Physiotherapy (or it’s synonym, Physical Therapy) is a medical profession that helps to assess and treat physical and functional impairments, daily activity limitations, and reduced exercise participation resulting from injury, illness, or deconditioning. Injury prevention and promoting health and fitness are also important components under the ‘Physiotherapy’ umbrella.

With a deep knowledge of human anatomy, biomechanics, physiology, and related body systems Physios can help their patients to:

• reduce symptoms (pain, numbness, tingling, etc)

• improve strength

• regain flexibility and joint mobility

• enhance quality of life

• facilitate return-to-work or -sport

• promote a physically active lifestyle

• and prevent injuries

To become a registered Physiotherapist one needs to complete a minimum of a 4-year undergraduate degree and a 2-year Master’s of Physiotherapy program. All this schooling enables us to work with a wide variety of individuals and injuries, and in a mixture of Healthcare settings, including hospitals, long-term care facilities, private clinics, schools, and more. Physiotherapists value working alongside all members of the Healthcare system in order to optimize our patients’ health.

Canadian-trained Physiotherapists are not considered Medical Doctors (a clarification I often need to make). However, some additional trainings we may opt to undertake enable Physiotherapists to gain certification (and additional letters behind their name) for various special topics as they relate to their career interests. Find out more about my additional certifications here.

Physiotherapy treatments can include, but are not limited to:

• Quality Education

• Exercise Therapy

• Hands-on (manual) therapy

• Electrical or vibrational therapies, such as TENS, Electrical Stimulation (EStim), or Shockwave therapy

• Dry Needling, such as IMS (Intramuscular Stimulation) or Acupuncture

What to expect from your first appointment with Rainsford Physiotherapy?

• Tell me about it! - Questions about your past medical history, including your particular complaint, general health, and context of your life (eg. work demands, hobbies and activities, and activities of daily living), and your goals.

• Let’s assess - Thorough assessment of related body regions to determine relevant contributing factors, including range of motion, strength, neurological screen, and more.

• What now? - We collaborate on developing an individualized treatment plan to meet your rehab goals!

• Let’s get to it! - In-appointment treatment and practice of a uniquely prescribed Exercise Program.

• Homework - Emailed PDF copy of your Home Exercise Program (HEP).

What I expect from my patients:

• Come with questions!

• Commit to implementing the positive lifestyle changes we talk about in-session - I can help brainstorm ideas for this!

• Send me questions afterwards by email as they come up.

- Thanks for reading and keep looking for more posts in the future on other ‘hot topics’ in the world of Physiotherapy and Physical Rehabilitation!