healthUpdated

About healthUpdated and Lisa Jasper, PT, PhD

healthUpdated is the virtual practice of Lisa Jasper, PT, PhD, providing virtual physiotherapy to Alberta residents. Lisa has over 30 years of experience in clinical practice, research, and teaching health professionals. The practice was created to make evidence-informed physiotherapy and healthcare support easier to access, understand, and apply in everyday life.

Portrait of Lisa Jasper, physiotherapist and University of Alberta adjunct professor

About Lisa

Lisa Jasper, PT, PhD is a physiotherapist, researcher, and educator with more than 30 years of experience in rehabilitation, chronic pain, osteoarthritis, joint replacement, and physical activity.

Much of her clinical work has taken place in rural and multidisciplinary settings, including chronic pain programs where physiotherapists, physicians, and other healthcare providers work together. Throughout her career, Lisa has been interested in a simple but important question: why do some people recover well while others continue to struggle, and what can rehabilitation do to improve that?

That question has shaped both her clinical practice and her research.

Lisa completed a master’s degree examining chronic pain mechanisms and a PhD in Rehabilitation Science focused on physical activity in older adults following total knee replacement. Her subsequent research has included published work in the areas of chronic pain, osteoarthritis, hip and knee replacements, rheumatoid arthritis, physical activity, rehabilitation, and access to care.

Today, Lisa continues to combine clinical practice, teaching, and research. She works directly with patients, teaches healthcare professionals about pain management and rehabilitation, and contributes to research aimed at improving how care is delivered and understood.

A practical, evidence-based approach

Lisa believes good rehabilitation should do more than provide exercises. Patients need clear information, realistic guidance, and a plan that makes sense for their own life.

Her approach focuses on helping people understand what is happening, identify the factors that can be changed, and build practical strategies around the activities that matter most to them.

For someone living with persistent pain, that may mean learning how to manage flare-ups, pace and progress activity, build confidence in movement, and return to meaningful activities.

For someone living with hip or knee osteoarthritis, it may mean improving strength and mobility, understanding treatment options, staying active while waiting for surgery, preparing for joint replacement, or working toward specific goals after surgery.

The goal is not simply to treat a diagnosis. It is to help each person function better, feel more confident managing their health, and do more of what matters to them.

Creating healthUpdated

Lisa created healthUpdated to make focused, evidence-informed physiotherapy and healthcare support easier to access, understand, and use in everyday life.

Virtual care allows patients to receive individualized guidance without needing to live close to a specialized clinic. It also creates an opportunity to focus on education, self-management, exercise progression, and the day-to-day decisions that are an important part of managing long-term conditions.

Within healthUpdated, Lisa and her team have developed programs including painUpdated for people living with persistent pain and arthritisUpdated for people living with hip and knee osteoarthritis or preparing for joint replacement.

Each program brings together current research, practical rehabilitation strategies, and individualized physiotherapy care.

Common questions about virtual physiotherapy

A team approach

The programs are delivered by physiotherapists who share a strong interest in the populations they work with and in providing evidence-based, patient-centred care.

The team understands that no two people have exactly the same symptoms, goals, concerns, lifestyle, or previous experiences with healthcare. Treatment is therefore tailored to the individual rather than delivered as a one-size-fits-all program.

The programs reflect current evidence while remaining practical, understandable, and relevant to everyday life.

Teaching and research

Alongside her clinical work, Lisa has extensive experience teaching physiotherapists and other healthcare professionals about chronic pain, rehabilitation, and evidence-based care.

Her academic work has included graduate-level teaching in pain management, mentorship of healthcare professionals, and research focused on improving rehabilitation and understanding how people recover and function with chronic health conditions.

This combination of clinical experience, teaching, and research continues to shape the programs offered through healthUpdated.

Credentials

Practicing physiotherapist since 1995: registered with the College of Physiotherapists of Alberta; certifications in manual therapy, acupuncture, and case management
PhD in Rehabilitation Science, University of Alberta (2020): thesis on measuring physical activity in older adults following total knee arthroplasty
MSc, University of Manitoba (2007): chronic pain mechanisms
Adjunct Professor & Lecturer, Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine (Physical Therapy), University of Alberta: coordinates the Certificate in Pain Management; teaches graduate courses on the multidimensional nature of pain and management of clinical pain conditions
Coordinated UAlberta’s rural satellite MScPT program (Camrose), 2011–2020: a decade of delivering physiotherapy education remotely
Member: Pain Society of Alberta, Canadian Pain Society, Canadian Physiotherapy Association, World Physiotherapy

Selected publications

“Risk factors for revision of total knee arthroplasty: a scoping review”, BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders, 2016
“Validity of Tools to Measure Physical Activity in Older Adults Following Total Knee Arthroplasty”, Journal of Aging & Physical Activity, 2021
“Stationary Behavior and the Step-Defined Sedentary Lifestyle Index in Older Adults After Total Knee Arthroplasty”, Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 2021
“Supporting Rehabilitation of Rural Patients Receiving Total Knee Arthroplasty Through Physical Activity”, ACR Open Rheumatology, 2022
Additional published work on pain mechanisms, chronic pain programs, whiplash, and arthritis care access, in European Journal of Pain, Scandinavian Journal of Pain, BMC Health Services Research, and others

Full publication record: ORCID 0000-0002-6671-4466.

What patients can expect

Patients working with Lisa and the healthUpdated team can expect care that is:

  • Individualized to their goals, symptoms, and circumstances
  • Based on current research and rehabilitation best practices
  • Practical and realistic for everyday life
  • Focused on building confidence and independence
  • Collaborative, with time to ask questions and understand options
  • Designed to help people stay active and participate in the things that matter most to them

At the centre of Lisa’s work is the belief that people should have access to reliable information, thoughtful guidance and collaboration, and practical tools that help them take an active role in their own health.

Appointments

New patients start with a free 15-minute program-information call covering how the service works, what it includes, and whether it fits your situation.

arthritisUpdated interest form painUpdated interest form

Or email lisa@myhealthupdated.com