Physiotherapy

Physiotherapy at Complete Therapy involves a thorough Initial Assessment booked as a private one on one 40 to 60 minute session  to accurately diagnose your condition from  the onset to achieve full recovery and  effectively return to sport and activity as soon as possible. We also commence treatment during the initial assessment  so you can experience pain relief and start your recovery sooner.

Your complete physiotherapy assessment will include the following:

• Thorough Subjective Interview
• Postural examination to Identify Non-neutral Positions of your Spine and Extremities
• Gait Analysis for Lower Body Injuries
• Range of Motion Testing Of All Possibly Affected Joints
• Strength Testing of All Potentially Relevant Muscles
• Joint Biomechanical Exam Detailing Joint SpecificMobility, Capsular Restriction, and Stability
• Examination of Adjacent and Opposite Side Areas for Possible Involvement
• Spinal Disc and JointPositional and Movement Testing
• Central Spinal Screening Exam for Arm and Leg Injuries to Identify Possible Spinal Contributing Factors
• Neurological Screening Tests as Potential Sources of Pain
• Structure Specific Special Tests to Identify Pain Sources
• Sport and Activity Specific Movement Analysis to Assess Proper Patterning
• Investigate Hard to Find and Lingering Pain Issues with Insightful Clinical Reasoning

Physiotherapy Treatment

Physiotherapy Treatments are booked for 20 to 40 minutes involving a component of one on one treatment, individualized exercise programs, and re-assessment techniques to ensure you are responsive to treatment.  As practitioners with 20+ years experience and post-graduate training, we are able to utilize a wider variety of physiotherapy treatment techniques  to design a more complete and detailed treatment program to promote full recovery.

Physiotherapy Treatment Techniques Used at Complete Therapy:

• Joint Mobilizations: Gentle joint specific small rhythmic movement techniques to increase joint movement, decrease compression and reduce pain
• Joint Manipulations: Carefully applied joint specific rapid but small movement techniques to release restricted joints
• Manual Traction: Application of gentle force to increase the space between joint surfaces providing pain relief, increasing space for nerves, and reducing pressure on compressed structures
• Specialized Exercise Programs: A program specifically designed for you that can involve muscle strengthening, muscle stretching, core training, conditioning, and movement control exercises
• Sports Rehabilitation: Sport specific balance, control and agilitytraining to improve speed, accuracy and control for  elite performance. We focus on each individual component of a sports activity and then integrate these components to the entire sports movement for optimal results. A crucial component of sports physiotherapy is to assess the strength, endurance, flexibility of all muscles involved in a sports activity as your potential is only as high as the weakest of these components. In addition, a neurological screening exam is also performed to identify nerve compression or tension interfering with the full activation of sports related musculature. Only a complete physiotherapy treatment of all these components will help unlock an athlete’s full potential to achieve maximum performance.
• Functional Training and Work Hardening: Training of specific activities forhome or work, such as lifting, reaching,  or pulling. The proper technique for the activity is practiced and then repetitions and  weights are gradually added to achieve full functional recovery and safe return to activity.
• Manual Muscle Stretching: Carefully performed muscle stretching by your therapist to increase flexibility and reduce tension
• Tendon Massage: Application of slow rhythmic cross pressure to non-inflamed tendons or muscles to reduce pain and promote healing
• Core Training: Exercises are performed in a neutral posture commonly involving Exercise Ball, Bosu Ball, Mat or Wall training;  movements are carefully performed focusing on postural control and stability to restore muscle balance  and proper posture. This is a fundamental component of all low back, mid back, and neck physiotherapy as it promotes postural strength and conditioning to  achieve successful return to sport, work, and activity. These exercises are also incorporated in to Sports Rehabilitation to boost performance as a strong core promotes greater generation of explosive power, speed and force.
• Manual Muscle Compression: Application of sustained pressure for a long enough time to release small areas of tight muscle. This is used in combination with stretching to increase muscle flexibility.
• Muscle Energy Techniques: An active stretching technique in which the therapist applies a gentle stretch to a tight muscle and then the patient performs a gentle contraction in to the therapist’s resistance using the same or antagonist muscle. The sub-maximal contraction is then followed by another gentle application of stretch by the therapist. This process is carefully repeated for a few short cycles to release muscle tension and increase flexibility. 
• Therapeutic Ultrasound: Therapeutic modality that emits ultrasound waves through a handheld wand to promote tissue healing, increase local circulation, reduce pain and inflammation

Physiotherapy at Complete Therapy Focuses On Insightful Clinical Reasoning

There is no substitute for experience. With 20+ years of clinical experience and accumulation of knowledge in direct patient care, we have seen a wide array of conditions, sports related and work related injuries. We are proficient in analyzing our assessment findings and integrating that information to your particular situation. In addition, we work diligently to identify hard to find and lingering  issues that may have been missed or overlooked previously.  Here are some examples of often overlooked issues we have seen at our clinic:

• Nerve Compression: Nerves can be compressed or restricted in the spine or proximally in the limb resulting in weakness and fatigue further down the arm or leg. This weakness is termed neurological weakness as the nerve impulse is not effectively activating the target muscle. In common muscle weakness, a muscle repeatedly contracting to apply force will gradually lose strength over time. In neurological weakness, a muscle repeatedly contracting will suddenly and severely lose strength. It is critical to identify nerve issues because a muscle will never regain full strength until the source of the nerve involvement is resolved. Techniques such as gentle manual joint traction and mobilizations are used to decrease nerve compression  and nerve mobilization techniques are used  to increase nerve mobility and normalize nerve function.  At this point,  progressive strengthening and conditioning exercises are introduced to maximize recovery.
• Poor Posture: A non-neutral position of your spine and extremities can cause strain in elongated muscles, adaptive muscle shortening in crowded positions, and impingement of nerves and tendons with compressed structures. As important underlying sources and contributing factors of injury, postural issues must be addressed to avoid the persistence of pain and preventre-injury. Postural awareness and postural training methods are used to correct poor posture.
• Overuse Due to Weakness and Restriction of Structures Outside the Injured Area : Structures outside the injured area can cause you to experience pain in that area. Muscles on the opposite of your body or adjacent to the affected area can be weak leading to compensatory muscle overuse of the affected area. These weak muscles also need to be identified and strengthened as strengthening is performed on the affected body part. Similarly, restricted joints adjacent to the injured area may cause compensatory movement overuse and injury. In this case, the restricted joint needs be mobilized by joint mobilizations, traction, stretching and range of motion exercises.
• Improper Sport or Functional Movement Mechanics: Proper mechanics of movement in sport and function are crucial components of any activity. In competitive sports that involverunning, swimming,  jumping, swinging or throwing,  very specific movement patterning is required to generate the power, speed and accuracy for elite performance. At Complete Therapy, we analyze your movement technique and perform corrective physiotherapy treatment interventions which include movement retraining, stabilizer muscle strengthening, and control and stability training of affected joints.

Contact Complete Therapy today as your Whitby and Brooklin Physiotherapy treatment  provider.