Physiotherapy

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OVERVIEW

Physiotherapists focus on prevention and rehabilitation. Using education, movement/exercise,
lifestyle changes, manual techniques and modalities, a physiotherapist will build a treatment
program based on your particular needs and goals.
Physiotherapists have a university level education in the science of movement. They diagnose
the root cause of your injury, pain or problem. Physiotherapy is the treatment to restore,
maintain and make the most of a patient’s mobility, function, and well-being. Physiotherapy
helps through physical rehabilitation, injury prevention and health and fitness. Physiotherapists

get you involved in your own recovery.

(College of Physiotherapist: collegept.org).

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Conditions treated in physiotherapy:
 Neck and back pain and/or dysfunction
 Sciatica and other nerve pinches
 Strained muscles
 Sprained ligaments
 Headaches and Migraines
 Weakness
 Fibromyalgia
 Post op – hip and knee replacements
 Post fracture/plaster
 Sports injuries
 Diastasis Recti

 

Pelvic Health Physiotherapists have further specialized post graduate training and must be
rostered with the College of Physiotherapists of Ontario to perform internal (vaginal and/or
rectal) assessments and treatments. These qualified physiotherapists are able to treat pelvic
conditions to regain optimal function of the pelvis and pelvic floor, bowel, bladder control,
pelvic organ support and sexual function

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 Diastasis Recti
 Pelvic pain
 Tailbone/Coccyx pain
 Urinary Incontinence
 Fecal Incontinence
 Bowel Dysfunction/Constipation
 Pelvic Organ Prolapse
 Pregnancy pain
 Labour and Birth Preparation
 Blocked Milk Ducts (breastfeeding)
 Perineal tearing/episiotomy
 Vaginismis, Vulvodynia, Vestibulitis
 Dyspareunia (Pain during sex)
 Interstitial Cystitis
 Pudental Neuralgia
 Endometriosis
 Dysmennhorea (Painful Periods)
 Genitourinary Symptoms of Menopause
 Scars

 

INITIAL CONSULTATION AND TREATMENT

At your initial assessment, the physiotherapist will ask many questions to get the full story of
your reason for consult. They will ask about your current problem, past medical history, any
test results you may already have, medications, relevant lifestyle (exercise, sleep, diet), bowel
and bladder habits, treatments already tried, and most importantly your goals for treatment.
Depending on the problem, they may have you move the area to assess your range of motion
and pain thresholds. Together you will build a treatment plan specific to you and your goals.
You will get concrete “homework” to start your recovery.
Follow up visits consist of reviewing your current symptoms, assessing the effectiveness of the
current treatment plan, progressing your treatment and modifying your home program. Suring
your sessions, the Physiotherapist will instruct you on rehabilitative exercises and self
administered treatment modalities to maximise your healing and reaching your goals for
treatment.

YOUR FIRST VISIT

You will receive a link to connect to a secure video call. Please test your audio and video. It’s
best to be in a quiet room with good lighting and some room for movement/exercises if
needed. Have your questions ready, a notepad to take notes, and any test results (you may
email those ahead if you like). Also any previous exercise/treatments plans and various devices

or products you have tried, beneficial or not, feel free to have them handy nearby in case they
are relevant.

 

PREPARING FOR YOUR TREATMENT

Please dress in a way that is easy to expose the area we will be assessing, or tight clothing like
leggings and a fitted top so that it is easy to see how you are moving. Sports tops and bathing
suits can also work well if you are more comfortable. Remember this is a secure, encrypted link
directly to the therapist and is not recorded, so you can dress/undress as needed and to your
preference. If you have tried various devices or products, feel free to have them handy nearby
in case they are relevant. And remember to bring your notes on your progress with your home
treatment program.

 

DURING YOUR TREATMENT

It is critical to have good communication with your physiotherapist during your treatment. This
is a virtual session and as such the therapist will be able to watch you perform the exercises,
however they cannot feel what is happening in the tissues. Please know that you may remove
consent to any part of your treatment at any time, and if something doesn’t feel right, please
inform the therapist immediately so you can work on an alternative together.

 

AFTER YOUR TREATMENT

It is highly recommended to “block book” several sessions of your treatment plan. These
appointments can be changed as needed, i.e if you need to be seen more often or less, but this
will ensure you have the days and times that work best for you for the duration of your
treatment plan.

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 Pregnancy

Physiotherapy is safe for pregnant women. Many changes are happening, new pains may
develop, old injuries may resurface. Gentle orthopedic treatments are very effective.
Maintaining appropriate mobility and exercises. There are a lot of myths and exceptions on
social media. These treatments are 1:1 and specific to you! The physiotherapist will observe
your movements and help you determine if continuing your beloved sport/activity is safe for
you, and if it is not, how to modify it so you can continue to be active.
A pelvic assessment may be indicated for specific pregnancy related issues.

 Labour and Birth Prep

Having a birth plan is an important step in preparing for the birth of your child. These visits are
scheduled at 30, 32, 34 and 37 weeks of pregnancy. We review the best positions for birthing
and practice pushing. Bring your birth partner to one of the sessions (ideally 34 or 37) to learn
hand positioning for pain relief.

Having a recovery plan may be even MORE important than the birth plan! During these sessions
we will also look at what you will need to optimize your recovery post partum.

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 Post partum/post natal

Ideally a check in at 2 weeks post partum so we can process the actual birth and see what
changes we need to make to your Recovery Plan. The physiotherapist will assess your healing,
your breastfeeding, visualize your diastasis, belly wrapping techniques and review your pelvic
floor muscle exercises.

The 6 week post partum green light is irresponsible! Everyone heals at different rates
depending on their biology and how the birth actually went. The physiotherapist will assess
your readiness to return to activities of daily living and your beloved sport and/or fitness
routine.

Mental health is always a concern with postpartum depression affecting approximately 25% of
birthing folks in Canada! Your physiotherapist will monitor for this at all your appointments and
is equipped to help you get the help you need. Should you feel “off” or outright depressed,
please know that this is common, you are not alone, and you do not need to suffer. We will
help you.

Pelvic Health Physiotherapy

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The one thing we cannot do in telehealth is the internal assessment for you. But, good
news…you can! It’s your vagina, anus, perineum after all so you don’t need anyone’s permission
to have feel to see what might be going on down there. ;)

During your pelvic health assessment, the Pelvic Physiotherapist can do everything but an
internal assessment in the vaginal or anal canal. As such, they may ask you to palpate your
perineum or pelvic floor externally or internally. This may be done off camera