Welcome.
My name is Susan Rankin. My practice is focused on physiotherapy treatments for facial nerve damage and vestibular (balance & dizziness) problems.
View the Treatment List here.
Please use this site to familiarize yourself with my services and request appointments.
Susan Rankin; Physiotherapist, BSc.PT; MHSc
Certified Vestibular Therapist
Partipants (L to R): Sara Brost, Lynette Chan, Heather Robinson, Annie Myers, Jodi Janczewski, Dalia Panzer
Jodi Janczewski, PT, NCS
UW Health – Yahara Clinic
1050 East Broadway
Monona, WI 53716
Tel 608-890-6110
Sara Brost, SLP, MS -CCC
Marshfield Medical Center
100 W Oak Ave.
Marshfield, WI 54449
Tel: 715-221-8965
Annie Myers, PT
Dalia Panzer, OT
New York, New York, USA
Tel: 973-216-8317
Heather Robinson, SLP
Boise, Idaho
Tel: 208-869-1399
Lynette Chan, SLP
Singapore
Tel: +65 98798798
On May 3, 2019, 17 therapists attended the foundation course for Facial Neuromuscular Retraining (FNMR). There were therapists from the US, Brazil, New Brunswick and Ontario. Most had already seen facial patients prior to the course and were looking to gain more knowledge about their treatment.
On May 4 and 5, three therapists carried on to complete the practical component of the course. Beth Kroetsch, a long standing facial therapist in Hamilton, had arranged a good group of patients for us to assess, educate and treat.
The 3 new fully trained facial therapists are, from Left to Right:
Centre Hospitalier Universitaire
email
tel: 506-862-4100
Dr. Georges L Dumont
330 Avenue Universite
Moncton, NB
#1
email
tel: 416-519-9122
Bayview Physiotherapy
& Sports Medicine Clinic
586 Eglinton Ave. East, Suite 312
Toronto, Ontario
#2
email
Tel: 289-863-1009
Dome Physiotherapy and Wellness Clinic
1325 Eglinton Avenue East,
Suite 220
Mississauga, Ontario
#3
email
Tel: 289-863-1009
In Home Physiotherapy
Oakville and Milton areas
Her contact information is:
email
Tel: 416-557-7237
Toronto/Mississauga
Syn = Abnormal
Kinesis = Movement
So how is this abnormal movement (synkinesis) created in facial palsy?
When the nerve is compressed in the acute phase of a facial palsy due to either inflammation, surgery, or tumours; it is possible that some of the axons or “wires” will be severed.
Our peripheral nerves have the capacity to regrow and do so at the rate of 1mm per day. In the process of regrowing, sometimes the nerves get crossed and end up going to a different muscle than they did originally (see diagram below). The left side of the face is normal and the right side depicts synkinesis.
A nerve that originally went to the eye, for example, is now going to the mouth. The brain still thinks it’s talking to the eye, but now the mouth is reacting. This is how movements become connected so that when a person with synkinesis blinks, their mouth might also move. Through hard work and the help of a trained facial therapist, it is possible to create a new pathway using the principles of neuroplasticity. For a great reference on neuroplasticity see Norman Doidge’s book The Brain that Changes Itself.
Registration for the next Facial Neuromuscular Retraining Foundation course is now available for May 3, 2019 in Burlington, Ontario. For further information see the side bar on this site under education.
