Physiotherapy utilizes manual therapy techniques, modalities and exercise rehabilitation to reduce pain and inflammation, restore strength and optimize functional abilities. Physiotherapy is a health care discipline that focuses on the management and prevention of many physical problems caused by illness, disease, sport and work related injury, ageing, and long periods of inactivity.
Physiotherapists have an advanced understanding of how the body moves, what keeps it moving well and how to restore mobility.
Initial Visit: $ 95 | Subsequent Visit: $ 80
*Note: Patients with Extended Health Insurance Benefits can use their Physiotherapy coverage towards our specialized modalities (Spinal Decompression Therapy & Shockwave Therapy)
Direct Billing offered for Physiotherapy and Physio2GO.
Cold Laser Therapy is a safe, highly effective and painless therapy that uses the body’s own natural healing ability to relieve pain.
Laser therapy has many proven physiological effects such as rapid cell growth, increased metabolic activity, tissue repair, anti-inflammatory action, increased vascular activity, and stimulated nerve function. Cold laser is non-toxic, non-invasive, has no side effects or pain, extremely safe, reduces need for surgery, and reduces the need for medications. Effective for lower back pain, neck, arthritis, heel pain, shoulder pain, tennis/golfer’s elbow, knee pain and carpal tunnel syndrome.
*Note: Included in the cost of regular physiotherapy treatment.
Cupping therapy is an ancient form of alternative medicine in which a therapist puts special cups on your skin for a few minutes to create suction. People get it for many purposes, including to help with pain, inflammation, blood flow, relaxation and well-being, and as a type of deep-tissue massage.
*Note: $ 10 added to treatment cost.
Sources of heat can supply either dry or moist warmth. Dry heat sources may dry the skin. Moist heat may penetrate better. Heat can be applied by an electric or microwavable heating pad, hot water bottle, gel packs, or hot water baths. The heat should be warm, not too hot, and should be maintained at a consistent temperature, if possible. Ask your doctor or physical therapist which heat source would be best for you.
Cold slows down blood flow to an injury, thereby reducing pain and swelling. Cold therapy slows circulation, reducing inflammation, muscle spasm, and pain. It should be used if the area is swollen or bruised. Any cold treatment should be used for 24 to 48 hours after an injury. Cold therapy is good for sprains, strains, bumps, and bruises that may occur in sports or lifting. Apply cold packs or ice bags to injured areas for no more than 20 minutes at a time, removing the cold for 10 minutes and reapplying it again.
*Note: Included in the cost of regular physiotherapy treatment.
Interferential Current Therapy (IFC) is a noninvasive therapy indicated for the symptomatic relief from, and management of, chronic intractable pain and post-surgical and post-trauma acute pain. It provides a safe and effective alternative to pharmacological approaches to pain control. IFC has minimal side effects and is non-addictive. Adverse reactions associated with electrotherapy may include skin irritation beneath the electrodes.
When two medium-frequency circuits of slightly different cycles per second are superimposed, interference is formed which blocks the transmission of pain messages at the spinal cord level. This interferential stimulation is concentrated at the point of intersection, deep in the tissues, between the electrodes.
IFC modulates a high frequency (4000 Hz), versus TENS which typically delivers at 125 Hz. When current is applied to skin, skin resistance decreases as pulse frequency increases. Thus, IFC crosses the skin with greater ease and with less stimulation than with TENS. Interferential current reaches greater depths and over a larger volume of tissue than other forms of electrotherapy. Normally, very deep pain is difficult to reach with traditional modalities. IFC increases circulation as well.
*Note: Included in the cost of regular physiotherapy treatment.
Western Medical Acupuncture is the use of acupuncture following a medical diagnosis. It involves stimulating sensor nerves under the skin and in the muscles using knowledge of anatomy, physiology and pathology, and the principles of evidence-based medicine.
Our physiotherapists have received training and certification in Medical Acupuncture for physical rehabilitation to use as an optional therapeutic tool. The use of acupuncture points is to help decrease pain and inflammation, as well as to promote tissue healing, release pain-relieving endorphins, improve optimal nerve and muscle function.
Our Physiotherapists do not use acupuncture in ways or for conditions that fall outside of their scope of practice. When acupuncture is provided by Registered Physiotherapists, the service is reimbursable as “physiotherapy” under extended health insurance plans.
*Note: $ 10 added to treatment cost.
Muscle Stimulation Therapy delivers a painless electrical current through the patient’s skin to specific nerves. The current produces mild heat that works to relieve stiffness and pain and helps to improve range of motion (mobility). It may be used to control acute pain and chronic pain. This type of therapy uses light electrical pulses that are transmitted to specific areas of the body through electrodes placed on the skin.
While lying comfortably on the table, the practitioner will apply electrode patches to the patient’s body. The electrode patches allow the electrical current to move from one patch to the other. When the current is administered, the patient will feel a tingling sensation around the area that the electrode patches are located. This sensation is caused from the electrical current moving between the electrode patches which in turn stimulates the muscles. This stimulation is what causes increased blood flow to the area which promotes healing of the affected muscles.
*Note: Included in the cost of regular physiotherapy treatment.
The Shift Concussion Management Program provides education and training for Healthcare Providers on up-to-date and evidence-based concussion assessment and management strategies. As a result of this education, Shift-trained Practitioners are consistently providing a high standard of patient care when it comes to concussion management and rehabilitation.
Education is paramount to the effective management of concussive injuries, and is emphasized in every facet of our program. We recognize more than ever that effective concussion care requires a village approach and that we all have a role to play in managing this invisible injury.
*Note: Included in the cost of regular physiotherapy treatment.
Shockwave Therapy is a non-invasive, out-patient alternative to surgery for those suffering from many joint and tendon disorders. ESWT (Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy) sends acoustic shockwaves into bone or soft tissue, in effect reinjuring the area on a cellular level and breaking up the scarring that has penetrated tendons and ligaments. The controlled reinjuring of tissue allows the body to regenerate blood vessels and bone cells. The resulting revascularization leads to faster healing and often a return to pre-injury activity levels.
Initial Visit: $125 | Subsequent Visit: $125
*Note: Extended Health Insurance cover for Physiotherapy can be applied to this specialized modality.
Spinal Decompression Therapy is effective in treating low back pain associated with herniated discs, bulging discs and degenerative disc disease. Spinal Disc Decompression is designed to decompress the disc by reducing the pressure inside the disc to a negative value, or a vacuum.
This negative pressure gradually draws back any bulging or herniated portion of the disc back into its original position and draws fluids, nutrients and oxygen into the disc, allowing proper healing of the disc. Spinal Decompression is designed to facilitate the natural healing of your body and correct the cause of your back pain, and not just treat the symptoms.
Individual Session: $125
*Note: Extended Health Insurance cover for Physiotherapy can be applied to this specialized modality.
Kinesiology taping (or kinesio taping) is the application of a thin, stretchy, cotton-based therapeutic tape that can benefit a wide variety of injuries and inflammatory conditions. It is almost identical to human skin in both thickness and elasticity, which allows it to be worn without binding, constricting or restriction of movement.
You would have noticed that more and more professional athletes use kinesiology taping improve their sporting performance. We use kinesiology taping in the clinic everyday with amazing instant pain-free or performance improving results. You won’t believe how effective kinesiology taping is until you try it.
*Note: $ 10 added to treatment cost.
Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) is a therapy that uses low-voltage electrical current for pain relief.
You do TENS with a small, battery-powered machine about the size of a pocket radio. Usually, you connect two electrodes (wires that conduct electrical current) from the machine to your skin. The electrodes are often placed on the area of pain or at a pressure point, creating a circuit of electrical impulses that travels along nerve fibers.
People use TENS to relieve pain for several different types of illnesses and conditions. They use it most often to treat muscle, joint, or bone problems that occur with illnesses such as osteoarthritis or fibromyalgia, or for conditions such as low back pain, neck pain, tendinitis, or bursitis. People have also used TENS to treat sudden (acute) pain, such as labor pain, and long-lasting (chronic) pain, such as cancer pain.
*Note: Included in the cost of regular physiotherapy treatment.
Vestibular rehabilitation (VR), or vestibular rehabilitation therapy (VRT) is a specialized form of therapy intended to alleviate both the primary and secondary problems caused by vestibular disorders. It is an exercise-based program primarily designed to reduce vertigo and dizziness, gaze instability, and/or imbalance and falls. For most people with a vestibular disorder the deficit is permanent because the amount of restoration of vestibular function is very small. However, after vestibular system damage, people can feel better and function can return through compensation. This occurs because the brain learns to use other senses (vision and somatosensory, i.e. body sense) to substitute for the deficient vestibular system. The health of particular parts of the nervous system (brainstem and cerebellum, visual, and somatosensory sensations) is important in determining the extent of recovery that can be gained through compensation.
For many, compensation occurs naturally over time, but for people whose symptoms do not reduce and who continue to have difficulty returning to daily activities, VRT can help with recovery by promoting compensation.
*Note: Included in the cost of regular physiotherapy treatment.
