Skip to main content
Ontario Tech acknowledges the lands and people of the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation.

We are thankful to be welcome on these lands in friendship. The lands we are situated on are covered by the Williams Treaties and are the traditional territory of the Mississaugas, a branch of the greater Anishinaabeg Nation, including Algonquin, Ojibway, Odawa and Pottawatomi. These lands remain home to many Indigenous nations and peoples.

We acknowledge this land out of respect for the Indigenous nations who have cared for Turtle Island, also called North America, from before the arrival of settler peoples until this day. Most importantly, we acknowledge that the history of these lands has been tainted by poor treatment and a lack of friendship with the First Nations who call them home.

This history is something we are all affected by because we are all treaty people in Canada. We all have a shared history to reflect on, and each of us is affected by this history in different ways. Our past defines our present, but if we move forward as friends and allies, then it does not have to define our future.

Learn more about Indigenous Education and Cultural Services

Joshua Plener, DC

  • Program of Study: Clinical Sciences Residency ProgramJohsua Plener
  • Institution: Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College and University of Toronto 
  • Project Title: Lived Experiences with Symptomatic Degenerative Cervical Radiculopathy: The Patients’ Perspectives
  • Project Background: Degenerative cervical radiculopathy (DCR) can lead to significant pain and disability, impacting a person’s ability to carry out meaningful daily activities. This is the first study to explore the impact of DCR on patients’ lives, providing a deeper understanding of their experiences from a biopsychosocial perspective, thus laying the groundwork for future steps in order to develop a patient-centred, evidence-based non-operative program of care that meets patients’ needs and expectations. These findings will be integrated within the inter-disciplinary pathway of care, providing all health care providers, especially non-surgical clinicians, with valuable information for managing these patients.
  • Project Objective: To understand the everyday experiences of individuals living with DCR, to help inform the development of a patient-centred, evidence-based non-operative intervention.
  • Funding Source: CCRF
  • Committee Members:
    • Carlo Ammendolia DC, PhD (University of Toronto)
    • Sheilah Hogg-Johnson MMath, PhD (Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College)
    • Pierre Côté DC, PhD (Ontario Tech University)
    • Silvano Mior DC, PhD, FCCS(C) (Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College)