(First in a Between The Bridges series about health services in the Creek).
One of the healthcare jewels of our community, Envision False Creek has a partner clinic on South Granville Street. Founded by Brent Stevenson and co-owned by Harry Toor – both physiotherapists – Envision is truly an interdisciplinary organization, with collaborative practices among physiotherapists, massage therapists, kinesiologists (personal trainers), dieticians, counselors, and physicians.
Treatments offered by the varied and highly skilled cadre of 16 physiotherapists at the False Creek clinic include osteopathic manual therapy, sports physiotherapy, pre- and post-natal therapy for new mothers, IMS (intramuscular) dry needling, visceral manipulation, pelvic health interventions. Clients served at Envision are as varied as the staff, including those with sports injuries, acute or chronic pain, dizziness, incontinence, Parkinson disease, scoliosis/kyphosis or cardiac health concerns. As well, a medical clinic on site (Mainline Wellness) offers intravenous (IV) infusions for clients with iron deficiencies, multiple sclerosis, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
Brent and Harry are also creative and successful authors in the healthcare arena! Brent developed an oft-visited website that morphed into a book now available on Amazon, both entitled “Why Things Hurt”: http://www.whythingshurt.com/the-book/. A collection of true stories and meaningful explanations about how our bodies work and the journeys we travel to maintain them, the book and website provide accessible answers and structured principles on topics such as posture, pain, pregnancy, exercise, footwear and sports. Not to be outdone, Harry has built a free online exercise database (exer-pedia.com) and written and illustrated a children’s book, A Robot Called Zip, teaching basic fundamentals of physical health.
In addition to attracting clients from the False Creek South community – who often cycle or walk to the clinic – others have travelled to Envision from as far away as Washington state and Winnipeg, having read “Why Things Hurt” and been impressed by Brent’s practical explanations of the relationship of physical and emotional health based, in part, on his own personal history as “an injury-prone physical therapist”.
When I asked Brent why he had chosen Leg-in-Boot Square as the site of his second (and larger) clinic, he commented first on the beautiful view and serenity of the setting but concluded by plagiarizing Kevin Costner (not entirely tongue-in-cheek): “If you build it, they will come!”
Phone number: 604-876-2344 Web address: EnvisionPhysio.com
– Susan Harris (Newport Quay)