Sarah Black
(She/Her/Hers)
Sarah has been part of the TAC family since the beginning, and is now a proud owner. She completed her Bachelor of Athletic and Exercise Therapy at Camosun College, and then further pursued certifications as an Athletic Therapist CAT(C) and Strength and Conditioning Specialist (NSCA).
Sarah uses an integrated approach to help you do the activities you love and perform at your best, utilizing both manual therapy and exercise rehabilitation to maximize your potential. As a multi-sport athlete for most of her life, she understands how important it is to lead an active life, and how frustrating injuries can be. She is always learning and has completed courses in Functional Range Conditioning®, Functional Release®, Soft Tissue Release, Dynamic Neuromuscular Stabilization®, joint mobilizations, Kettlebell training and more. She believes in maximizing human potential, whether for sport, work or play, through improving strength and control while improving joint mobility. By improving joint function, the body increases its movement variability, ultimately leading to healthier, more active tissues!
Sarah is fortunate for the opportunity to gain a wide-variety of experience with athletes competing at different levels in a number of sports. In the lead up to the Rio 2016 Summer Olympic Games, she worked extensively as the Lead Therapist with the Canadian Heavyweight Men’s Rowing Team. She also has experience working with a number of adapted including spinal cord injuries, amputations, chronic disease and more with both recreation and high performance athletes in para triathlon, para swimming, para rowing, wheelchair basketball, wheelchair rugby, wheelchair tennis, para sailing, para athletics and other adapted sports.
When not working, Sarah enjoys spending time with friends and family, exploring the outdoors and travelling around the world.
Sarah is currently not accepting new clients at this time.
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PROFESSIONAL DESIGNATIONS
– Certified Athletic Therapist – Canadian Athletic Therapists Association
– Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) – National Strength and Conditioning Association
Sarah’s Client Testimonials
After years of intense training and back surgery, my daily routine had to change to allow my body to recover and perform. Sarah was able to understand the need and complexity of my situation and provided guidance and treatment that allowed me to qualify and participate at my 3rd Olympic Games. This is a life and professional experience that I am confident she will be able to transfer to any individual she works with.
Julien Bahain
3x Olympian
Sarah took her time to assess me, went above and beyond to find out what was causing my mobility issue and with her guided care and suggested “exercised, I was back to lifting heavy (for me!), pain-free. Her knowledge of how the human body works is amazing and I love hearing her thought process! Will definitely be back for ‘maintenance’ care!
Val U
Sarah has done more for me in a very short time than all the treatments I’ve had in the last 20 years.
Bernice W.
Sarah took her time to assess me, provided treatment in the first appointment and provided me a treatment plan via email. She was very knowledgeable about my injury and the cause, and took time to explain it. Highly recommend her to anyone struggling with an acute or recurring injury!
Sophie A.
Sarah really set us both on the right track as a strength & conditioning coach during our Rio 2016 sailing campaign. She has a creative, can-do approach to adapting activities along with a detailed understanding of therapeutic exercise. Best of all she cares – about your body, your sport and your goals.
Jackie Gay and John McRoberts
Rio 2016 Paralympic Silver Medalists
Sarah offered me hope when I was running out of options. When we started working together I had tried literally everything and clearly was at the end of my rope (and running up significant treatment costs). Decades of sporting injuries and incomplete rehab were adding up and I was having trouble staying injury free and active even in my most basic activities. She provides focused assessments, clear guidance, practical and detailed instruction, and most importantly hope for a pain free and high performance future. She creates step-wise progressions and applies common sense to help me understand the core issue, address root causes – not just symptoms.
I made a commitment to working through her process – and she committed to helping me succeed. In a few short months with an entirely practical and thoughtful program I saw steady progress, a real shock when I consider that had I almost given up. I did not think I would ever run properly again, or play sports at a level I wanted to play and also feel good day to day. She helped me set meaningful goals and an evidence plan to get there. Her hands on treatments helped me overcome some of the day to day aches and pains and her vision helped me get to where I wanted to be.
It has been over a year and I am getting better everyday – I am playing at a level I have not played in 10 years and I am actually saving money as I hardly need any of the other appointments or treatments I used to get on a weekly basis just to keep me going day-to-day. She might not be a miracle worker – but she is pretty close.