Jessica Crook Physiotherapist

Regional champs 🏆

I am very excited to announce that I am now working at Citadel Physiotherapy in Parklane mall!

Give the clinic a call to book in for all your physiotherapy needs 🙌
902-442-5623!

Everyone meet Winston 😍

Happy Monday everyone! ☀️
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The beginning of a new week is a great time to set new goals 📚
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In Physiotherapy, goal setting is a crucial part of an effective rehabilitation plan.
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It is important to keep the rehab patient-centered and focused on what is meaningful to the patient instead of what meets the goals of the Physiotherapist.
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Your goals help us direct your rehab interventions towards a specific outcome that you chose!
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Outside of rehabilitation, goal setting is a great way to focus and take control of who you want to be and where you see yourself in one month, one year or perhaps ten years from now.
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These could be personal goals, career goals, health goals etc. Anything that is important to YOU.
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Start with making your goals SMART!
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S: specific: define it, be clear and do not allow for any area of uncertainty.
M: measurable: make sure there is specific objective criteria you need to accomplish to achieve your goal.
A/R: achievable and realistic: make it practical and attainable yet still challenging enough to push you.
T: timely: there needs to be timelines. Goals without a deadline may get put off. Long term goals should include short term goals for success along the way!
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Lastly, write down your goals and say them out loud, have people keep you accountable and keep yourself accountable.
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May is National Physiotherapy month 🙌
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A physiotherapists main goal is to get you and keep you moving 🏃‍♀️
Whether it’s being able to garden this spring, climb a flight of stairs, start an aerobic exercise program or return to sport a physiotherapist can help you achieve these goals 👏
A physiotherapist combines their knowledge of the body and how it moves with specialized skills of hands on techniques to assess, diagnose and treat injury or disease.
We use a combination of therapies to treat such as manual therapy, education, activity modifications, modalities and most importantly EXERCISE!
Right now in Nova Scotia we are still offering telehealth services to meet the needs of our community and clients! Although our profession is very hands on we have had a lot of success so far.
If you are interested in a consult feel free to DM or visit our website claytonparkphysio.com to book online! I’d be happy to help you meet your goals 😀
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Have you ever sprained your ankle?
Ankles are an important joint for shock absorption and load bearing. Ankle sprains are a very common injury and it is possible for people to develop chronic ankle instability depending on the initial injury and if the injury was rehabbed or not.
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The majority of ankle sprains occur from an inversion mechanism of the foot rolling inwards and injuring the lateral components of the ankle. Most commonly spraining the anterior talofibular ligament (ATFL).
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If you have sprained your ankle once, you are likely to sprain your ankle again and again and again. Or have persistent pain with load bearing activities such as jumping or running. Who can relate to this?
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Deficits in proprioception and muscle strength around the joint typically occur and can lead to chronic ankle instability.
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What does this mean?
This decreased proprioception can happen due to loss of mechanoreceptors which are found in the joint capsules, ligaments and tendons.

They provide information to your brain about joint pressure and tension, ultimately telling your body where it is in space and signaling muscles to provide the correct action to stabilize the ankle.
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Now if the appropriate muscle reactions were never trained after injury, inappropriate muscular reactions can compensate and lead to chronic instability.
Stay tuned for some ankle exercises that focus on strengthening and PROPRIOCEPTION!

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Happy earth day 🌍
Missing the fresh ocean air. I cannot wait until we can visit our favorite outdoor places in Nova Scotia again 🌊
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Where is your favorite place to explore in NS?
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📸:
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These past couple of days have been overwhelming...
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I find it hard to focus when we are hearing about new deaths not only from Covid-19 but now this horrific tragedy.
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We should all self reflect on what really matters in our lives and focus on our family, friends and the relationships we have.
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I cannot fathom what the families and friends of the victims are feeling amongst all of this.
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My heart is broken. Our hearts are all broken.
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Lives lost to such a senseless act.
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I know we will all get through these hard times together.
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We are all here for each other and this is what makes Nova Scotia such a great place to live.
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I’m very excited to announce that I can now treat virtually through telehealth!
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Telehealth can be used to assess any new or old nagging injury that is stopping you from doing what you want to do.
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We have been having a lot of success so far with this method and it helps keep you on track to reaching your goals!
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If you think that you or someone you know could benefit from an assessment send me a dm or book via email off of our site: claytonparkphysio.com
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Throw back to Chelsea’s baby shower! Cannot wait to meet baby Bagnall 💕
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Miss these girls like crazy but very excited for a new girl to join the FaceTime hangouts 🙌
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Rotator cuff injuries! ⚾️
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In clinic, I encounter many rotator cuff injuries occurring at any age. This is quite common in overhead athletes . From swimmers to baseball players to volleyball players ... the list goes on.
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These types of injuries can occur from trauma, repetitive overhead activities such as the overhead athlete, poor biomechanics, postural dysfunction, degenerative tearing with age and impingement.
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The rotator cuff musculature consists of the supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres minor and subscapularis.
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Together these muscles play an important role in providing dynamic stability of the shoulder joint also known as the glenohumeral joint.
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They serve as depressors to stabilize the ball in socket (ie the ball being the humeral head and the socket being the glenoid fossa) throughout shoulder movements and in particular shoulder elevation.
The long head of the biceps also plays an important role to assist with depression of the humeral head.
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Rotator cuff dysfunction can result in increased translation of the humeral head predisposing us to impingement and subacromial pain.
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Swipe to see how the depressors work during shoulder elevation and what happens to the joint space when there is dysfunction or weakness.
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Stay tuned for some prehab rotator cuff exercises!
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@ Halifax, Nova Scotia

Injury prevention! 🎨
I see that a lot of people are taking advantage of this social distancing time by diving deep into home renovations.
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Like myself, I thought why not keep busy for a couple of days and put a fresh coat of paint on the walls 🤷🏻‍♀️
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In clinic, I see a lot of shoulder, neck and back injuries with a history of painting prior to our assessment.
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Prolonged overhead work or repetitive movements with sustained workloads can put you at risk for injury.
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Here are some tips to avoid injury while painting...
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1️⃣ Where you have room to step back, use a broomstick to make your paint roller longer. This way you can keep your arms below shoulder height and reduce the amount of bending over. Lunge back, hip hinge and keep a neutral spine throughout!
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2️⃣ Use a painters ladder. If you don’t have one try to borrow one; definitely worth it! There is a shelf to place your tray and steps to get you closer to your cut line to ease the loading on your neck.
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3️⃣ When not looking up counteract the movement with a chin tuck or take breaks laying down and bring your chin down towards your chest.
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4️⃣ Always try to maintain neutral spinal alignment when possible. Use a ladder or a stool to avoid excessive lumbar extension when working higher up and take a kneeling position when working lower. If you are making full strokes on the wall perform a squatting motion with each stroke.
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5️⃣ Take breaks often. Check in with your body and if you are not used to painting you may need to take a break every 15 mins.
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6️⃣ Lastly, for the harder to reach places get someone taller than you to help 😊
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@ Halifax, Nova Scotia

Happy Easter everyone! 🐰

During times like these I really hope everyone is having a good day 💕

Although we are all practicing social distancing we can still reach out and be together thanks to technology. I am grateful for that.

Have fun eating all the chocolates and don’t forget to keep moving!

What is runners knee?
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Otherwise known as patellofemoral pain which is characterized by diffuse or vague pain in the retropatellar or peripatellar area ie. behind or around the knee cap.
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Pain can be reproduced by lower-limb loading activities such as squatting, prolonged sitting, ascending/descending stairs, jumping or running.
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Possible causes are excessive loading of the patellofemoral joint (ie where your knee cap joins the leg bone).
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There are also biomechanical factors that can put you at risk for too much loading. These include excessive or poorly controlled knee valgus (ie knee going in too far) during dynamic tasks.
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Studies show A level evidence to support the use of hip and knee targeted exercises to reduce pain and improve patient outcomes.

W***y, R. et al. Patellofemoral pain: clinical practice guidelines linked to the international classification of functioning; disability and health from the academy of orthopaedic physical therapy of the American physical therapy association. J Ortho Sports Ther. 2019; 49(9).
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🏃‍♀️ injury prevention!!!
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Running tip # 6. Cross train: perform a cross training activity that produces less mechanical stress on your body while still providing cardiovascular benefit and positive metabolic effects on soft tissue repair.
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Normally, on Monday evenings I am teaching spin class at the Canada Games Centre to an amazing group of riders 🚴‍♀️
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Why not reap the benefits of cross training and participate in a motivating class that is guaranteed to get your heart rate up and is also super fun!
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When things get back to normal I hope to see you there :)
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Other modes of cross training also include swimming, elliptical, walking etc.
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🏃‍♀️ injury prevention!!!
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Running tip # 5. Interval training: Whether you are completely new to running or looking to resume a regular running routine, interval training is a great way to maximize physiological stress while minimizing mechanical stress on your body.
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Ie. You are improving your cardio while reducing the continuous loading on your body and preventing injury 👏
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Swipe for a sample interval training (walk/run) program for beginners that builds you up to a 30min run!
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- Start and end with a 5 min walk to warm up and cool down
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- Run a minimum of 4x per week and maximum of 6x per week.
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-Depending on your symptoms (ie. fatigue, soreness or pain)
1️⃣ go back one workout
2️⃣ repeat the same workout
3️⃣ skip one or two workouts
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-choose a flat surface to start without hills
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-use a cross-training activity to complete your training regimen (ie. Bike, swim etc)
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Any questions let me know! @ Halifax, Nova Scotia

🏃‍♀️ injury prevention!!!

Running tip # 4. Increase your stride rate / cadence: Many of us have a lower stride rate or cadence (ie. how many times our foot contacts the ground in a min) often resulting in heel striking.

Increasing our cadence will encourage more of a forefoot strike pattern which is shown to reduce the vertical loading on our hips and knees.
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Studies have shown the optimal cadence to strive for is 180 steps per min.
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I however, find this difficult for clients to achieve initially. Even increasing your cadence by 5-10% can reduce your risk of injury.
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How can you track your cadence while actually running?
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Try using a metronome app to initially increase your cadence.
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Your music can also be an important tool! Did you know that you can search songs based off its beats per minute?
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Create a playlist that has songs around your target 180bpm 🎶

🏃‍♀️ injury prevention!!!

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Running tip #2. Warm-up: we must prepare our body for the biomechanical, neurophysiological and physiological demands of the run.

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Start with a slow jog or walk (5-10mins) to increase body temperature and perform functional dynamic movements progressing in both range of motion and speed.

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Running tip #3. Stretch: it is important to maintain our flexibility and mobility by bringing our muscles through their full range of motion after or between our runs.

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This can improve our running technique and help prevent some common muscles imbalances that we as physiotherapists often see.

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Stay tuned for warm-up ideas and stretches!

🏃‍♀️ injury prevention!!!
Whether you are new to running or a seasoned pro stay tuned for some tips to avoid injuries.
Many of the running injuries we tend to see are associated with a change in a runners training; changes in surfaces,footwear, mileage or simply doing “too much, too fast, too soon.”
Our goals need to be realistic and progressive to allow our bodies time to adapt.
“The body will adapt itself if the applied stress is not greater than the body’s capacity to adapt!”
- Blaise Dubois
Everyone has their own adaptation zone and threshold!
Running tip #1... You guessed it!
Gradual and progressive loading: volume of running needs to be progressed in a graduated manner. It is recommended that we not increase our mileage by more than 10% and intensity by more than 3% each week.
If you are new to running start on flat surfaces and then gradually introduce hills.

Hi everyone,⁣
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As many of you know I am a Physiotherapist practicing in Halifax, Nova Scotia. You can usually find me in the clinic however, as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak I created this page to reach people from the comfort of our homes.⁣
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I completed my MSc Physiotherapy at Dalhousie University in 2018 and have been working in private practice since. I have taken post graduate courses in Advanced Orthopaedic Manual and Manipulative Physiotherapy and Dry Needling. I am currently working towards my Sports Physiotherapy Certificate. On the weekends, you may find me on the bench with my teams. I am currently the team Physiotherapist for Halifax West Hockey and Senior Men’s Dunbrack Soccer.⁣
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In my spare time, I teach yoga and spin classes at the Canada Games Centre. I have many years of experience instructing and teaching fitness for military personnel prior to becoming a Physiotherapist. This passion is what led me into the field of Physiotherapy.⁣
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Feel free to reach out for fitness or injury tips and advice. If you’d like to book an appointment with me, direct message or visit https://www.claytonparkphysio.com to book via email. Hopefully we will see you back in the clinic soon.
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Stay safe everyone!

While we’re all taking care of each other we need to take care of our bodies too. I want you to know that I’m here for you.

I’ve created this page to stay connected with my community, providing videos and information to keep you mobile and on track with your goals.

Let’s all get through this together, it’s going “tibia” okay...