Welcome
The Healthy Back Program – Keeping your back strong and healthy, reducing your pain and helping you graduate from therapy to fitness.
If you suffer from low back pain, you are not alone.
Most people experience low back pain at some point in their life. It is one of the most common life challenges which prevents us from completing the activities we love.
At Healthy Back we know back pain impacts your everyday activities and prevents you from living your life to the fullest. It can make you give up the things you love and limit your work and recreation.
Fortunately, we also know that one of the most effective ways to reduce back pain is by doing the right type of exercise. Exercises to improve mobility, strength and fitness have been proven time and time again to reduce back pain.
We also understand that finding the right exercise for you can be confusing, as an online search will give you hundreds of possible exercises. This is why we have developed the Healthy Back program, so that you can make decisions on your exercise with the confidence that they will help you!
The Healthy Back Program
The Healthy Back Program is a virtual exercise program which is designed to help you reduce your back pain and to get more active. In this program, you will complete 20-30 minute classes to enhance your low back strength, increase flexibility and reduce pain. You can complete these classes anytime and anywhere. Choose whatever works best for your schedule.
Each class follows a consistent routine which includes these key elements:
- mobility and flexibility
- integration of your directional preference
- muscle coordination exercises
- strengthening
Each new exercise class video consists of a progression of exercises to help you build your strength, coordination and stamina.
Comment from
past student
“Great tips, modifications, and challenges given”
You will also have access to technique and resource videos to support the faster pace of the exercise class. These resource videos go into more depth on each exercise in the class. You can use them to prepare for the demands of the full class or to go into more depth if you have specific questions on one of the exercises in a class.
With the progressive nature of these classes, the program is designed to support you throughout your entire low back pain recovery journey, from the initial pain, through the recovery stage and to help you make the transition to post-injury fitness.
The Healthy Back Program was developed by a team of physiotherapists and kinesiologists, who have worked with people like you for decades. It teaches you safe and effective exercises, empowering you to reduce your low back pain.
Our program uses exercises that have helped thousands of people like you restore independence. These leading edge exercises target strength, coordination and flexibility to improve your function, reduce pain and help you to live a better life.
In this program, we don’t just show you the exercises. We teach you how to complete them in a detailed and comprehensive way. We know that too often exercises are taught quickly and without key information such as what the exercise is trying to accomplish, how to find the proper directional preference start position, where your back feels best for each exercise and what muscles you should and should not be feeling during a specific exercise.
The last point is particularly important as understanding which muscles are required for each exercise and how to engage them is crucial to a successful recovery from low back pain. This concept is known as motor control and is used by top level athletes across the world. It is a central focus of the Heathy Back program. If you are able to improve your ability to recruit the right muscles during your exercises, your chances of recovery increase significantly. The program was designed to guide you through recovery from back pain and to help you live a more resilient and empowered life after recovery.
Still not sure if this program is right for you? Here are some of the testimonials from our previous participants:
“The program content and delivery were just right. A huge thanks to John!”
“Great tips, modifications and challenges given. John Gray is even keeled and personable”
“I thought the classes went very well and were very useful to me. I continue to do the classes.”
Think the Healthy Back Program is right for you?
On the fence? Try a Free Class!
In this program, we don’t just show you the exercises. We teach you how to complete them in a detailed and comprehensive way. We know that too often exercises are taught quickly and without key information such as what the exercise is trying to accomplish, how to find the proper directional preference start position, where your back feels best for each exercise and what muscles you should and should not be feeling during a specific exercise.
The last point is particularly important as understanding which muscles are required for each exercise and how to engage them is crucial to a successful recovery from low back pain. This concept is known as motor control and is used by top level athletes across the world. It is a central focus of the Heathy Back program. If you are able to improve your ability to recruit the right muscles during your exercises, your chances of recovery increase significantly. The program was designed to guide you through recovery from back pain and to help you live a more resilient and empowered life after recovery.
Still not sure if this program is right for you? Here are some of the testimonials from our previous participants:
“The program content and delivery were just right. A huge thanks to John!”
“Great tips, modifications and challenges given. John Gray is even keeled and personable”
“I thought the classes went very well and were very useful to me. I continue to do the classes.”
Think the Healthy Back Program is right for you?
On the fence? Try a Free Class!
What can you expect from the Healthy Back Program?
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Learn which exercises will help you reduce your back pain
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Learn how to improve your fitness safely
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Understand how to do the exercises right
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Learn strategies to keep your back pain under control
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Learn additional self-management strategies for low back pain care
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Improve your back’s mobility and strength
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Increase your ability to engage in work and recreational activities
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Increase your confidence in your management of your low back condition
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All this to help you to live life to the fullest
Meet Your Instructors
John Gray R. Kin.
As a Registered Kinesiologist, John uses both conventional and motor learning based exercise to help you recover from a wide spectrum of impairments – from degenerative joint diseases and neurological conditions to orthopaedic surgery and cancer. His approach helps you to regain mobility and function, while managing pain, to return to the activities you enjoy doing the most. John works with all ages and abilities.
John holds both a master’s degree in Biomechanics from Queen’s University and an Honours Bachelor degree of Physical and Health Education from the University of Toronto. Before returning to his professional practice, John pursued a PhD degree in Spine Biomechanics under the supervision of Dr. Stuart McGill, where he was responsible for the operation of the Spine Biomechanics laboratory, published research on spine stability and contributed to projects studying the biomechanics of low back pain.
During his 25+ year career, John has trained with internationally-renowned experts in England, the United States, Australia and Asia. He is a Registered Kinesiologist in Ontario and holds certifications in Strength and Conditioning as well as Wellspring’s CancerSmart rehabilitation certification for health professionals. John has been a frequent presenter at national and international conferences, and is published in several highly respected scientific journals in Kinesiology and Physical Therapy. He has recently co-authored a chapter in “The Functional Training Handbook” on the biomechanical considerations for injury prevention and performance improvement in Weightlifting.
John has been the Sports Conditioning Consultant to the University of Toronto Women’s Varsity Volleyball Team, FIVB world-tour women’s beach volleyball athletes, and has assisted Archery Canada’s Team 2020 in realising their goals toward podium performances. He has previously been both a competitor and coach in Olympic Weightlifting. He has helped athletes achieve personal bests from recreational to Olympic levels of competition.
In addition to being the primary Healthy Back Instructor, John is available for individualized appointments at the Orthopaedic Therapy Clinic, or can provide virtual appointments online across Canada. For more information or to book an appointment, please contact us at [email protected] , or phone us at 416-925-4687.
Aniela Amio, Pilates, Yoga and Movement Instructor
Aniela completed her yoga certification at The Yoga Sanctuary in 2011, adding courses in meditation, Yin Yoga and Restorative Yoga shortly after. She then went on to become certified in Mat Pilates with Body Harmonics in 2013, Reformer Pilates with The Mindful Movement Centre and Leslie Parker. She is currently working towards her Comprehensive Pilates Diploma with Body Harmonics (2019) with a special focus on spinal health and injury recovery, as well as pre and post-natal care.
Aniela empowers people of all ages and abilities by teaching them how to move and care for their own bodies. She hopes her students find joy, safety and strength in their sessions which translates into better quality and functional movement in their daily lives. She is interested in and continues to expand her studies with workshops on the mind body connection, chronic pain, scoliosis, fascia, pre and postnatal health and recovery as well as working with the aging population. Aniela has had the opportunity to work with professional athletes, dancers, chronic pain suffers and those recovering from spinal injuries and surgeries.
Recently she has added the following courses and certifications to her education.
- Movement and Exercise for Pregnancy
- Post-Natal Reconditioning and Diastasis Recti Repair
- Towards a Healthy Pelvic Floor
- Strength, Balance and Fall Prevention for Seniors
- Handedness and Scoliosis
- Kinesiology of Pilates
When Aniela isn’t teaching or taking courses you can find her in the park with her dog, travelling, or in a plant store deciding which plant baby to add to her home.