Who am I?

Hey guys! My name is Corey, and I am the owner of Ireland Manual Physiotherapy. I wanted to take a moment to introduce myself and share a little about me.

Localish

I have been a physiotherapist since 2010 and am a proud graduate of University of Windsor’s Human Kinetics Program and University of Western Physical Therapy. It’s been pointed out to me that I am a transplant to Kingsville. Although I grew up in Essex County, I was one of “those” who rarely ventured the trek to Kingsville and Leamington. Now that I am here, I am in love with everything that this beautiful town has to offer (wineries anyone?). Needless to say, I am very much enjoying country living with all of the nearby conveniences of town! One of my favourite places in the world is the Greenway. Boring, I know. But the peace and quiet, wildlife, and country scenery is good for my introverted soul. I can (and do!) spend hours at a time on that crushed stone trail with my fur baby Mya, getting lost in my thoughts and dreaming up my next challenge. It’s an amenity that she and I are pretty spoiled by.

Keeping Active

Swimming, biking, running, and strength training are my activities of choice. Anyone who knows anything about me knows that the hand-eye-coordination skill was never acquired on my end. Although, I will give it a good go if given the opportunity and my teammates aren’t overly concerned about the final score. Lately (I have a young family), I don’t get a chance to do much biking and swimming, and that’s okay, but I have found a bit of a groove with running (or at least on the spectrum of running). After having completed a few half marathons, and one full, I’ve got the bug and am excited for the Detroit full this fall. They say running is addicting, and in a love-hate kind of way, I’m hooked-ish.

Staying Well

An encompassing passion of mine is wellness. Exercise fits into that, but it’s just a piece. Spending time with family and friends is also important to me. I am a quality over quantity person when it comes to that stuff. I am lucky to have some pretty great, as well as exquisitely talented people in my life. I enjoy tinkering in the garden, but I think I have moved more plants than I have nurtured at this point. Landscaping is definitely not my forte. Hanging out with my family and watching the sun set is also one of my favourite summer pastimes (and one that I am definitely better at!). Nutrition is a special interest of mine and also an evolving exercise. Recently, meditation has popped up onto my radar and I have been surprisingly satisfied jumping on that bandwagon (it helps to balance my go-on-all-eight-cylinders personality). The Bachelor and Bachelorette franchise is also a guilty pleasure of my husband and I that I (we!) look far more forward to than I should!

Physiotherapy

As a physiotherapist, I absolutely LOVE my job. However, I had a bit of an identity crisis at year ten. Maybe that’s a little (or a lot) dramatic, but my experience taught me that despite my best intentions and efforts (and countless courses and hours in post graduate training), I can’t fix people (insert shock and defeated face here!). This, coupled with becoming a first-time mom and my tendency to do everything one hundred and ten percent, I felt lost and overwhelmed on how to proceed professionally. I never saw myself as anything but an employee, but I didn’t know how to do right by my new family and be the rock star practitioner that I always strived to be.

Making Moves

So what did I do? I did something that makes complete sense for a brand new parent (if you can’t tell, I’m laying the sarcasm on thick), and opened my own practice. With immense support from my husband, those baby hormones opened my eyes to a different way of doing physio. Although I am still conflicted with the idea that “I can’t fix you,” I have realized that a rock star physiotherapist will shine brightest when he or she knowledge shares, teaches, and fosters attitudes to help you become a better you. And in doing so, not only will my clients ultimately get ‘betterer,’ I’ll have gas left in the tank to be a rock star mom and wife, and oh ya, a business owner too :).

Authored by Corey Ireland, BHK, MPT, RPT, Dip. Manip. PT, FCAMPT, CIDN, MPA