Physiotherapy assesses how you move, works out what is actually driving the pain or restriction, and treats it with hands-on techniques and prescribed exercise. We provide physiotherapy at 700 St Albert Trail in St. Albert.
Most people arrive having already been told to rest it, ice it, or wait and see. Sometimes that is genuinely the right advice. Often it is what someone says when they have not examined you properly.
What we treat
Back and neck pain, including pain that refers down an arm or leg, which is what most people mean by sciatica. Shoulder problems, from rotator cuff injuries to a shoulder that has quietly stopped moving properly, which is usually a frozen shoulder. Knee, hip and ankle pain, including plantar fasciitis and Achilles pain. Post-surgical rehabilitation, including joint replacement. Repetitive strain from work. Balance and mobility problems that have started to change what you are willing to do.
If you are not sure whether your problem is a physiotherapy problem, that is a reasonable thing to ask on the phone before you book.
What happens at your first appointment
The first visit is an assessment before it is a treatment.
We take a history, which means asking what happened, when it started, what makes it worse, what you have already tried, and what you are actually trying to get back to. Then we examine how the area moves and how the joints and muscles around it are behaving, because the painful spot is frequently not the origin of the problem.
You get an explanation of what we think is going on, in language that means something. Treatment starts the same visit.
How we treat it
Hands-on manual therapy to restore movement, then graded exercise so the change holds.
The exercise part is not an afterthought. Manual therapy can open a window, and what you do between appointments determines whether it stays open. We would rather give you three exercises you will actually do than twelve you will abandon by Thursday.
Your plan is written down, and it says what we are aiming at and roughly how we expect things to progress. If it is not progressing the way we expected, we change the plan rather than repeating it.
How long will it take?
That depends on what is wrong, how long it has been going on, and what you need to get back to. A recent, straightforward problem behaves differently from something you have had for two years.
What we will not do is book you in for a fixed block of visits before we have assessed you. If you need fewer appointments than you expected, we will tell you.
Insurance and direct billing
We direct bill most major insurers where your plan allows it, so many patients pay nothing at the visit. Bring your policy details to your first appointment and we will confirm what applies before treatment starts.
Treatment after a motor vehicle accident and accepted WCB claims are billed to the insurer or to WCB Alberta rather than to you.
