Dr. Rich Trenholm
Sports Medicine Physician, Co-Owner
BSc (Human Kinetics), MSc (Kinesiology), MD (McMaster), CCFP, CFPC, Dip. Sport Med (CASEM)
Dr. Trenholm moved to Muskoka in 2003, after completing his residency in Family Medicine, Obstetrics, and Emergency Medicine at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine.
After rediscovering his love for being active, having found an interest in the sport of triathlon, he decided to incorporate this personal passion with a professional interest in Sports Medicine. This exciting field of medicine builds on the strong foundation of anatomy and biomechanics that he gained from completing a Masters of Science in Kinesiology from McMaster University.
Dr. Trenholm's strength is looking at each patient as a unique structure of moving parts, in which movement at one part will affect movements at another. By looking at the human body as a puzzle full of complex movements, Dr. Trenholm works hard to figure out a diagnosis of what is going on and put a plan in place of how to best get patients back moving again and enjoying life to its fullest.
He not only works with active individuals who live in and around the Muskoka area, Dr. Trenholm has had the privilege of being involved in many national and international events:
2010 to present: Medical Director for Ironman 70.3 Muskoka
2015: Medical Director for Ironman Muskoka
2019: Member of the Core Health Services Team for Team Canada at the Para Pan Am Games in Lima, Peru (cycling, table tennis, and judo teams)
2023: Chief Medical Officer for the Ontario Para Games in Oshawa, Ontario
2023: Member of the Core Health Services Team for Team Canada at the Pan Am Games in Santiago, Chile (triathlon, swimming, waterski/wakeboard, skateboard, handball, and sailing teams)
2024: Member of the Core Health Services Team for Team Canada at the 2024 Olympics in Paris, France (triathlon, swimming, weight lifting, skateboarding, BMX biking, road cycling)
Dr. Trenholm has sat on the Board of Directors of the Canadian Academy of Sport and Exercise Medicine (CASEM) and is actively involved in research in the field of Sport and Exercise medicine, especially with running, osteoarthropathy, endurance sports, and management of cancer-related symptoms with physical activity.
Dr. Trenholm was recently named as the recipient of the prestigious national CASEM Community Sport and Exercise Physician of the Year award in 2020. In 2023, he was awarded the CASEM Medal of Distinction for his efforts in caring for athletes and active individuals locally, but his involvement in ensuring the health and well being of Canadian professional athletes competing at the national and international level.
He is the Chair of the Endurance Sports Medicine Group for CASEM, and is one of the podcast hosts of the Canadian Sport Medicine Review which can be found on Spotify, Apple Music, and Soundcloud.
As a big advocate for identifying the underlying biomechanical causes of his patients’ pain and dysfunction, rather than simply treating the symptoms at hand:
“There is so much more in a patients story of their pain, their dysfunction and disability in being able to perform day to day tasks for the active individual, but as well the nuances and biomechanical loads that the body needs to manage not only for the active individual, but for the amateur athletes competing on the international stage at the Olympics, as well as professional athletes who compete at the highest level who need to perform at their best day in and day out.
My goal is to not only identify the causative loading patterns, structural managment through resilient tissue systems, and the compensations that an individual has used to overcome minor dysfunctional injuries, but to work with them to rehabilitate in a collaborative multidisciplinary way such that they return to life … whether it is playing with their grandkids, going for gold at the Olympics, or trying to win the Stanley Cup. Everyone deserves to move well, and have a body that supports them to do this as it is one of the most important determinants of an individuals quality of life.
~ Dr. Rich Trenholm
Dr. Trenholm is an avid endurance athlete competing in triathlons of all distances around the world, most recently completing Ironman Wisconsin in 2023. He is a passionate trail runner, road cyclist, functional strength athlete, and will basically try any sport for the love of the game.
Note for patients:
A referral from a client’s Primary Care Provider is required to see Dr. Trenholm as his services are covered through OHIP. Clients need to contact their family physician and get them to fax a referral form, with all of the appropriate supporting documents (imaging, lab tests, previous notes) so that he has all the information for the consultation.
Alternatively, if clients are already seeing an Allied Health Professional (Physiotherapist, Chiropractor, Massage Therapist, Naturopath, Osteopath), they can request a consultation from the clients Primary Care Provider.
