Physiotherapy

Welcome to RST Physiotherapy Okotoks, where we prioritize your well-being with personalized care. Our exceptional physiotherapists offer one-on-one sessions tailored to your needs, from acute injury rehab to managing chronic conditions. During your initial visit, our physiotherapists conduct detailed assessments and engage in conversations to align treatments with your goals. Each session is dedicated solely to you, fostering trust and connection. Our approach integrates exercise, manual therapy, and nervous system care to optimize healing. Trust us to provide the attentive, one-on-one quality time you deserve on your journey to lasting health and vitality.

Here are some common tasks and techniques performed by our physiotherapists:

Patient Assessment:

Physiotherapists start by assessing a patient's medical history, conducting physical examinations, and may request diagnostic imaging to evaluate the musculoskeletal system. We develop a comprehensive plan of care with you to help you achieve your goals. A plan that outlines our clinical impression/diagnosis, healing timelines, a treatment plan that details how long it will take to achieve your goals, potential barriers to achieving goals, and any other interoffice referrals that could support your care.

Soft Tissue Therapy: 

Physiotherapists use techniques such as Dry needling/ Gunn IMS, massage, trigger point therapy, and stretching to address muscle tension, inflammation, and other soft tissue issues. This is the hands-on part of your treatment in the early stages of care so we can get your pain under control, the muscles out of spasm and the nerves communicating better in the system.

Spinal Manipulation/Adjustment:

This treatment technique is considered a restricted activity with the College of Physical Therapists of Alberta (CPTA) - only those who have taken postgraduate courses, and have permission from the CTPA to perform spinal manipulations are authorized to perform this treatment technique. Spinal manipulations involves applying controlled force to joints of the spine or other parts of the body that are not moving properly. This manipulation helps restore mobility, alleviate pain, and improve function. We do have some physiotherapists at Restorative who can perform this treatment and those who are not authorized will coordinate an interoffice referral to our Chiropractor to support you with this part of your plan of care.

Exercise Prescription:

Physiotherapists are called the ‘Movement Specialists’ for a reason! We will often prescribe specific exercises or rehabilitation programs to help patients strengthen muscles, improve flexibility, and prevent future injuries. During the mid and late stages of your plan of care, once your pain is gone, we will take you into our incredible movement studio to support you in home programming, return to sport/exercise classes, and activities of daily living. Building a strong foundation to move from is one of the core pillars of our practice!

Lifestyle Counseling:

Physiotherapists may provide advice on ergonomics, posture, nutrition, and other lifestyle factors that can affect overall health and well-being. At Restorative we are changing the conversation around full-body recovery, incorporating emotional health into the physical healing process - Understanding your life stressors is crucial for us to assess how they may impact your overall health and well-being. Based on our conversations, we may recommend an interoffice referral to our psychologist to provide additional support. This holistic approach aims to address both physical and mental aspects, helping you reach your functional capacity goals effectively.

Medical Acupuncture:

Some physiotherapists will use medical acupuncture as an adjunctive therapy to promote healing and pain reduction. This falls under more traditional acupuncture philosophies and they will have taken post-graduate courses in order to perform this modality of care.