered Massage Therapist.  He brings five years experience working with university athletes (Mt Allison University football and hockey as well as University of Toronto Football).  He has worked a season in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and 4 seasons for the Burlington Braves of the the Canadian Junior Football League.  Cliff has been practicing in a private clinical setting in Burlington since 2001, working in a multidisciplinary setting.

Although his passion lies in hockey, Cliff enjoys working with all sports and is dedicated to not only treating and caring for injuries, but also injury prevention. He strives to help individuals rehabilitate their injuries to the point where they are better than they were before. 

Originally from New Brunswick, Cliff has been a Burlington resident for the past 9 years and looks forward to working with The Elliott Sports Medicine Clinic team providing Massage Therapy and Athletic Therapy services to all ages of the active public.