Brainsport Times Sept 16, 2015

It's been a beautiful September so far and last Saturday was no exception — we had a gorgeous day for the Broadway Street Sale. It was great to see so many people out at our new location just off Broadway, as well as all the buzz on Broadway. Our friends at New Balance were busy, busy.

You may have noticed a new business, Summit Sports and Health, has moved into the location just above the New Balance store. In this week's Q&A we talk to Clinic Director, Dr. Wade Phillips, to find out more about about this new venture and what it has to offer active Saskatonians.

Tara: You recently relocated to Saskatoon from Toronto to start up this business. What motivated you to move here?

Wade: My wife and I are originally from Saskatoon. I lived here for 24 years before moving to Toronto for school and so Saskatoon has always been home. Family is very important to us, so we wanted to be closer to our loved ones. We are also hoping to expand our family sometime soon and would love to raise our children here.  

Opening Summit was the other driving force to come back. I've been planning this clinic for several years and to see it come to fruition is incredibly exciting for me. 

Tara: This is a multidisciplinary clinic. Would you mind explaining how this is beneficial and why this is the route you chose?

Wade: I had the opportunity to work in a few different clinics during my time in Toronto which was very beneficial for me because each was unique with certain strengths and weaknesses. I've chosen the aspects of each that I thought were strengths and have tried to incorporate each of these into Summit. As a multidisciplinary clinic we offer several services including physiotherapy, chiropractic, registered massage therapy and personal training. However, I think what makes us special is the fact that the care a patient receives is truly integrated. By this I mean that each of our practitioners works closely with the others to ensure that as a team we are managing each patient as effectively as possible. Each of us has a specific skill set and by combining our knowledge and therapies we can achieve better results than if we worked alone.

Tara: You strongly believe in active rehab. Would you mind elaborating on that?

Wade: Passive therapies, such as soft tissue treatment, mobilizations and manipulations, and modalities like ultrasound, electrotherapy and laser are effective with many conditions in reducing pain and providing temporary relief. While we certainly do provide these to improve our patients short term, we are more concerned with identifying and correcting the underlying cause of the condition, and that is best done with active rehab. Exercise to strengthen weak muscles, learning proper motor patterns and/or altering behavior are typically necessary to prevent chronicity or recurrence. Our goal is always to not only restore normal function or maintain symptoms at a low level, but to improve our patients and allow them to be independent and responsible for their ongoing health with appropriate education.

 
Tara: Tell us a bit about the people your working with and their backgrounds.

Wade: I'm very excited about the team that I've been fortunate enough to assemble here. Our physiotherapist, Chelsea Guebert, has been practicing in Saskatoon for several years and has vast experience working with patients of all type, but particularly the active population. She is particularly keen and effective with active rehab which is, of course, the primary focus of the clinic. Her reputation in the physiotherapy community is second-to-none in my opinion.

Our personal trainer, Lauren Taylor, is an elite level pentathlete and high jumper who won a CIS gold medal in the latter this past year. She is currently continuing training and competing and has lofty goals for her own future. She brings first hand knowledge of strength training for the elite athlete, but also focuses on functional strength and conditioning for everyone.  

Zach Azure is our registered massage therapist, and his practice is focused on sports and deep tissue massage. He enjoys working with specific issues and approaches each case with therapeutic intention. For this reason he is a fantastic fit with the typical clients we see here at Summit.

Tara: What do you hope your services ultimately provide to Saskatonians?

Wade: The aim of the clinic is to provide Saskatonians with the highest standard of care available for any assortment of musculoskeletal conditions. Our concern is to consistently deliver best-evidence therapy in a friendly, welcoming environment. We all enjoy what we do, and we want your experience here to be enjoyable as well. We are committed to being the best at what we do. Ultimately, we hope this means that we can improve the quality of life for everyone who comes through our door and Saskatoon is a healthier, happier place than before we were here.

Upcoming Events:

Benjamin Rempel is coaching the Monday clinic. Ben is an experienced ultra-runner. He looks forward to bringing his knowledge and experience to those looking to add running to their lifestyle.
 
Stacey Mortenson-Spokes is coaching the Wednesday clinic. Stacey is a three-time Boston Marathoner. She's excited to make running fun and enjoyable for our participants.

Harvey Mathies is coaching the daytime Wednesday clinic beginning September 30 at 10:30 a.m. Harvey is an experienced trail and ultra-marathon runner. 
 
For more information and to register go to www.brainsport.ca/clinics.html.

The Terry Fox run is a fun run or walk to celebrate the inspiring legacy left by Terry Fox in 1980, and to continue his mission to raise funds for cancer research. This is a very inclusive event as there is no set registration fee. Participants are encouraged to donate and/or fundraise to benefit the Terry Fox Foundation.

The course is a just-under-5K loop on the Meewasin Trail between the University and Sid Buckwold bridges. Participants can choose to do one or two loops. 
Register and fundraise/donate in advance by going to the Terry Fox Foundation site www.terryfox.org/Run/ and selecting 'Register Today.’ You can also search 'Terry Fox Run 2015-Saskatoon' to find a Facebook event for the run. 
 
If you are interested in volunteering, contact Alison by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The trail portion of the 5K is on the Trans Canada Trail. And part of the 10K is on a single track trail joining the Trans Canada Trail. There are also some short hills and beautiful scenery.
 
Following the run there is a lunch served and live music from a local professional musician. Door prizes will be drawn after the race as well. These include a Fitbit donated by Shoreline Realty and $100 gift certificate donated by Brainsport.
 
The run starts at 10 a.m. Meet at the museum on Railway Avenue at the end of Franklin Street by 9:30 a.m. Click here to register now. For more information call Ric Janzen at 306-860-7566.

SRRA Trail Series - Race #3 Blackstrap

The Saskatoon Road Runners Association Trail Series ends on September 20 with a race at Blackstrap. Distances are approximately 5K, 10K, 15K. For more information and to register click here.
 

The 8th Annual KIN Spin Walk, Run, and Roll 
This event raises money for the College's Special Needs Trust Fund, which provides much needed funding for Special Needs programming within the College. September 19 at the University of Saskatchewan Bowl. To register go to: https://give.usask.ca/online/kinspin.php

Before wrapping it up, an update from Team Brainsport. The team had a successful go at it over the weekend at the Queen City Marathon.

Coach Jen Kripki said a lot of first-time half and full marathoners completed their goals. She also added the group was very supportive of one another and had a blast!

Thanks for reading the Times this week . . .gotta run . . . Tara