Orthopaedic Physiotherapy: A Guide for Folks to Know if Physiotherapy Is for Them
Have you been having trouble with nagging pain and want to know more about physiotherapy treatment?
Have you been wondering if a physiotherapist can help you feel better after an injury?
Maybe your doctor has told you to see a physiotherapist so you want to know more about what physiotherapy is and who benefits from physiotherapy.
This blog will go over what you need to know about physiotherapy so that you feel confident reaching out to a physiotherapist for help and what to expect when you get there!
I’ll cover the following topics:
What is physiotherapy?
Physiotherapy (also referred to as physical therapy or PT) is an allied health profession. Physiotherapists work with people to help them maintain, restore, or maximize their function, mobility, and health. It is common for people to refer to the treatment they receive from a physiotherapist as physiotherapy.
Orthopaedic physiotherapy treatment focuses on the assessment and treatment of the musculoskeletal system. The musculoskeletal system includes the bones, muscles, joints, ligaments, tendons, and connective tissue. Orthopaedic PT treatment is also often called: orthopedic physiotherapy, orthopedic physical therapy, ortho physio, and ortho PT.
Depending on the condition being addressed, physiotherapy treatment could include:
Spending time talking about your condition to ensure that you have a good understanding of what’s going on, how to manage your condition better, and give you the opportunity to ask all of your questions
Manual therapy techniques (also known as hands-on treatments) to help improve joint mobility and soft tissue extensibility
An exercise program focused on addressing loss of mobility, soft tissue length, and improving strength and endurance
What is an orthopaedic physiotherapist?
An orthopaedic physiotherapist (or physical therapist) has focused their area of practice on the assessment and treatment of the musculoskeletal system. An ortho physio has taken additional training to strengthen their problem-solving skills, better understand different musculoskeletal conditions, and advance their manual therapy skills.
In Canada, the current entry-level degree for a physiotherapist is a two-year Master’s degree. When booking in with a physiotherapist inquire about their training and how long they have been providing physiotherapy services for especially if you’ve been having very complex symptoms.
At Wave Physiotherapy, Sharon-anne Graham has been working as a physiotherapist for over 16 years and has taken advanced training in orthopaedic physiotherapy, acupuncture, and dry needling. Learn more about Sharon-anne.
How can I find a physiotherapist near me?
If you’re looking for a physiotherapist to see in person and you’re not local to Toronto, ON, a great resource for finding a Canadian physiotherapist with advanced orthopaedic physiotherapy training is the Canadian Academy of Manipulative Physiotherapy (CAMPT) directory. Here you’ll find a listing of physiotherapists who have completed advanced training in manual therapy and have completed additional certification to become Fellows of CAMPT. The CAMPT website also has a lot of great resources prepared by experts in the field, so be sure to check them out!
If you’re looking for a Toronto physiotherapist, I would absolutely love to work with you at Wave Physiotherapy. You can learn more about me or even book a free 10 minute consult call to see if working together would be a good fit!
If you’re looking for virtual physiotherapy care, I also provide online physiotherapy appointments in Ontario. I would love to speak with you more about your needs, so don’t hesitate to reach out.
Who benefits from physiotherapy?
More info coming soon!
What conditions are treated with physiotherapy?
Common conditions that are treated with orthopaedic physiotherapy include:
Arthritis
Bursitis
Cervicogenic headaches
Elbow pain
Foot and heel pain
Jaw pain or TMJ
Knee pain
Ligament sprains and tears
Loss of mobility
Lower back pain
Neck pain
Muscle and tendon strains and tears
Myofascial pain
Repetitive strain injury
Rotator cuff injuries and tears
Shoulder pain
Tendonitis (tendinitis) and tendinopathy
Tennis elbow
Upper back pain
Wrist and hand pain
When booking a physiotherapy appointment, it is important to inquire if the treating therapist has experience with the condition that you are seeking help for to ensure that their practice will be the best fit for your needs.
Please know the list above is not exhaustive, however, I do work with all of the conditions listed above at Wave Physiotherapy. If you have questions on whether physiotherapy is appropriate for your specific medical condition you can reach me at the clinic.
How much does physiotherapy cost?
Costs associated with physiotherapy services vary depending on where you live, the length of the appointment, and the expertise of the physiotherapist. In Ontario, orthopaedic physiotherapy services typically are not covered by OHIP (see here for exceptions), but may be covered by extended health coverage (or private health insurance). I recommend checking with your extended health coverage to confirm your coverage for physiotherapy services to better understand your benefits before accessing physiotherapy care.
Physiotherapy services at Wave Physiotherapy are provided by Sharon-anne Graham, a registered physiotherapist. She is licensed with the College of Physiotherapists of Ontario to work as a physiotherapist in the province of Ontario. You can learn more about Sharon-anne here.
Orthopaedic physiotherapy services at Wave Physiotherapy cost:
$130 for a 60 minute assessment appointment
$85 for a 30 minute treatment appointment
For extended follow-up rates, contact me at the clinic.
Is physiotherapy covered under OHIP in Ontario?
Physiotherapy services in Ontario may be covered by OHIP if you are:
65 years or older
19 years or younger
within 12 months of an overnight hospital stay for a condition requiring physiotherapy (at any age)
at any age if you are a recipient of the Ontario Disability Support Program or Ontario Works
OHIP-covered physiotherapy services are only provided in OHIP-designated physiotherapy clinics. Further information regarding OHIP coverage.
How many physiotherapy appointments will be needed?
It is common for me to be asked how many physiotherapy appointments will be needed to help me get better? The answer is it depends! There are a number of factors that come to play (including how often you’re able to do your home exercise program, how well you’re sleeping, and other stressors that are happening in your life). Healing times also depend on the condition being treated and how the person in front of me responds to treatment. No two people will have the same experience as they work toward feeling better, just like no two people have the same fingerprints.
There are not many musculoskeletal conditions that improve rapidly, so if a healthcare provider is promising you instantaneous results it’s likely that promise is too good to be true.
What happens during a physiotherapy assessment?
A physiotherapy assessment is made up of multiple elements and each gives important information to help with getting to the bottom of what’s causing the issue you’ve been dealing with. If your symptoms are complex or if you’re feeling more symptoms during the session, the assessment may need to be completed in more than one session. It’s important to me that you don’t leave feeling rushed through the assessment process.
The assessment session will be individualized for each person and may contain the following:
An in-depth review of your medical history: We will talk about your current symptoms and past medical history to get an idea of your overall health and how that may impact your current condition and recovery. You’ll be asked questions to assist with ruling out specific diagnoses and to identify what may be useful to track to determine the results of treatment. During this portion of the exam, we may also talk about your expectations with treatment and what your goals with physiotherapy care are before we begin the physical examination.
Movement screening: During this portion of the physiotherapy assessment, you’ll be guided through different postures and movements so I’m able to assess how you’re moving and postures or movements that may be beneficial to work on while at home and in the clinic. It’s common for movement screening to include functional movements which involve movement of multiple body parts at once (i.e. squatting or reaching your hand behind your back) and isolated movements of the area that we are assessing (i.e. bending and straightening the elbow or knee).
Passive mobility screening: Passive mobility screening looks at the movement that’s available when you aren’t actively moving the area in question. I’ll move the body area being evaluated through its available range and I may also look at the smaller movements that come from the joints in the area. The intention of this portion of the exam is to look for areas that may benefit from hands-on treatment and to identify what may be contributing to the issues you’ve been experiencing.
Muscle and tendon testing: This portion of the exam looks at the muscles and its associated tendons. I’ll evaluate the strength of the muscle and tendon in question, and look at their length. This helps to identify areas that may need to be targeted with stretching or strengthening exercises, and helps to narrow down the focus for hands-on treatment in future sessions.
Ligament testing: Depending on the area of concern and what led to your symptoms, the evaluation may include looking at the ligaments in the area. Typically this involves putting the body area in question into a very specific position and applying a small amount of force to the ligament being tested to test how much movement is present. Results from this testing help to guide activity recommendations, home program development, and the focus of hands-on treatment sessions.
Special testing: This portion of the exam involves going through further tests that help your physiotherapist with confirming their diagnosis. It’s common for these tests to involve moving in certain ways to apply stress to the tissues in question. Used in combination with other evaluation findings, this information helps with physiotherapy treatment planning and confirming your diagnosis.
Palpation: During the examination, I may ask to touch the area that you’ve come to physiotherapy for. Depending on the area of the body, this may involve exposing the area in question and applying varying amounts of pressure to different structures in the area, such as the muscle, skin, and bone.
A physiotherapist takes the information gathered during an assessment along with your history to identify what diagnosis is present. Following the physical evaluation, we will talk about these findings and treatment options for physiotherapy care. We’ll discuss the physiotherapy plan of care going forward so you can give your input and allow time for any follow-up questions you may have.
What happens during a physiotherapy treatment session?
Content coming soon!
Do you have any other resources that may be helpful?
Yes, there is a Wave Physiotherapy blog that has articles written about various physiotherapy topics! Here are some of the most requested topics that I cover:
When should I use ice and when should I use heat? (coming soon)
When should I see a physiotherapist? (coming soon)
Setting up your home office (coming soon)
Additionally, I recommend checking out the Canadian Academy of Manipulative Physiotherapy website. You’ll find a blog that has a lot of great resources prepared by experts in the field, so be sure to check them out!
Updated: January 25, 2024
