Meet Valerie
Many people are led to believe that when you are having muscle or joint pain, you can simply take a pill to feel better. Research and studies have shown that movement is an effective approach to treating such pain. I’ve spent much of my career developing a toolbox of different movement methods designed to treat a vast array of health conditions.
I started my career in Russia, where a physiotherapist is a medical doctor who specializes in physiotherapy after completing medical school. I completed my PhD in Physiotherapy and Sports Medicine at Saint Petersburg Medical University I.P. Pavlov. While I was working on my thesis, I discovered a passion for “Western” physiotherapy and quickly realized this is the philosophy I wanted to build my practice around.
After my immigration to Canada in 2005, I further supplemented my education with a Master’s Degree in Physiotherapy from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario. Every day, I feel grateful for the opportunity to treat my patients with the science of movement.
I first discovered GYROTONIC® Method when I took my GYROTONIC® course at the Rheintalklinik in Bad Krozingen, Germany with physiotherapist Paul Horvath in 2000. Then I re-introduced GYROTONIC® Method into my practice in Canada in 2014. This tool has been instrumental in helping me explain functional movement to patients, and in teaching them how to achieve their treatment goals efficiently.
I appreciate the variety of challenges I face every day in my work. I specialize in the musculoskeletal system, and my primary focus is human movement.
I would like to acknowledge both Queen’s and Saint Petersburg Medical University; these are places where I not only gained my knowledge, but also developed the ability to think outside the box and use an evidence-based approach to treatment.
I would like to thank my first mentor in physiotherapy, Joan Scannell, who taught me to work efficiently but to never compromise the outcome of a treatment. I appreciate my time working with rheumatologist, Dr. Lisnevskaia, who expanded my knowledge and experience in differential diagnosis of a variety of autoimmune diseases, hypermobility, fibromyalgia and chronic pain.
I am grateful for the opportunity to work with Dr. Sanderson, who instantly recognized the benefits of the spinal motion within the GYROTONIC® Method, found a place in Align Health Centre for a GYROTONIC® exercises
