Services

As primary health care professionals, 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. Your Physiotherapy assessment may include analysis of posture, gait, and balance, joint range of motion, functional movement patterns, muscle strength, as well as neurological function.

Once your assessment is complete your Physiotherapist will review the results with you, review how your body works, and what is keeping it from moving well, and then prescribe a personalized therapeutic exercise program to reduce your pain, restore your mobility, and promote your independence. Depending on your condition, your treatment may also include mobilization, manual therapy, modalities to reduce pain, acupuncture, or corrective orthotics in addition to your home rehabilitation program.

By combining the principles of evidence-informed practice, assessment 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.

Active Rehabilitation

Our Physiotherapists practice active rehabilitation which means you are an active participant in the whole process. You will be educated about your condition, the recommended treatment plan, as well as the reasonable alternative treatments available.

Acupuncture

Acupuncture is an ancient form of Chinese medicine involving the insertion of needles into the skin at specific points on the body. It is used to encourage natural healing, improve mood and energy, reduce or relieve pain and improve function of affected areas of the body. It is safe, effective, non-painful, and is often successfully used as an alternative to medications or even surgery.

Exercise Therapy

Exercise therapy is a key component to addressing pain and injury. It involves increasing motion of the body in order to relieve symptoms and improve function. Specific stretching, strengthening, and stabilization exercises are a critical part of the rehabilitation process for most musculoskeletal injuries. Continued exercise is also an important component of rehabilitation and injury prevention.

Laser Therapy

Therapeutic laser treatments provide patients with a safe, effective and painless therapy that uses the body’s own natural healing systems to relieve pain, increase joint mobility, and promote cell regeneration.

Lasers work by supplying energy to the body in the form of billions of photons of light. The body absorbs this laser light on a cellular level and transforms it into chemical energy, which the body then uses to help its own tissue repairs. The biostimulating effect of laser therapy causes a decrease in inflammation and pain and an increase in tissue regeneration and healing.

Multi-Cervical Unit (MCU)

The BTE Multi-Cervical Unit (MCU) is the most effective and complete system for the assessment and rehabilitation of patients suffering from chronic neck pain.

Research has shown the MCU to be successful in reducing pain for people with generalized neck pain, whiplash associated disorders (WAD) , cervical disc disease, neck strains, repetitive work related injuries, arthritis and tension headaches.

The MCU is an evidence based tool which objectively evaluates cervical active range of motion (ROM) and isotonic strength in multiple different positions. These measurements are used to create an individualized dynamic strength program that is performed on the machine with guidance

At Bridge Physiotherapy we recommend a combination of manual therapy and supervised exercise therapy, as studies show this method to be more effective than manual therapy or exercise therapy alone.

Custom Foot Orthotics

These are prescription medical devices designed to stabilized and control the function of the foot and its alignment with the lower leg. They are used to treat and prevent injury caused by excessive motion or lack of motion in the foot and lower leg. Orthotics are tailored to your activities and the goal is to allow you to stand walk and function efficiently They are based on a detailed biomechanical exam of your lower extremities and foot, a walking gait analysis, your life style and medical complaint.

Orthotics are commonly the most effective treatment for various different foot problems such as plantar fasciitis (heel spurs), shin splints, and bunions. They are becoming increasingly important in the treatment of various activity related problems such as knee pain, back pain and neck pain.

Massage Therapy

Massage therapy is the scientific manipulation of the soft tissues of the body for the purpose of normalizing those tissues. It consists of a group of manual techniques that include applying pressure, holding, and/or causing movement to parts of the body. While massage therapy is applied primarily with the hands, sometimes the forearms or elbows are used. These techniques affect the muscular, skeletal, circulatory, lymphatic, nervous, and other systems of the body. The basic philosophy of massage therapy embraces the concept of vis Medicatrix naturae, which means “aiding the ability of the body to heal itself.”

In practice, massage therapists use more than one technique or method in their work and sometimes combine several. Effective massage therapists ascertain each person’s needs and then use the techniques that will best meet those needs.

Swedish massage is the most commonly used form of massage. It uses a system of long gliding strokes, kneading, and friction techniques on the more superficial layers of muscles, generally in the direction of blood flow toward the heart, and sometimes combined with active and passive movements of the joints. It is used to promote general relaxation, improve circulation and range of motion, and relieve muscle tension.

Deep tissue massage is used to release chronic patterns of muscular tension using slow strokes, direct pressure, or friction directed across the grain of the muscles. It is applied with greater pressure and to deeper layers of muscle than Swedish, which is why it is called deep tissue and is effective for chronic muscular tension.

Sports massage uses techniques that are similar to Swedish and deep tissue but are specially adapted to deal with the effects of athletic performance on the body and the needs of athletes regarding training, performing, and recovery from injury.

Neuromuscular massage is a form of deep massage that is applied to individual muscles. It is used primarily to release trigger points (intense knots of muscle tension that refer pain to other parts of the body) and also to increase blood flow. It is often used to reduce pain. Trigger point massage and myotherapy are similar forms.

Neck Injuries
You are not alone. Back problems are very common. Up to 80% of the population will, at some point in their life, experience significant back and/or neck pain. At any given time between 20% and 50% of the population will be experiencing some type of back pain. Most do not find that the pain, while troublesome, does not significantly interfere with their normal activities of daily living (ADL’s)...
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Shoulder Injuries
Rotator cuff tendonitis is a condition characterised by damage, inflammation and/or degeneration of one or more of the rotator cuff tendons. Four muscles, the supraspinatus, infraspinatus, subscapularis, and teres minor muscles form the rotator cuff. These muscles attach the shoulder blade (scapula) to the arm bone (humerus). As the arm is raised, the rotator cuff keeps the head of the humerus and the socket of the scapula moving properly together...

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Elbow Pathologies
Tennis elbow is the common term used to describe pain occurring at the outside bump (lateral epicondyle) of the elbow. The muscles of the forearm that bend the wrist backwards have a common tendon attaching them to the lateral epicondyle. During contraction of the forearm extensors, tension is placed through the extensor tendon at its attachment to the lateral epicondyle. When this tension is excessive straining of the tendon occurs..

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Wrist & Hand Injuries
The wrist is composed of eight (8) bones surrounded by a strong fibrous band that normally functions as a support for the joint. The space between the fibrous band and the wrist bones is called the carpal tunnel. The median nerve passes through this tunnel to supply the thumb, index and middle fingers. Carpal tunnel syndrome can be caused by anything that creates swelling (e.g. pregnancy) or a change in the positions of the wrist structures (e.g. fracture or dislocation)...

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Back Injuries
You are not alone. Back problems are very common. Up to 80% of the population will, at some point in their life, experience significant back and/or neck pain. At any given time between 20% and 50% of the population will be experiencing some type of back pain. Most do not find that the pain, while troublesome, does not significantly interfere with their normal activities of daily living (ADL’s)...

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Hip Injuries
The muscles at the inner aspect of your thigh are known as the adductor or groin muscles. These muscles originate from the pelvis and insert into the inner aspect of the thigh and lower leg bones. The groin muscles are responsible for stabilising the pelvis and moving the leg towards the midline of the body (adduction). They are particularly active during running (especially when changing direction) and kicking...

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Knee Injuries
A ligament is a strong fibrous band that attaches bone to bone. The Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) is one of four ligaments that stabilizes the knee. It runs from the back of the femur (thigh bone) to the front of the tibia (shin bone). The ACL plays a role in preventing excessive twisting, hyperextension, or forward movement of the tibia on the femur...

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Foot & Ankle Injuries
The plantar fascia is a fibrous structure that runs the entire length of the bottom of the foot. It helps maintain the arch of the foot. Irritation results in a persistent pain located on the bottom and medial aspect of the heel (calcaneus) bone. The pain is usually most noticeable first thing in the morning, but eases with continued walking after about 5-10 minutes. It may also be more noticeable during the first few steps after sitting for an extended period of time...

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