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Note: price increase coming May 1 2024
What to expect during your appointment
All Appointments
Before you arrive
Please wear leggings or shorts and a fitted top so that I can see and assess your joints and posture. We work in bare feet.
You will fill out a PAR-Q waiver form before your first appointment. This is a standard Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire and is to allow me to provide you with safe and effective exercises. More information about the form can be found here.
Your appointment time is reserved just for you; please arrive on time. If you are late, your appointment will still finish at the scheduled time, as I have another appointment after yours. No shows and short appointments due to late arrival will be billed for full rate of the scheduled appointment.
Initial Assessment (90 minutes)
History Your first visit is a 90 minute deep dive into what's happening in your body. We will discuss your injury history to connect the dots between how you feel today and how you got here.
Assessment Next we do a gait analysis (watching a frame by frame video of you walking), foot function assessment (how your feet interact with the ground and whether they move well) and joint-by-joint movement assessment (how many of your 'factory settings' are intact and how your posture and breathing habits affect your mobility). I will share your results as we go and help you understand how your aches and pains are connected to your injury history, movement and posture. Questions are welcome and encouraged.
Exercises After completing a deep dive into your body's patterns we start restoring your movement. My exercises are gentle, aimed at putting your body into the most important shapes that you are avoiding and teaching your brain to start accepting them as the new normal.
By the end of the session you will have 2-3 exercises to work on between sessions. They involve some small equipment (eg. wedges, ball, pillow, towel, band), performed standing or on the floor, or against a wall. Most clients are successful doing them at home by asking as many questions about the exercises during the appointment as they need or taking a video or notes. Success requires daily commitment to the exercises in between sessions.
Follow Up Sessions (60 minutes)
Reassess We check in with your progress, re-test some of your movement patterns and see what your body needs.
Exercises We progress your exercises depending on what your body requires. Typically you will need 3-5 biweekly sessions and 2-3 biweekly or monthly maintenance sessions to resolve one injury. Depending on how long you've had a compensation, or how many layers of injuries you have, it can take longer to resolve a movement pattern.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long until I'm better?
This is the age-old question. And my answer is 'it depends'. There are many contributing factors such as: How long ago were your injuries? How many injuries contributed to your pattern? How familiar are you with your body and adopting new movements with cuing? How committed are you to the exercises? Are there additional things going on that require me to refer you to a different specialist?
Most clients see me for 3-5 sessions and then a few more times to fully refine their exercises.
Can I use my extended health benefits?
I don't accept extended medical for a few reasons. First of all, I have found that the framework around extended medical can limit the kinds of methods I can use, the length of my sessions and how many times you can see me. With the depth of support I provide along the way it falls outside what the extended medical benefits programs support for items such as physiotherapy, massage therapy, chiropractic, etc. If your benefits plan has a wellness/healthcare spending account, check with your benefit/HR rep to see what is included. My services would be covered if your plan includes personal training.
If you need to use extended medical I recommend you work with my colleague, Tatham Johnson, who is a specialist in Postural Restoration Institute method. While we are both trained in the PRI methods, Tatham is not as experienced in foot mechanics and gait analysis as I am.
How is what you do different from physiotherapy?
My work has a few things in common with physiotherapy and many distinct differences. Both my work and physio aim to give your body inputs to help it heal and move better. Physio often includes home exercises for mobility and strength, which I also provide.
Physiotherapists are qualified to diagnose, assess and treat conditions of the muscles, bones and nervous system and work with patients that are in acute pain from an injury. I am not qualified to diagnose you or treat acute injuries. I cannot provide a second opinion on a diagnosis or provide sessions for you while you are healing an injury or from surgery. I am permitted to assess your movements, guide you into better movement patterns and provide exercise plans.
Do you offer online sessions?
Yes, I offer a limited number of online sessions. Because my work relies heavily on assessment movement rather than hands-on work, I am able to work with you just by watching you move and guiding you with my words. Before I accept you as an online client let's have a chat to make sure the approach is right for you, we test your camera and microphone setup ahead of time and we leave enough time for the wedges and other small tools to arrive at your home. I will also need you to send some gait videos before we get started. I have just as much success with my online clients as I do with in-person clients.
Client wins!
Head over to the blog to read more about how the people I work with have improved and benefitted from our work together!
Natasha Hsueh2024-02-09I went to see Holly because of a nagging back injury. I tried many other therapies but nothing helped long term. In one session, she was able to identify the problems. She gave me some remedial exercises and I haven’t had any issues since. Holly is highly skilled and I highly recommend her to all my family and friends.
Danielle Markle2024-02-07Holly is very knowledgeable and easy to work with, both in person and online. I would recommend her to anyone, including people who are hypermobile and/or neurodivergent and tend to be a bit disconnected from their body. Holly took a gentle approach, listening thoroughly and ensuring all my many questions were properly answered and understood.
Yard to Yard Gardening2024-02-07Holly is a patient, knowledgeable and compassionate trainer. She analyzed my gait and postural issues and gave me simple moves to re-establish brain/body connections. My frozen shoulder is completely restored and she also helped me release tightness in my jaw. Before you get surgery, call Holly!
Laura Donorfio2024-02-06I am so grateful for Holly. I've tried many approaches, but she has made the biggest difference in working out my imbalances and helping me to walk better. Her knowledge of the human body and how it moves is incredible, and it only gets better with time. In addition to being an excellent practitioner, Holly is a kind, honest, and caring person who truly wants the best for her clients. Hooray for Holly!
Aisling O'Malley2022-08-17I have been suffering from an extremely stubborn gluteal tendinopathy for the past 4 years, foot and heel pain, and shoulder impingements on both shoulders. I initially went to Holly for the hip issues, but her work has been so insightful that I have worked with Holly on the other issues also. I regularly receive IMS which provides short-term relief and have worked with a great physiotherapist, with a focus specifically on the painful areas. I have also found acupuncture and RMT helpful for short-term relief. Chiropractor and osteopathy were less helpful. All this to say that I was working with several specialists and in my search for relief I was hoping to find someone who might be able to look at the bigger picture as I was noticing correlations between my issues and seeking more long-term results. Holly has certainly provided this. In only my first session with Holly its like the wheel of tension in my hip unraveled a little (and has not tightened since), this is huge when you have spent years trying to manage pain. And this was from working on my feet and not my hip, which is not something I had worked through before. I have learned a great deal in my sessions with Holly and continue to do so. We work as a team to understand what I am feeling and investigate why, and I always come away from my sessions feeling a good bit better. Holly explains everything so clearly and I feel like I am learning so much about my body so that I can take control of my pain. We are also developing a toolbox together, and the more I work with Holly, the easier I find it to know which movement tool to apply for relief. Holly does not want you to rely on regular sessions with her for relief, she is passionate about you being able to manage your own issues with your new knowledge and toolbox- after spending lots of money on various specialists and treatments, this is refreshing and was a big factor in my decision to work with Holly. I also feel like I can direct the session whilst relying on Holly’s expertise to guide us to solutions. Each session is more insightful than the last. What I appreciate so much about Holly’s work is that she looks at the full picture and utilizes a variety of practices, tools, and training to help work through my issues. She acknowledges that one practice might not hold all the answers and I am so grateful to have access to someone with such vast knowledge and expertise. Holly is patient, a great listener, understanding and has been a huge help in my quest for relief. I was hesitant at trying yet another specialist, but I wish that I had found Holly sooner as I truly believe that my issues would not have progressed to this point if I had done so.
Erik Futrell-Fruhling2022-02-20Holly is fantastic and I can't recommend her enough. Especially for anyone who has chronic pain that keeps coming back. Right away in my first session she was able to spot what needed work. I love how she always checks in with me on how my body is feeling, she is very calm and so experienced in that she always knows what to do in order to get the movement we want in my body. My body awareness and the efficiency of my movements is 1000% times better and continues to grow. It's such a relief to have confidence in my ability to do the physical activities that I want to without the worry of my body failing and if anything happens I know Holly has the tools to help me strengthen, condition and repair my body.
The Radical Connector2021-10-24I booked an appointment with Holly because I had a knee injury and wanted to get to the bottom of what caused it. I didn’t know what to expect but knew that she was a miracle worker and often uncovered random misalignments in the body that were wreaking havoc. After my first session with Holly we figured out that my pelvis and ribcage were totally locked up and instead of walking, I waddled like a penguin! After years of overcompensating for various sports injuries nothing was moving in my body the right way … I was completely frozen! Holly gave me some simple but powerful movements to do at home and it didn’t take long for my pelvis and rib cage to start moving correctly. I was able to walk properly, taking full, long strides (I could literally feel my legs, hips, and pelvis moving freely). I also noticed a huge difference in my overall flexibility and increased strength in my core. My body felt looser and I was able to move through my days with ease and fluidity. I recommend anyone struggling with recurring pain or inflexibility work with Holly. She’ll get you sorted out!
Jackie OConnell2021-06-02My experience seeing Holly Middleton was five star! In one appointment she pinpointed movement limitations with my upper back and neck. These issues had been bothering me for over a year. She was patient and kind as she guided me to new movement patterns and exercises. I was easily able to complete the exercises at home as she provided me with a video to follow. Can't believe how quickly pain relief happened. I would definitely recommend Holly and Flow Movement Therapy.
Esther Kow2019-10-30Holly has such a calm demeanor and makes you believe you can do anything!
Kristine Pennell2019-09-14I am glad to have found Holly. She is very personable and takes the time to evaluate your entire body mechanics and movement . After working closely with her, I know that I can trust her knowledge and that she cares about my full recovery. I would return to Holly at any time on account of her professional expertise.