what we do

Physiotherapy

Physiotherapy is provided by primary health care professionals who play a significant role in health promotion and injury and disease prevention. Physiotherapists combine in-depth knowledge of how the body works with specialized hands-on clinical skills to assess, diagnose and treat symptoms of illness, injury or disability. With your independence in mind, a physiotherapist’s goal is to restore, maintain and maximize your strength, function, movement and overall well-being.

Physiotherapists prescribe personalized therapeutic exercises, and provide essential education about the body, what keeps it from moving well, how to restore mobility and independence, and how to avoid or prevent bodily harm.

Physiotherapy treatment begins with an extensive assessment that may include health history, evaluation of pain and movement patterns, strength, joint range of motion, reflexes, sensation, and heart and lung function. A physiotherapy assessment may also include measures of functional movement, observed or instrumented analysis of gait, posture and balance. Based on this assessment, your physiotherapist will establish a diagnosis and work in partnership with you to develop an individualized treatment program and prognosis.

Expect your physiotherapist to guide you in performing therapeutic exercises in between appointments. Your progress will be monitored at follow-up visits and your physiotherapist will adjust your treatment according to changes in your body.

By combining the principles of evidence-informed practice, evaluative skills, clinical and professional judgment, your physiotherapist will work closely with you, and often with other health care professionals, to ensure that your health goals are met.

Hands-on therapy and other treatments

The hands-on care provided with physiotherapy treatments varies from person to person with a focus on the individual needs, personal health and lifestyle goals of the client. The therapeutic treatment plan resulting will involve education, exercise, and manual therapy components. Depending on your condition, this may include mobilization, manual therapy, work hardening, techniques and modalities to reduce pain, acupuncture, corrective techniques to improve heart and lung function and cardiac conditioning, demonstration of therapeutic exercise, and education about your condition, treatment plan and prognosis for getting better.

Myofascial Release

It is well-established that connective tissue and muscle structures will maintain tension as the body’s way to stabilize or compensate for another injured or sub-optimally functioning joint or muscle. To be effective over the longer-term, treatments need to address these compensations as well as the original injuries for which the body has to stabilize and compensate.

As a treatment technique, Myofascial Release is based on recognizing anatomical interdependencies. Myofascial Release techniques involve not only treatment of the stiff or painful area; they include stretching and compression of surrounding skeletal and muscular areas. Myofascial Release involves stretches and compressions, applied with gentle pressure, that are held until the restriction releases. While the pressure used during treatment may be gentle, sometimes when tissue is sensitive it is felt as an intense stretch, but it is never done beyond a client’s tolerance.

At Newell Physiotherapy, therapists use Myofascial Release as a part of our repertoire of hands-on techniques which complement evidence-based and patient-centered approach to physiotherapy. Our therapists do not consider Myofascial Release—or any other particular technique—as a “cure all”. We do believe that is a safe and gentle technique which, when applied under clinically appropriate circumstances, can be very effective toward improving mobility and alleviating pain. As with any physiotherapy treatment, exercises and home stretching are essential complements to Myofascial Release techniques.

Women’s Health Treatments

Pelvic floor physiotherapy involves the assessment and treatment of a variety of conditions associated with pelvi-perineal areas. Common dysfunctions of the pelvic floor include incontinence pelvic pain, pain with intercourse, and pelvic organ prolapse. Our physiotherapists with specialized training in pelvic floor physiotherapy work with patients to help them understand dysfunction and  rehabilitate the pelvic floor through a variety of internal and external manual techniques, biofeedback, and an individualized home exercise program.

All treatments are Newell Physiotherapy are provided in private rooms with a therapist who works with one-on-one with each patient for the duration of your treatment.

Urinary Incontinence

Women of any age, whether pre- or post-partum; peri-menopausal or menopausal; can suffer from urinary incontinence.  For women experiencing urinary incontinence, it profoundly affects their quality of life yet can be cured, managed or treated. Recent literature has proven that physiotherapy is a very effective for urinary incontinence. Pelvic floor physiotherapy involves a combination of:

  • manual “hands-on” therapy to restore normal pelvic floor muscle tone,

  • contractility/strength, and motor control;

  • internal biofeedback to increase ease of localizing and retraining pelvic floor



    musculature;

  • education; and

  • individualized home exercise programs to optimize results.

At Newell Physiotherapy, we prepare individualized treatment plans for all our clients. Our pelvic floor treatments are provided during hour-long appointments and will be one-on-one between the client and her physiotherapist. Treatments take place in private rooms and we offer bilingual services.

Other women’s health treatments

Beginning in September 2011, our therapists will be providing additional women's health treatments for conditions including:

  • Pelvic pain/vaginismus/vulvodynia

  • Lymphedema

  • Post-mastectomy scarring and pain

  • Cystic breasts

  • Interstitial cystitis

  • Endometriosis

  • Menstrual pain

  • Pregnancy-related conditions: SI joint dysfunction, coccydynia, constipation,



    and conditioning to return to activities

Acupuncture and Dry Needling

Acupuncture involves the insertion of fine, sterile acupuncture needles into acupuncture points. Acupuncture has been proven to decrease pain and some types of nausea. Dry needling is a similar technique involving the use of needles which are inserted at trigger points (which are not necessarily traditional acupuncture points). At Newell Physiotherapy, acupuncture and dry needling are typically used in conjunction with other treatment techniques, depending on the individual client’s needs.

Exercise therapies

Physiotherapists prescribe therapeutic exercises to combat the physiological effects of bed rest and immobility, or to improve range of motion, muscle strength, posture and gait. A therapeutic exercise program will be designed to address your individual health concern, and may involve exercises that can be done at home, or in a gym, pool, or at the clinic.

To assist your recovery or maintain your functional independence, your physiotherapist may prescribe assistive mobility devices such as walkers, crutches or canes.

Credits: Includes content adapted from the Canadian Physiotherapy Association