It may only be mid-month (at press) but September of 2026 has already produced some interesting reminders that physiotherapy is about considerably more than treating a sore back after the fact (et cetera). From new research examining access to cardiac rehabilitation across British Columbia and Yukon to this year’s World Physiotherapy Day focus on cardiovascular disease and stroke, the conversation is increasingly moving toward rehabilitation, prevention, physical activity, and maintaining independence. And a last-month report concerning serious injuries involving e-scooters and similar devices offers another timely reminder that staying active and knowing how to recover safely are two sides of the same equation. Here is what caught our attention this month—and why it may matter to those of you living in Burnaby (near our clinic) and throughout Greater Vancouver.
1. BC Cardiac Rehabilitation Programs Are Showing Significant Gaps
A new study published in the September 2026 issue of the British Columbia Medical Journal takes a province-wide look at cardiac rehabilitation in BC and Yukon and finds some significant differences in what patients can access. Researchers found that approximately 6,100 patients participate in cardiac rehabilitation programs in BC each year, but only 47% of the programs surveyed offered all of the core components recommended by Canadian cardiac rehabilitation guidelines. The study also identified unmet demand, geographic inequities, financial barriers, and limited adoption of virtual care as ongoing challenges.
Why does that matter to someone in Burnaby who has never considered physiotherapy part of cardiovascular care? Because rehabilitation following a cardiac event isn’t simply about returning to a gym. It involves carefully assessing a person’s ability to move and exercise, progressively rebuilding physical capacity, and helping patients regain confidence in everyday activity. The BC Medical Journal study describes cardiac rehabilitation as a personalized, multidisciplinary intervention that includes exercise training, assessment, education, and risk-factor management. Interestingly, physiotherapists were among the professionals involved in some of the province’s cardiac rehabilitation programs. The broader takeaway is an important one: rehabilitation doesn’t necessarily end when the acute medical problem has been treated. For appropriate patients, rebuilding function and physical capacity can be an important part of the road back to an active life.
Read the British Columbia Medical Journal’s full cardiac rehabilitation study
2. World Physiotherapy Day Puts the Spotlight on Heart and Brain Health
This past September 8 marked World Physiotherapy Day, and the 2026 campaign takes physiotherapy well outside the traditional image of someone receiving treatment for a sprained ankle or sore shoulder. This year’s international focus is the role of physiotherapy and physical activity in preventing, managing, and rehabilitating cardiovascular disease and stroke. World Physiotherapy says the 2026 campaign begins a four-year focus on noncommunicable diseases.
For people in Burnaby and the surrounding Vancouver area, there is a practical lesson here: movement is not merely something to think about after an injury occurs. Appropriate physical activity can be part of a much larger strategy for maintaining mobility, strength, endurance, balance, and independence throughout life. Someone recovering from a stroke may need help rebuilding walking ability, balance, coordination, or functional strength, while someone managing a cardiovascular condition may need a carefully progressed exercise program rather than simply being told to “get more exercise.” That distinction—movement that is appropriate for the individual rather than movement for movement’s sake—is where professional assessment and rehabilitation become particularly valuable.
Explore World Physiotherapy’s 2026 World PT Day resources
3. Canadian Youth E-Scooter Injuries Highlight the Other Side of Staying Active
An August 13 report from Global News brought a much less celebratory side of active transportation into the spotlight. Doctors participating in the Canadian Paediatric Surveillance Program reported that 10 Canadian youth died in incidents involving e-scooters and similar “micromobility devices”, with the new data providing, for the first time, a national number for youth deaths associated with these devices. The report also highlighted the difficulty of regulating rapidly evolving forms of personal transportation and the challenges surrounding their safe use.
For Greater Vancouver residents, where bicycles, e-bikes, scooters and other forms of active transportation are increasingly woven into everyday life, the story is relevant beyond the obvious safety message. Falls and collisions can produce everything from relatively minor strains and sprains to fractures, concussion, whiplash, ligament injuries, and more significant musculoskeletal problems. The goal of physiotherapy following an injury isn’t simply to make pain disappear; rehabilitation can involve restoring range of motion, strength, balance, coordination, flexibility, and functional movement, followed by a gradual return to work, exercise, sport, commuting, or recreation. Prevention matters too. Conditioning, movement assessment, education, and learning how to progress activity appropriately can help people return to the things they enjoy without simply repeating the same physical mistakes that contributed to an earlier problem.
Read the Global News report on Canadian youth and e-scooter injuries
What These Stories Have in Common
At first glance, cardiac rehabilitation, World Physiotherapy Day, and e-scooter injuries don’t appear to have much in common. Look a little closer, however, and the same theme keeps appearing: the ability to move is something worth protecting—not something to take for granted.
For someone in Burnaby, that might mean recovering from a motor vehicle collision, getting back on the tennis court after an injury, dealing with chronic neck or back pain, rebuilding strength after surgery, managing an overuse problem from work, or simply trying to remain active as the years go by. Physiotherapy can have a role in both sides of that equation: helping people recover when something has gone wrong and helping them build the strength, mobility, movement patterns, and physical confidence that may reduce the risk of future problems.
At Absolute PhysioCare in Burnaby, individualized physiotherapy is designed around the person rather than simply the body part that hurts. Whether your goal is returning to work, getting back to your favourite sport, moving comfortably around the house, recovering after an accident, or staying active as you age, the right rehabilitation strategy starts with understanding what is limiting you in the first place.
If pain, stiffness, weakness, an old injury, or a recent accident is keeping you from doing what you want to do, don’t simply accept it as something you have to live with. Call Absolute PhysioCare at 604-558-2273 to arrange an assessment and find out what may be standing between you and better movement.