Kennedy Tralnberg on getting outside comfort zones
Kennedy is a physio at our Oak Bay clinic. We had a virtual chat with her to learn more about her move to Victoria and how she finds balance in her work and life.
How did you get into physio?
I used to go to physio when I was a kid, at the time for injuries from dance, volleyball, and little things along the way. I was definitely exposed to it relatively young! By the time I got to university, I realized I loved anatomy and physiology, so I took my Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology. Most people, after kinesiology, become personal trainers or enter medicine or physiotherapy, and physio is a more common route. Initially, I looked into medicine, but physio was closer to what I actually wanted to do. It was important to me that I have more time to spend getting to know and treating patients, and to also have a good work-life balance.
Physio has one of the highest job satisfactions! I think because of how much our patients fill us up and how much work-life balance is possible. I feel very fortunate to love what I do and for work not to feel like work! I feel like however I ended up getting here, it was a pretty great place to end up.
What was it like to move from Alberta to Victoria?
Moving to Victoria was a huge leap in my life! My family and friends mean the absolute world to me and most of them live in Alberta. (I’m trying to convince the rest of them to move out here!) Moving is always overwhelming, but I got pretty lucky in that nothing went wrong along the way. It feels like I moved to a fairy tale destination! I received so many comments from people like, “You’re so brave!” and honestly, a couple of times it took me by surprise, because I didn’t feel brave, or it wasn’t about bravery for me. I just wanted to live a happier, healthy lifestyle.
What inspired your move west?
One day after my regular work and school day, I thought to myself, “What do I want to do on an average evening after work on a Wednesday?” In Edmonton, I couldn’t come up with enough activities to keep me excited. I looked at Victoria (and Vancouver) and the opportunities (of things to do) seemed endless.
It seemed a logical step for me to move in that direction, which is why it feels surprising when people think I was brave to move. I just wanted to invite more happiness to my everyday life. It’s always bothered me a bit to hear people say that they wait for their next vacation. We spend how many days waiting for that day to come, to do what we want to enjoy. Why wouldn’t you want to live in a place where you could enjoy where you live, right now? That’s the way I’m looking at this move!
How do you stay active?
I’m currently playing rec volleyball, which I got back into after not playing for a few years. I’m golfing a bit too, I’ve always been a bit of a golfer and I’m trying to get out as much as I can. And, I’m running quite a bit! That’s an almost daily activity. How could you not when it’s so beautiful out here?
Tell us about your curling adventures!
I got into curling when I was eight and played semi-competitively until my undergrad degree wrapped up, then I transitioned to coaching. At the same time, I played recreationally on a team with my auntie, uncle, and my Dad. It was so nice to be able to play competitive games with them but also just have a good time on a Friday. The curling community in Alberta is pretty huge, there are Bonspiels almost every weekend!
How is curling similar to golfing?
They’re both super social games and both kind of seasonal. Many people who curl will flip to golfing in the off-season. Golfing and curling are also two sports where participants can be anyone from age 6 to 96!
Your uncle was in the Olympics for curling?
He was an alternate for the Salt Lake City Olympics back in the day and then he coached the Swiss women’s team for a couple of years and they went to the Olympics. I have one of his jerseys! I was pretty young at the time, but old enough to be in awe of it all.
What is your curling community in Alberta like?
They are so supportive and really tight-knit. Mine in Alberta did not make my move easy, in the best way! Various members of my curling community across all generations gifted me paintings to hang up in my new place, or books about hiking and even handmade pens! They were all so supportive of me moving, and they really cared about my well-being. I hadn’t realized I had made a difference in their lives. It was very bittersweet leaving them.
Is there a particular aspect of physio you’re most interested in?
Right now I’m in general practice: all physios are trained as generalists in the master’s program. It allows us to work with lots of different patients, and conditions, and not get too tunnel-visioned. I had a few placements working in vestibular rehab and working with kids: two areas that, in the future, I’d like to get more into when the timing is right! I loved my experiences working with both those populations so much.
What is vestibular rehab?
It’s all about the inner ear! If you have ever heard of someone who has vertigo, that’s often treated by a vestibular rehab therapist. My colleague, Connor, recently took one of the most prestigious courses for it, so hopefully, in the next few months, I can pick his brain! There is a need for more vestibular rehab in the community generally, particularly as our population ages.
What attracts you to the world of vestibular?
I think it’s my personality type, I love being able to interact with a patient and know exactly what to do to help them. Vestibular is very specific that way. Physio is so much a combination of art and science, with the science aspect being the cornerstone, of course. At the same time, each patient comes with their own specific goals, so determining treatments is more of an art form. In the vestibular world, there is a lot of very specific testing to determine a diagnosis for the symptoms a person is experiencing, and then specific treatment protocols.
Working in both vestibular and general practice in a private clinic allows us the opportunity to get a good combination of challenging ourselves in both the art and science of physio.
You had a placement working as a pediatric physiotherapist, what was that like?
It was a unique placement because it was at a school within the children’s hospital in Calgary. The Dr. Gordon Townsend School is for kids who have really intense rehab or medical treatment schedules, where it would disrupt their day too much in a traditional school setting. It’s a very cool concept and so well-integrated: the school has everything, a gym, classrooms, and serves all grade levels. Instead of having “spares” as with a conventional school schedule, these kids would go to physio as one of the blocks in their day. A lot of physiotherapy at that age surrounds making sure they’re hitting developmental milestones and have the mobility they need to just be a kid. Each kid is there for different reasons and has different physiotherapy needs, but it was heartwarming to see how much the kids would support each other.
I got to know the kids pretty well, because it’s a small group, and physio was such a big part of their schedule. I ended up working with about 70% of the kids, a lot between the ages of 10-14. I love that age group! It was the same age range as the kids I coached for curling too, so I already knew what I was getting into and how to navigate certain things. Kids are so fun at that age: they become better advocates for themselves, but they’re also still trying to have fun.
How do you stay in the know with new physio research?
We’re constantly overwhelmed with new research in this modern tech world! One of my colleagues showed me a great podcast called Physio Explained, which I like to listen to on the car ride to work.
When we go through our physio masters programs, we focus on doing good research for our patients. There is a lot of info out there, but not all of it comes from equally credible sources or well-rated papers. We have to use a lot of synthesized research, and places like DynaMed are really helpful that way because they provide synopses of the latest research. It allows us as physios to help bridge the knowledge gap between us and our patients, so they receive the information they need in a way that’s digestible.
The amount of info that everyone has access to these days can be great in so many ways, but it can also be really confusing for people. We’ve all done the “diagnosing via Google” and so many things pop up that can make people scared or send them down the wrong track. There’s good info out there too, but sometimes even the right information at the wrong time or with the wrong dosage can slow down someone’s healing. The art of physio is tailoring the treatments for the specific patient.
What are your thoughts on preventative maintenance?
I wish more people wanted to engage with physios on the preventative side of things! I’ve had so many clients tell me “I wish I had just come [to physio] sooner!” If we could make people more mobile or stronger, they might not have injured themselves in the first place. We sometimes see people when something is nagging them before it’s a bigger problem and we’re able to get them off and running with some educational tips and exercise. Then, they don’t have to worry about it disrupting their life if they had waited longer.
Tell us about your time working as a firefighter fitness tester
When I lived in Edmonton, I worked for the University of Alberta and they ran physical assessments for firefighters for the City of Edmonton and surrounding municipalities. We did everything from treadmill VO2 max testing (testing typically for athletes but in all their firefighting gear) and circuit testing to moving hose, going up and down ladders, and dragging fake dummies around.
One of the heads of the lab that runs the firefighter testing was my anatomy professor and he had mentioned the testing at one point while in his class. I enjoyed his class and thought it could be an interesting and unique job that would push me out of my timid comfort zone.
On the very first day of the training at the time, he had us all in a room doing orientation and he told me to yell at him! He actually said, “Yell at me!” – I definitely just giggled. One of the most important elements of leading these tests was demonstrating that we could stay in control and never put people in unsafe situations, so sometimes, we had to yell. It took me a bit of time to break out of my shell but it was so great because when I did, I felt like I was playing a different role in my life. I had been a student, a coach, and working with kids and now working with firefighters! It was definitely a fun job and honestly, I think it made me a way more confident person.
You love to travel!
Travel has always been a huge part of my life. It’s part of the reason why I was comfortable enough to come to Victoria. I value having different experiences and pushing outside of my comfort zone to see how different areas of the world operate. I’m always trying to take the opportunity to go see and understand something I haven’t seen before.
As far as world travel, I love Spain and Thailand and would go back to both ASAP! But I feel like I’ve really enjoyed everywhere I’ve been able to experience because there is such diversity out there. Our next trip is going to be a family trip, and because my dad hit a milestone birthday he got to pick the next destination–Singapore! I am going to surprise him with a scuba diving day trip there together! Luckily, we all travel in similar ways, so we always have tons of fun together.
What’s been one of your favourite local adventures on Vancouver Island?
Recently, friends and I hiked the West Coast Trail here on the island and it was phenomenal! We did it over a week and it ended up being a really fun experience. Beautiful weather and campfires every night. Swimming in waterfalls after a long day of hiking was unbelievable. I’ve definitely gotten my fill of hiking for the next little bit but I’m sure when warm weather comes, I’ll be right back at it.
