Mike Gaynor is the owner of Back on Track and COO of Novo Healthnet Ltd. He graduated from Queen’s University in 1989 with his BSc in Physiotherapy. Mike’s clinical experience includes private practice as well as a sports medicine clinic.  In 1994 Mike opened the founding Back On Track Physiotherapy Centre on Hunt Club.  Over the past 2 decades Mike has expanded his passion for outstanding patient care by opening 7 different locations of Back on Track  to serve Ottawa and surrounding areas.

Mike has taken numerous post graduate courses in a variety of areas including manual therapy, orthopaedics, sports medicine, rehabilitation exercise, and acupuncture and is committed to the continuing education process. He became a Fellow of the Canadian Academy Manipulative Therapy (CAMT) in 1999, receiving his Diploma of Advanced Manual & Manipulative Physiotherapy.  He has been an assistant instructor in post-graduate studies for physiotherapists with the Orthopaedic Division of the CPA since 1996. Areas of interest include manual therapy, sports injuries (hockey, golf, track and field), and rehabilitation exercise.

David Brien is the Director of Physiotherapy and Senior Therapist at Back on Track as well as the Senior VP of Novo Healthnet’s Eastern Division.  David has been a physiotherapist with Back on Track since 1999. He has been responsible for patient care, marketing strategies, the Golf Kinetics program, and writing a regular Golf Healthy article for Flagstick magazine. As Director of Physiotherapy for Back on Track David supervises and educates all team therapists, physiotherapy aids, and kinesiologists. He also oversees the day to day operation of the 7 clinics and assumes responsibility for maintaining the highest level of patient care.

David grew up in Saint John, NB and graduated with a B.Sc (Honors Biology) from UNB in Fredericton. He went on to receive his B.Sc.PT (Honours) from Dalhousie University in Halifax, NS. David has a special interest in orthopaedic manual therapy and has achieved his post-graduate diploma in manual therapy from the orthopaedic division of the Canadian Physiotherapy Association. David also has an interest in Golf and has completed the Golf Kinetics program, which enables him to perform biomechanical swing analysis. The purpose of the program is to design individualized exercise programs for golfer’s to optimize performance and prevent golf related injuries. David is  interested in running analysis and prevention/treatment of running related injuries. He has served as staff physiotherapist for the Canadian National Heptathalon/Decathalon teams.

Riley received his Masters of Physical therapy in 2017 from Queen’s University in Kingston. Prior to this, he attained a Bachelor of Kinesiology degree in 2015 from Acadia University in Wolfville Nova, Scotia. Here he focused in human development as well as sports and injury assessment and management. “Acadia really gave me the bump to strive to become a Physical Therapist.” At Acadia Riley worked with the Varsity Men’s Hockey Team as a student athletic therapist, dealing with a multitude of injuries, conditions, treatment’s and training routines.

Riley has a strong interest in continuing education, and plans to take multiple courses including acupuncture, dry needling, and orthopedic and manual therapy courses.

Growing up as an athlete in the Ottawa area playing baseball, football and hockey, Riley has been exposed to sports, exercise and all the injuries that come with them. With a keen interest in growth and development, Riley has experience working in paediatric and developmental therapy.

As a therapist Riley enjoys being challenged and working with all types of injuries. He uses exercise prescription and manual therapy as the cornerstone to his treatment. Furthermore, he believes that goal setting and patient education are integral in attaining successful results.

Vanessa is a graduate from the three-year Massage Therapy program at Algonquin College. She started with Back On Track in September of 2017.

She is a part of the CMTO- College of Massage Therapists of Ontario and is also apart of the RMTAO-Registered Massage Therapists Association of Ontario.

She has an interest in the anatomy of the human body and its physiological functions. She applies a variety of techniques to expand the health and wellness of her clients, which has brought her attention to starting her studies with Visceral Manipulation to discover new ways of treatment. She looks forward to learning new ways to help her clients because the most important aspect of her job is to make sure her clients are feeling their best and functioning to the fullest!

Kaitlin has been with the Back on Track team since August 2016. She graduated from Sutherland Chan School of Massage Therapy in 2016 and is a Registered Massage Therapist (RMT) with the College of Massage Therapists of Ontario. Kaitlin is an avid long-distance runner and spent

3 years working as a running coach while living and training in Toronto.

She brings a passion for running and fitness into her practice, and enjoys helping her patients meet their health and fitness goals.

Kaitlin was trained in Swedish massage but incorporates a wide range of techniques into her treatments such as myofascial release, dynamic release, scar mobilization, rhythmic mobilization, joint mobilization, cupping, and proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation.

During her training Kaitlin worked in specialty clinics and gained experience with sports injuries, neurological disorders, breast massage, post-surgical maintenance, and pregnancy massage.

Kaitlin also graduated from the Canadian School of Natural Nutrition in

2016 and gained her designation as a Registered Holistic Nutritionist (RHN). As an RHN she works to help her clients achieve optimal health by identifying imbalances within the body and working to provide individualized treatment plans that outline both nutritional and lifestyle modifications. She is passionate about holistic wellness and has used food as medicine to help her reclaim her own health. She enjoys educating her clients on the benefits of healthy eating, and providing them with the tools to treat their bodies right and take charge of their own health.

Kaitlin has worked with clients to address hormone imbalances, food allergies, skin challenges, digestive disorders, weight loss, diabetes management, chronic fatigue, and much more.

Kaitlin is currently offering massage therapy out of the Carleton Place location and massage therapy and holistic nutrition out of the Perth location.

Teagan graduated from the University of Western Ontario with a Masters of Physical Therapy in 2011 and with a Bachelor of Science with Honours Specialization in Kinesiology in 2009.
Since graduating, Teagan has completed a number of post gradual courses, expanding her knowledge in Orthopedics with a special interest in Pelvic Health. She began working in Pelvic Health in 2014.
Post graduate training includes:
– The Physical Therapy Approach to Male and Female Urinary Incontinence
– Pelvic Floor Dysfunction in Pregnancy, SI Joint Dysfunction and Coccydynia
– Female and Male Pelvic Pain
– Pelvic Neurodynamics
– Treating Pain: A New Model of Care
– Gastrointestinal Disorders and the Pelvic Floor
– Improving Pelvic Floor Function Through Spinal Manual Therapy
– Acupuncture with AFCI
– Acupuncture and Dry Needling with Meridian Health
– McKenzie Part A
– Mulligan Concept Introduction
– Orthopedic Division Manual Therapy Level 1
– Lyn Watson Shoulder Course Level 1

I first took an interest in Chiropractic at the age of 17.  I had been working in at McCullough’s Feed and Seed store in Lanark, slugging feedbags.I was a strong adolescents , and though it wasn’t proper lifting technique I liked to impress the farmers by picking up feedbags off the floor without bending my legs, lifting them over my head with ease and flinging them to the front of their truck.  The bags weighed 88lbs and 100lbs depending on what they were purchasing.  As fun as this was, a few months of lifting improperly ground me down.

I found out that physics will grind down even the strongest individual if they don’t respect gravity and attempt to move through it efficiently.  I was hobbled, I had to drag the bags to the tailgate and there was no throwing them left in me. To look at the clock to see if it was almost time to go home, I had to put both hands on my knees to assist me in getting to my feet.  I was badly bent over, and had to shuffle my feet to turn to see the clock, as I couldn’t twist me spine.My employer was a kind man and father to my best friend.  He said “Andrew you have to do something, this job is killing you.”  I didn’t know what to do, I felt that if I was given medication it would just cover up what was going on and not fix anything.  So my employer suggested I try Chiropractic.  I wasn’t too sure, my parents at that time were pretty skeptical of Chiropractic.  But then I remembered my grandfather Bell swore by them and enjoyed getting adjusted, though he referred to his Doctor of Chiropractic as the “bone bender”.  I took the rest of the day off, and met with Dr. Stephen Wilcox in Perth, Ontario.

He examined me thoroughly, and showed me what I had done to myself.

There were 3 major subluxations in my spine, and they were affecting the rest of my spine’s ability to move greatly, as well as causing intense pain and weakness.  He was happy to tell me I was in the right place, and that he could help me by restoring normal motion and position to the vertebra of my spine.  He took time to educate me, and explained that these subluxations were affecting my brain’s ability to send and receive impulses to and from the rest of my body.  Also that the brain was ultimately what monitored, controlled and would heal my body, but that it needed an environment where there wasn’t so much tension on my spinal nerve roots.  I responded quickly to the adjustments, and felt great relief within the first weeks.  We continued to adjust and correct my spine’s motion over the following months, I felt better than I could remember feeling.  At this point I knew if I could do this for people I would get a great amount of happiness from my career, and decided I would one day become a Chiropractor.

After graduating from Perth and District Collegiate Institute, I went to undergrad at Ambassador University, in Big Sandy, Texas.  My major was a Bachelor of Science in Psychology.  1994-1997.  Afterwards I moved to Dallas, Texas and attended Parker College of Chiropractic where I earned my Doctor of Chiropractic in April 2002.  I practiced in various clinics in the greater Dallas Area, where I gained a great deal of experience with auto injury and specifically whiplash.  In 2009 I moved back to Ontario Canada, and passed the Canadian National Board exams, earning my license to practice in Canada. Since moving back to Ontario I have practiced Chiropractic in Nepean, and have met many wonderful people on their journey to better health.

Rebecca is a dedicated registered massage therapist who utilizes a variety of techniques to maximize the health and wellbeing of her clients. After spending her early adulthood as a chef based in Europe, she decided to relocate to Ottawa in 2012 to pursue a career in health. Rebecca graduated with honours from the massage therapy program and has continued to study additional therapies. She offers acupuncture, craniosacral techniques, deep tissue, lymphatic drainage and myofascial release as options for treatment. Her approach looks at the individual as a whole to optimize health and reduce stress.
Registered Massage Therapist (Everest College, Ottawa)
Certified Manual Lymphatic Drainage Therapist (Klose Training, Massachusetts, USA)
Contemporary Acupuncture Certification (IATCM, Ottawa)
Visceral Osteopathy Series 1-4 (Centre for Continuing Education of Osteopathy, Toronto)
Craniosacral Techniques and Applications Levels 1 and 2 (School of Structural Therapy, Ottawa)

Sophie received her master’s degree in Occupational Therapy (OT) in 2017 from the University of Toronto and has been practicing as an occupational therapist since September 2017. Prior to this, she received her bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Ottawa in 2015. Sophie has lived in Ottawa for the majority of her life. Some of Sophie’s favorite activities include reading (she is a part of a book club), traveling (she has been to 5 continents) and baking. Sophie is looking forward to providing OT services for the Back On Track team to increase clients’ participation in their daily occupations in the realm of self care, productivity and leisure. She is particularly interested in post-concussion symptom management/recovery and animal assisted therapy, and hopes to further specialize in these emerging fields.

Rachelle Behrens has over a decade of massage therapy under her belt. With her years of experience Rachelle can offer a great combination of modalities within your treatment.   A combination of Swedish, Cranio Sacral, Myofacial release,Trigger point therapy, Neuromuscular techniques, Stretching and even some traditional Chinese medicine techniques such as fire cupping.  Rachelle can also offer cold laser therapy.

Previously she has spent years working in conjunction with other health care professionals such as chiropractor and Physio therapist. He career focus has always been to promote well being and healing with a holistic gentle yet firm approach massage therapy.

Rachelle was born and raised in Ottawa,  enjoys music and is in training to become a not certified foodie.

Mariane practices in good standing with the College of Massage Therapy of Ontario and a
member of the RMTAO. Combining her passion for sports and massage, Mariane is able to
explore new opportunities using her skill level from a variety of different backgrounds to
ensure that the client is able to get back to their previous levels of activity. She is currently
involved in various sports and activities, which involve Crossfit, Sprint Canoe/Kayak, as well as
being a team member of the National Ringette League. As an athlete, Mariane is extremely passionate about
helping people  avoid and overcome injury. Mariane’s philosophy of care states that everyone is met and treated
with respect, compassion and honesty, without judgment, ensuring each individuals best interest and wellbeing
are first priority.

In addition to treatment of orthopaedic injuries, Catherine has developed a passion for the management of Concussion and the treatment of Post-Concussion Syndrome (PCS). Prior to completing her Physiotherapy degree at McMaster University, Catherine earned a Master’s degree in Neuroscience at the University of Ottawa, investigating the factors that influence neural stem cell self-renewal and working closely with researchers studying mechanisms of brain injury at the cellular level. This education has provided her with a solid background in the neurophysiology of brain injury and what steps are necessary for recovery. Additionally, she has taken several interdisciplinary courses focusing on visual and vestibular re-training for PCS, Post-Traumatic Vision Syndrome, and Visual Midline Shift Syndrome as well as other vestibular impairments such as BPPV.

With an extensive background in research, Catherine’s treatment plans are evidence-informed, primarily consisting of manual therapy techniques and exercise prescription. She has also been trained in Acupuncture and Dry Needling techniques. Catherine prides herself on providing quality care to her patients and strongly believes that patient education is an integral component of the rehabilitation process. Having grown up in Ottawa, she completed her primary and secondary education in an Early French Immersion program, allowing her to communicate in both official languages.

Outside of the clinic, Catherine played competitive soccer for 15+ years, as well as volleyball, basketball, softball, figure skating, and running at the recreational level. She is currently trying to master tennis and enjoys relaxing with yoga.

Jane graduated from Dalhousie University with a BA  in Psychology and Sociology as well as a MSc
(O.T) from McGill University. She grew up in then Quebec and moved to Ottawa upon completion
of her Master’s program.  Jane is the first OT to become part of the many Interdisplinary team
members that make up Back and Track.  She believes OT is an integral part of an interdisciplinary health care
team. Jane is excited to add to the roster of services that Back on Track offers.

Jane aims to help clients achieve maximal independence in participating in their meaningful daily occupations. Jane
works with her clients to develop strategies to overcome and deal with physical, cognitive and/or mental health
issues. Jane enjoys working with her clients to develop creative ways of accomplishing everyday tasks.