My Journey to Chiropractic
Welcome to my blog! I’m excited to start using this forum to provide something of value for my patients, my colleagues, and also for myself. I hope to use my clinical experiences, patient questions, and continued desire to improve and learn to periodically address different topics. But with so many resources currently available, especially online, it only seems fair that I give you some idea who I am before diving headlong into reviewing concepts, offering ideas, and making some suggestions. As an aside, I expect this will be by far the longest post of the blog — I’ll make a conscious effort to limit the length of other postings!
Who am I?
My name is Jim (legally James) Gilliard. I am from a small Southwestern Ontario town which is easiest to describe by telling you where it is not, rather than where it is: it’s called Forest, located one hour west of London, a half hour east of Sarnia, one hour north of Chatham, and one hour south of Goderich — although I’m not 100% confident this is still an official place since the local community was amalgamated to become “Lambton Shores”. I consider myself fortunate to have participated in a number of sporting activities while growing up — golf, curling, and soccer were my primary sports, but I also dabbled in baseball, basketball, tennis, and running, among others.
I took my enthusiasm for being physically active and focused my energy into a post-secondary Honours Bachelor of Kinesiology degree at Brock University. Studying at Brock was a great experience, and gave me an opportunity to work with varsity sports teams (primarily soccer) as a Student Athletic Trainer — my first exposure to injury management and long-term rehabilitation. I can’t express what a great experience this was, and coupling it with the rest of my Kinesiology degree led me almost by default to the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College (CMCC).
CMCC is located in the north end of Toronto, Ontario, at the corner of Leslie and Steeles. The Doctor of Chiropractic program is four years in length, and covers a broad range of topics including anatomy, physiology, pathology, orthopaedics, diagnosis, rehabilitation, biomechanics, diagnostic imaging, nutrition, and many others. (I’d be remiss if I didn’t note that a few of my colleagues recently found a comparison of different health professions and the way hours of study are divided up — I don’t know for certain how accurate it is, but it’s an interesting comparison regardless! http://tinyurl.com/pfmp2bd)
My experience at CMCC was enriched further with a two-rotation clinical placement — my first placement was spent at The Health Centre at 80 Bond, part of CMCC’s involvement with St. Michael’s Hospital in downtown Toronto. My second placement was spent at CMCC Bronte Harbour Chiropractic Clinic in Oakville, Ontario, an independent clinic serving the southwest GTA. All clinics during placements are supervised by exceptional and experienced clinicians —it’s fair to say I learned to apply the knowledge acquired while in class at an exponential rate thanks in large part to the wonderful clinicians I worked primarily under (Dr. Igor Steiman & Dr. Dominique Yedon).
Outside of my career focus, I continue to enjoy being active, and find going running, playing soccer, and seeking out the true meaning of the term ‘albatross’ on the golf course to keep me busy. I read a mountainous stack of research in my spare time (willingly!) because I love to learn and continue to improve, and hope that maintaining this blog will enrich both my own and others’ understanding about activity, fitness, and general well-being, among other health topics.
What do I do?
Chiropractors receive extensive training in assessment, diagnosis, and management of musculoskeletal conditions and their complications involving the nervous system. Using an evidence-based foundation, we select from a variety of treatment methods, including (but not limited to!) soft tissue therapy, joint manipulation or mobilization, acupuncture, modalities (like electrotherapies, ultrasound, low level laser therapy, etc), exercises, and patient education to impart effect and safe treatment effects.
In other words, those aches and pains that just don’t seem to go away? I can help you find out why they are there, work with you to get rid of them for the short and long term, and suggest strategies that ensure they don’t come back over and over again. And if it’s not something that I can help you with? I’ll refer you to someone that I expect can.
Why do I do it?
Working with other people has been a big part of my personal development. I spent a decade working in golf shops in my youth, with sports teams during university, and most recently with the public as a chiropractor, all of which afforded me the chance to interact with a variety of personalities and walks of life — I’m so much better for it. I love working with people, and I really believe in working toward patient developed goals — running 10km, climbing a flight of stairs without pain, developing strength and agility for a sport season, it doesn’t matter what the goal is — it’s my job to help you meet that challenge, and I get just as much excitement as you when the job is done.
How do I do it?
As noted above, chiropractors are well-versed in a number of treatment strategies, so depending on the condition you present with, I’ll choose the most appropriate intervention for you. Generally speaking though, I find that by combining a number of (appropriate) interventions together during a treatment, the treatment effect is amplified, reducing the total number of treatments required. Examples of treatment methods I might select include manual therapy (local massage), joint manipulation or mobilization, acupuncture, modality use, patient education, and rehabilitative exercise. I’ll never force you to accept a treatment method you’re uncomfortable with — there are always alternative ways to address a problem, and it’s my personal pledge to my patients to always work with them to find a solution.
Where do I do it?
My practice is located in Burlington, Ontario, working in Endorphins Health and Wellness Centre at 3155 Harvester Road, Suite 406. This is immediately south of the QEW/403 between the exits at Guelph Line and Walkers Line.
When do I do it?
My office hours extend from Monday-Saturday, and I do my best to adhere to them as much as possible. Contact my office at 905-634-6000 to book an appointment, I’d be thrilled to help you address your concerns and achieve your goals!
- Monday: 10:00am – 7:00pm
- Tuesday: 10:00am – 7:00pm
- Wednesday: 7:30am – 2:00pm
- Thursday: 10:00am – 7:00pm
- Friday: 7:30am – 2:00pm
- Saturday: 9:00am – 2:00pm
- Sunday: Closed