2024 Round-up
31/12/2024
What a year 2024 has been! We have a fantastic team and the clinic is busier than ever with almost 1,000 patients entering our doors. We continue to educate and to be educated in the hope to continually better the care we can provide.
January
The year was off to a great start with the addition of three new team members.
Gillian is our receptionist and the friendly face who will greet you at the front desk. For any of you who have met her already you will know that she is charismatic, fun and so easy to talk with. We have been so lucky to have Gillian join us.
Danielle is a doctorate level physiotherapist. She has a special interest in hypermobility, particularly athletes who are hypermobile. Outside of the world of physio Danielle’s main love is figure skating and this led to her interest in conditions associated with hypermobility. Danielle gained great experience working with orthopaedic consultants in the USA and has been utilising her experience here. She’s been a fantastic addition to the team. She is full of knowledge but is equally compassionate and caring.
Deirbhle is a pain specialist physio with over 10 years of experience. She has been incorporating this specialist area with the improvement of care for those with connective tissues disorders as well as chronic illnesses. Deirbhle takes a holistic approach to the management and care of the people she works with. She uses a mixture of exercise based therapies as well as a strong focus on education and empowerment. Many of our patients managing chronic or persistent issues do well under Deirbhle’s care. She takes a different approach to lifestyle management and we continue to learn from her and her incredible skillset.
We also loved January
as we get to celebrate Cookie’s 1st Birthday!
She has been the most amazing addition to the clinic. She loves all of the love she gets from everyone coming to visit.
February
February brought about a creative project. We introduced, “SPROUT”, our brand new Scoliosis Awareness campaign! We are using bracelets with a specific design, made by our friends at Craftirka, that represents SCOLIOSIS. The name SPROUT was chosen as scoliosis tends to occur/ get worse during periods of rapid growth. We hope both the name and the design help promote awareness of scoliosis and the need for early identification.
March
In March Niamh hosted a day course for physios who were keen to learn more about scoliosis. It was a great success and led to more courses being run as the year progressed.
We also introduced a new class, Strength & Conditioning for skaters, taught by Danielle.
April and May
In the spring we brought in more new classes. One was for dancers, “Dancers - Injury Prevention!”. Danielle focused the sessions on improving muscle strength and control to decrease risk of injuries, especially in the spine, knee, ankle, and foot. The other new class, “Scoliosis specific exercises”, was run by Niamh. This class was specifically for those who are trained in and completing Physio Scoliosis Specific Exercise. The goal of the class is to reduce the rate of/ prevent curve progression.
June, July and August
As June is Scoliosis Awareness Month we wanted to do something to mark the occasion. This year we hosted a Mini Scoli camp for adults. The session included education, scoliosis specific exercise, scoliosis friendly strength and mobility as well as a guided meditation session by the incredible Siobhan O’Connell.
The summer is always busy and fun at the clinic. Niamh hosted another scoliosis education session. We hope that some of the attendees from the courses will feel inspired to undertake scoliosis specialist training.
Given the nature of scoliosis exercise a number of specific items are required. The items can be hard to find so this led to the Introduction of The Scoli Bag! We started making and selling specific equipment to make scoliosis exercise routines easier and more convenient.
One of our very talented young people very kindly gifted McGowan Physio his art piece entitled, “Journey”. We are so thrilled to have this very special work that represents Aryn’s own spinal journey. Check it out in Niamh’s room the next time you are in.
September and October
In September, Niamh headed off to complete her advanced scoliosis training in Serbia BSPTS Level 3. Spent 6 days with the Barcelona Scoliosis Physical Therapy School in Serbia along with a group of International teachers. The focus this year was on adult scoliosis and post surgery patients.
In October, McGowan Physio celebrated 3 years old! The focus of the clinic remains on speciality areas: Scoliosis, HSD, PoTS, young athletes, spinal fractures and pain management. We continue to involve ourselves in research and advancing our practice as best we can. We hope to continue to offer more courses and teaching.
Halloween is Cookie’s favourite time of year as it means she gets to do what she loves… Dress-up!
November and December
We hosted the third Intro to scoliosis session for physios. We had another very interested and motivated group in and again we really enjoyed the day.
As part of the pet therapy for scoliosis patients research we got to go to UCD to see Rachel and the teens in action. The participants also got to enjoy seeing the Veterinary Hospital in UCD. It is an incredible facility.
Niamh attended the Advanced Practice Study Day in Dundalk for Physios. This was an all Island study day hosted by both the ISCP and the CSPNI.
As the holiday season approaches, McGowan Physio is filled with joy and anticipation. We deeply appreciate the thoughtful gifts and cards from our wonderful patients and their families. Your kindness and support mean the world to us. Thank you for making this time of year so special. A special shout out to Paul for his fab sketch of Cookie. Look out for it next time you are in the clinic.
Reflection
2024 has been a year of teaching and learning. We hope that this continues into 2025. We have lots of exciting change coming in 2025 so watch this space. As always we are keen for your feedback and keen to provide any additional services you wish we could deliver, so please get in touch. A warm and sincere thank you from our team to each of you. We appreciate you selecting McGowan Physio to help you on your health, fitness and wellness journey.
We hope that you can look back fondly on progress made in 2024 and look forward to new goals and further health success in 2025.