Physiotherapy

What is Physiotherapy?

Physiotherapy is the study of movement, biomechanics, and rehabilitation to treat an injury, relieve pain, and improve your physical function and performance.

Your physiotherapy treatment may involve various methods of manual therapy including, joint mobilization, neurofunctional acupuncture, education, sports medicine, functional movement prescription and exercise.

Shift Bodywork & Performance Care Experience

Our East Toronto physio clinic in Leslieville specializes in game-changing, transformative techniques to help you efficiently rehabilitate complex injuries and movement dysfunction. Techniques include:

  • Neurokinetic Therapy

  • Anatomy in Motion

  • Advanced Manual Therapy

  • Selective Functional Movement Assessment (SFMA)

  • Neurofunctional Acupuncture

  • McKenzie Technique

  • Performance Taping

  • Soft Tissue Mobilization

Our team collaborates on client care through mentorship to enhance communication and support our diverse client base. In addition, we emphasize injury prevention and performance-focused care to assess and treat dysfunction before it becomes an issue.

Benefits of Physiotherapy

Whether you're recovering from an injury, chronic pain, or want a tune-up to stay at the top of your game, our physiotherapy services use a global approach to biomechanics, compensation and dysfunction to help you optimize your rehab and performance.

Physiotherapy is effective as a preventative tool to create physical resilience and avoid pain or injury in the future. For those who understand the importance of being physically active but are unsure where to start, physiotherapy is a great first step to beginning safe and effective physical activity.

When You Should See A Physiotherapist

Physiotherapy may be right for you if you're suffering from sports injuries, post-operative conditions, pain, impingement, decreased range of motion, or you want to maintain/improve your physical well-being.

Our clientele at Shift Bodywork & Performance includes weekend warriors, pro athletes, performers, musicians, and anyone looking for a solution to chronic pain.

Our therapists have years of continuing education training in manual therapy and additional specialties. If you are unsure which physiotherapist or treatment is right for you, please call us, and we can help.

What To Expect During Your First Appointment

On your first visit, you will receive a 1-hour individualized assessment and treatment plan from your physiotherapist.

The findings during your initial assessment will inform your treatment plan. Your assessment includes a thorough health history and physical examination, including:

  • Movement testing

  • Range of motion

  • Muscle testing

  • Joint mobility

  • Palpation of tissues

  • Functional tests

  • Global biomechanics

Follow-up physical therapy appointments are typically 30-45 minutes, depending on your treatment plan.

Physiotherapy FAQs:

What should I wear to my physiotherapy appointment?

During your visit, we ask you to bring a pair of shorts and a t-shirt to ensure comfort during the assessment.

Do you direct bill for Physiotherapy?

Yes! During your first appointment please provide us with your extended health benefit information and we will be happy to submit to your insurance provider on your behalf.

Will my therapist bench me from my favourite activities?

Not necessarily. We want to keep people doing the things that move them. Whether it be their professional activity, strumming a guitar, or playing their sport. We use innovative techniques to identify and re-program dysfunctional biomechanics to get our clients back to their chosen activity as soon as possible. We understand how much exercise improves the quality of life and make modifications with that in mind.

Will my therapist use extensive modalities as part of the treatment plan?

No. We are a hands-on clinic, meaning we don't rely on passive modalities to deliver care. The only modality we have on-site is electroacupuncture (when tolerated), which has a robust evidence base. In addition, our treatments include joint mobilizations, soft tissue work, motor re-patterning, exercise therapy, and functional movement.