NEW Collingwood physiotherapy business, the Physio Hub, has managed to ride the wave of the pandemic despite a ‘steep learning curve’ that saw them change their business practices over the past year.

After moving up to Collingwood from Toronto in 2019, Matt and Robyn Sheldon, who are both physiotherapists at the Physio Hub, started the business to help people stay active in the local community. The practice offers services to residents with sports-related injuries as well as catastrophic injuries.

Since starting their business, the company has had to deal with the effects of COVID-19. The practice s been altered to make it more COVID-friendly, including virtual sessions and no back-to-back appointments to ensure rooms are thoroughly cleaned. 

Owner Matt Sheldon said that the Physio Hub has had to adapt to overcome the new challenges that have surfaced in the past year: “For everyone in physiotherapy, it has been a really interesting time. 

“We shut down in March 2020, and after a little while, we were encouraged to start seeing people virtually with online appointments. With insurance companies changing their policies to allow people to get covered for online services, we started to do that till the middle of July last year.” 

“It allowed us to keep working in a very different way. It was a steep learning curve to work that way, especially since we cannot do manual therapy. We relied a lot more on self-management strategies, exercise, and education.”

Mr. Sheldon, who has worked with numerous professional sports teams and athletes in the past, stated that the Hub’s injuries have been different from usual during the pandemic.

“In Collingwood, everyone is so active. Over the last year, people have been busy cross-country skiing and everyone has become a runner.

“We haven’t seen any team sports injuries due to COVID, which is good because we don’t like it when people get injured. 

“But what we do like about injuries is that people are out doing things that they enjoy and when it comes to activity, injuries or getting hurt is part of it, unfortunately. We accept that, and people take that when they participate in sports.”

Mr. Sheldon also said that the Physio Hub’s goal is to continue growing its reputation and helping residents get back to doing the things they love. 

“As a practitioner, I want us to have a professional reputation. We want to be the people to come and see if someone gets injured.

“Physiotherapy is so broad. It can be difficult to know where to go or who to see, so it is good that we are all under the same roof. We have professionals for different kinds of conditions and needs.”

Mr. Sheldon added: “We want it to be run, owned, and centered around physiotherapy with all of the specialties that we offer.”

“We are keen on recognizing is that physiotherapy is not a type of practice. Physiotherapy is a profession and it comes down to the person you see.” 

For more information on the Physio Hub, visit www.thephysiohub.ca