Vernon physio clinic reaches significant milestone

Published 5:00 am Thursday, December 18, 2025

WOW – 30 years! It’s hard to believe that on Dec. 18, 1995, Spine & Sports Physiotherapy opened its doors for the very first time.

Paige was four, Will was two, and Maddie wasn’t even a thought yet.

How I launched a business one week before Christmas remains a mystery, but somehow, here we are – three decades later – still doing what we love.

Our story began during a brutally cold Winnipeg winter.

Bob Powls and I had moved back there from Vernon, and that year broke records for the number of days below minus 30 degrees Celsius. We lasted 18 months before I began planning our return to Vernon.

I called the late Peter Lockhart, the guru of commercial real estate, and he helped secure a space across from the old Civic Arena.

Once back in town, I met with the talented Nancy Wilde, of Wilde Imagination. Sitting in her basement, we designed the original Spine & Sports brand – a strong, bold font, healing blue-and-green colours, and a quirky running stick figure to represent movement and energy.

And just like that, the Spine & Sports identity was created.

Our first location was in the Mori Professional Building. Bob and I opened the doors, and soon after, Lisa Crockett joined us.

Manual therapy wasn’t well known in Vernon at the time – and we were doing something different.

It caught on quickly, and the three of us enjoyed an incredible 10-year run.

Life, of course, threw its curveballs.

We later branched into a second location, which I headed, and we’ve now been in our current Railway Plaza home for 20 years.

Bob opened South End Spine & Sports, while North End Spine & Sports remained my baby.

We jointly ran the two clinics for many years, and we both kept the name – because it meant something to us. And it still does.

My unofficial mission statement has always been simple: Blur the line between work and play.

I wanted the clinic to feel like a home away from home – warm, authentic, and community-rooted.

That culture didn’t happen by accident. It took a village. My dad was my mentor and voice of reason, famous for two sayings: “Most of business is common sense,” and “Always do the right thing.”

My mom worked at our first location. My dad did the bookkeeping for 20 years. All three of my kids worked the Monday-after-school shift. Spine & Sports truly became our fourth child.

I was never a business person by nature – I was a physio who had to learn fast – and I was lucky to have incredible support along the way. Bob was a huge inspiration and helped me develop my skills and way of thinking. He got me off on the right foot.

Michael Tindall offered advice, humour and the occasional glass of red wine. My accountant, James Schneider, and his team kept me on track (and answered my ridiculously early emails within the hour ).

My two extraordinary office managers, Judy Ostrass and Dawn Doyle, allowed me to keep doing what I loved most – treating patients – while they kept the entire operation running smoothly.

And of course, Carla Buchanan, my colleague and pal, talked me off of many of life edges! Thankfully, we kicked the mini Coke at lunch addiction we once had!

Some patients have been with me since Day 1 and have become true friends. We’ve solved many of life’s problems in my little treatment room (elbow in the piriformis while discussing politics? Totally normal). Their trust has meant everything.

My kids – Paige, Will, and Maddie – deserve special thanks. Spine & Sports took up a lot of space in our lives. Their first jobs were here, and their first lesson from their mom/boss was: “Look people in the eye and say their name.”

They’re now a teacher, a chiropractor and a nurse – all helping professions. Maybe all that time in a caring and loving physio clinic rubbed off?

Today, I am surrounded by a wonderful team – Dawn, Cori, Kayla, Mara, Maggie, Carla, Meagan, Teresa, and Tracy. They bring warmth, humour, and heart into the clinic every day, and I never take them for granted. And finally – to our patients, past and present. Thank you for trusting us with your injuries, for returning when you needed help, for sending your friends, and for laughing at our waiting-room jokes, whilst enjoying a Werther’s. We hope you’ve always felt at home here. That’s been the goal from day one: Healing, Health, and Humour.

Happy 30th anniversary to everyone who contributed to this beautiful chaos. Lucky me.

Cheryl Witter is a physiotherapist and owner of North End Spine and Sport Physical Therapy and Massage Therapy.