Sarah Klinkow
Physiotherapy

Orthopaedics and sports physio
Squamish, BC

An image of Sarah Klinkow, physiotherapist. She is standing in front of a forest.

ABOUT SARAH

Sarah is a sport's focused physiotherapist in Squamish, BC. She is committed to delivering the best evidence-based care possible. Whether you are managing chronic pain, recovering from an injury, or looking to improve your physical performance, she is here to help.

Sarah has worked with athletes of all levels. She uses her knowledge of anatomy and physiology to help you optimize your performance, training and recovery.

She has completed post graduate courses in manual therapy, climbing injuries, running injuries, concussion management, and more. She enjoys being a lifelong learner and is motivated by growth.

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PHYSIOTHERAPY SERVICES

Climbing specific rehab to help you

reach your goals

Running specific rehab and gait

analysis available at the

Squamish Athletic Club

Climbing perfomance assessment available at the Squamish Athletic Club

close up needle hands physiotherapist doing dry needling

Dry Needling / IMS

Strength and conditionning

SEE ALL SERVICES

TESTIMONIALS

''Sarah is a total pro! She knows her stuff inside out. Thanks to her expertise, I'm back on my feet and feeling great. I highly recommend her!''

Emilie Pellerin

We're officially opening our new space downstairs at the SAC! Come by Tuesday June 3rd for free consults, strength testing, snacks and prizes.
Open to everyone!

The entrance is located downstairs on the left of the building. If you are a SAC member, you can also use the regular entrance and take the stairs down!

See you Tuesday🙌

🎨 Art in the clinic by the amazing @jennarobinsonart and @sarahkeller.art

@squamishathleticclub_ @karelthedietitian

✨ Training Season is Here! ✨

Get a detailed Performance Assessment at the SAC to support your climbing goals 🧗‍♀️💪

Assessment includes
✔️ Finger strength testing
✔️Shoulder strength testing
✔️Plus personalized tests tailored to your strengths, weaknesses, and goals (power, flexibility, endurance, climbing assessment on the wall, etc.)

🔑 Build a solid baseline for your training program and stay injury-free!

📷 Pictures by the best @oisinmchughphoto

📧 Email or DM to book your spot: sarahklinkowphysio@gmail.com

#ClimbingTraining #ClimbingPerformance #StayInjuryFree #SAC

Thankful to have all of these beautiful people in my life❤️ (and so many more! If only I remembered to take pictures more often😅)

The last month has been busy with family visiting, but it's been very refreshing to take a step back from climbing (temporarily!!) and just enjoy fun times with family and friends🥰

Second to last picture is a favourite of mine: my dad on top of his very first Squamish V0💪

Here's a quick and easy ankle taping technique to provide additional support while recovering from an injury!

I recommend using it when your ankle is ready to return to sport but still at risk of re-injury in more challenging activities like trail running or crack climbing. While your ankle may be ready to handle flat surfaces, the unpredictable terrain of rocks and roots increases the chance of sprains. That's where the taping comes in, offering more lateral stability and improved proprioception.

For this method, you'll need:
● Cover Roll or Hypafix (to protect the skin)
● Leukotape P (for support)

These tapes are typically available at physio clinics but not in pharmacies.

Let me know if you have any questions in the comments below⬇️⬇️⬇️

Underclings are challenging holds for the wrists, mainly because of the twisting occurring at the joint in that position.
When recovering from an injury, include some of those drills in your later-stage rehab to get back on your hard projects with confidence!

Here is the progression from this video:
Aim to complete 3-5 sets of 6-8 reps per side
1 - low feet, static undercling moves
2 - higher feet, static undercling moves
3 - undercling bumps
4 - undercling lockoff and reach up with the other hand

Try these drills on any board, spray wall, or campus board, as long as you have enough underclings to play around with!

Note: Underclings are also challenging for the biceps, elbow, and shoulder. These exercises can be used with that intention as well.

Feel free to reach out with any questions.
Happy climbing!

Videos filmed at @squamishathleticclub_ & @climbgroundup!
#wristrehab #climbingphysio #undercling

Here is a workout I did about 4-6 weeks post TFCC injury, when my wrist started to tolerate more load:

1. Neutral TRX row
2. Pinch block
3. Biceps curls with KB
4. Pronation- supination with offset weight
5. Incline push ups on fists
6. WB wrist flexion

I recommend completing about 3 sets x 8-10 reps of these exercises. They should be mostly pain free!

For my wrist, the most challenging were supination under load and the pinch block, so i'll keep working at it 💪

Feel free to reach out with any questions!
Happy rehab🤸‍♀️✌️

#climbingphysio #tfcc #wristrehab
@livwellsquamish @squamishathleticclub_

Happy international women's day🩵💛🩷💜💚
I'm feeling so grateful to get inspired everyday by so many women around me. And that includes many more of you, not included in the pictures of this post! (you know who you are🫶)
You girls are awesome, keep getting after it!💪🤜

I injured my wrist 2 months ago now and thought it would be useful to share some of my rehab! 🤜

Here is a workout I started with when my wrist was quite flared up:
1- Radial deviation with offset weight
2- Ulnar deviation with offset weight
3- Band resisted pronation
4- Pronation with offset weight
5- Supination with offset weight

I recommend completing 2-3 sets x 8-12 reps of those exercises. They should be mostly pain free!

*Note: we can see here that I am restricted in supination under load. Because of that, I decided to use the theraband to work on my range of motion and eventually progress to full range under load.

Feel free to comment with questions below⬇️
Happy rehab💪✌️

@livwellsquamish @squamishathleticclub_ @wristwidget
#climbingrehab #climbingphysio #tfccinjury

Had a great time visiting our good friends and having a go at some Colorado classics🧗‍♀️
Here are some shots of Eldo canyon, the Flatirons, Devil's Head, Boulder Canyon and Long's Peak!
Back to the rain and the training season for now🏋‍♀️

Had a great time last week at the Canadian Climbing Medicine Symposium @climbingmedicine 🥰 Learned so much from all of the awesome presenters! Thanks to the organization for an amazing event!
3rd photo from @juliendescheneauxphysio, official photograph of the evening bouldering sessions✌️

Couldn't have asked for a better vacation/birthday celebration🥰 Ready to get back to work now! I'll see you at Livwell✌️@livwellsquamish

Beautiful day in the mountains with a great crew🥰🏔 Feeling so grateful to be here!

Happy New Year🥳

2022 was amazing! I feel so grateful to have had the opportunity to work and play on this traditional land alongside all of you!
✨️✨️✨️
I am not a big fan of resolutions, but I think the New year brings the opportunity to reflect on the past year and set goals for yourself!
I hope that you take time to set some goals and work hard through the year to make them happen💪

Cheers to many new challenges in 2023!

Had a great day last Sunday hiking up Skypilot with @dr.valeriebrabantdc and @climbing_physiotherapy !! Thanks girls for the awesome adventure💕✨️

With the good weather coming back, the possibility of climbing for many days in a row gets easier and easier. Though it is tempting to do so, it is important to think about the total climbing and training volume that we put on our bodies to avoid injuries!

Here is a couple of tips to adapt your training load:

✅️If you climb multiple days in a row, try to switch up the climbing style. Mix in different difficulties, durations and types of climbing to avoid putting always the same type of stress on your body.

✅️When increasing your climbing volume outside, make sure you ease off on your training load. You can keep a training routine, like doing a bit of hangboard, but keep it simple and at light-moderate intensity. The goal is to maintain the gains you got during your training season.

✅️When projecting, limit yourself to 3-4 tries per session with good rests in between your attempts. If possible, avoid trying the same project more than 3 days in a row.

✅️Even if you are climbing outside, take the time to warm-up before every session. After the hike up to the wall, you might be hot, but make sure you warmup your fingers, elbows and shoulders too.

✅️Make sure you get enough sleep, that you are hydrated and that you are eating well. That will help your body recover faster for your next climbing day!

✅️If you feel sore after your climbing day, you might have overdone it. Take a rest day and see how you feel. Do not climb if you feel pain. Consult a health professional to get a diagnosis and to be able to get back into climbing without risking aggravating your injury.

I hope everyone has a great season☀️
Climb on!

📷Antoine Rheault

Have been exploring the classic multipitches around town! Here are pictures on Centurion, Calculus Crack, Star Chek, Frontside 180, 100 Zulu and St Vitus Dance💃🙌
What is your favorite multipitch in Squamish?

Have been exploring trails around Squamish in the last weeks! Such an incredible playground!⛰️ 🏃‍♀️🧗‍♀️
What are your favorite trails around here?

Skinning technique tips🌟

Having a good skinning technique is important to avoid overusing the psoas muscle while backcountry skiing.
This will help you get outside for longer consecutive days!

Tips:
👉Engage the glutes of your front leg by moving as if you wanted to stand straight on that leg only. The other leg will follow with almost no psoas muscle action.
👉Keep you skis on the snow. Glide them instead of lifting them from the ground.

What is the psoas muscle?
This muscle is in the front of your hip. His action is to flex the hip (lift your leg when you walk up the stairs). It is a smaller muscle that is often tight and painful because of overuse.

Specific exercises will be posted soon with the goal of:
👉Strenghtening your glutes and hamstring
👉Strenghtening your psoas muscle
👉Stretching your psoas muscle

Feel free to comment and share🌟

🧗‍♀️EPIPHYSEAL GROWTH PLATE INJURIES: The no. 1 cause of finger pain in adolescent climbers.

A growth plate is the area where the bone grows during childhood and adolescence. A fracture in the growth plate can compromise the capacity of the bone to keep on growing as you get to adulthood.

What we see in adolescent climbers is mostly growth plate stress fractures to the fingers. These injuries are due to high levels of stress on the joint caused by lots of climbing, and mostly, crimping.

Common presentation
👉 Adolescents, mostly during their growth spurt (13-15 years old)
👉High climbing training volume
👉Pain on the dorsal aspect of the middle phalange of the middle or ring finger (PIP joint)
👉Progressive pain < acute onset
👉Pain worse with climbing and crimping
With palpation, there might be pain and a bone fragment. Swelling is also possible.

What to do if you have those symptoms?
👉REST
👉Consult your doctor. Imagery will be needed.
The treatment for this condition is mostly rest, immobilization and progressive return to climbing.
Surgery can be an option in some cases.

Best practices for imagery:
👉Ultrasound to exclude any soft tissue injury (pulley, tenosynovitis, etc.)
👉MRI (an X-Ray can be performed if MRI is not available rapidly)
In this study, Schoffl & al, tested a new diagnostic algorithm to help GP's choose which investigations are needed. They suggest to start with ultrasound imagery and an MRI. CT scan were performed with persistent fractures only.
With this algorithm, they had good results. Fracture healing occurred in all patients, without recurrence of injury.

It is important to detect and treat this condition because it can lead to:
👉Persistent pain
👉Delayed fracture healing
👉Permanent impairment of the finger

We should all work together to educate young climbers, parents, and coaches to avoid complications due to delay of treatment!

Feel free to comment and share!

I will be starting at LivWell Integrated Health on March 17th!
You can book online, link in bio⬆️

Just back from a ski trip to the Chic Chos, QC!
Had fun playing in the snow and learning about avalanche safety skills❄⛷️❄

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Sarah Klinkow Physiotherapy

Orthopaedics and sports physio Squamish, BC