What is physiotherapy?

Physiotherapy is a primary health care profession dedicated to enhancing or restoring mobility, promoting a healthy lifestyle, and preventing physical problems throughout a person’s lifespan.

How a physiotherapist can help you

Physiotherapists are university educated with the applied knowledge and advanced understanding of how the body moves to help you to improve mobility, balance and posture, relieve pain, get stronger, and breathe easier.

How physiotherapy works

Physiotherapists are skilled in the assessment and hands-on management of a broad range of conditions that affect the musculoskeletal, circulatory, respiratory, and nervous system. They will work with you to develop a specific treatment plan based on assessment findings, diagnosis, and your individual goals.

Physiotherapy treatment may include therapeutic exercises, manual therapy, electrical and thermal modalities, hydrotherapy, airway clearance techniques and breathing exercises, gait and muscle re-education. Physiotherapists also educate you on your condition and provide advice on how to prevent problems from returning or happening in the first place.

How to access physiotherapists

You will likely see a physiotherapist as an in-patient or after discharge as an out-patient if you have been hospitalized for an injury, surgery, or heart attack etc. Physiotherapists are also available in some long-term care facilities and schools. There are also many private clinics in the community where you can be seen by a physiotherapist without a doctor’s referral.