Physiotherapy Downtown Ottawa

Empowering you to take a key role in the success of your recovery

At MOOV, our team of physiotherapists are passionate about sharing their vast clinical knowledge and experiences with you. They will take you through a comprehensive assessment that will include a detailed history taking and a thorough physical examination, ultimately leading to the identification of the key factors in your condition.

The treatment approach used during your physiotherapy care at MOOV is rooted in an evidence informed practice which means it is supported by the best evidence-based practices and the vast clinical experiences of our team of Physiotherapists.

Your physiotherapist will create a customized Plan of Care which will primarily be exercise and manual therapy based including soft tissue mobilization, joint mobilization and/or manipulations. The Physiotherapists at MOOV are also certified in a variety of specialized treatment options, which can complement your physiotherapy solutions. This includes IMS/Dry Needling, Pelvic Floor Physiotherapy, Yoga Physiotherapy, Sports Injury Physiotherapy and more!

Physiotherapy for Everybody

What does a Physiotherapy Assessment Consist of at MOOV?

The Physiotherapists at MOOV take a holistic approach to your rehabilitation and it starts with the assessment. During your assessment, as well as each ongoing session, your dedicated Physiotherapists will give you their undivided attention. Welcoming you in a comfortable private room, they will take the time to go through a thorough history to gain a better understanding of your journey and the contributing factors to your unique presentation.

The goal of the subjective assessment is to get a comprehensive picture of what's going on and ensure you are a good candidate for physiotherapy before proceeding with the physical part of the assessment. By actively listening, we also gain valuable insights on how your symptoms affect you in your everyday activities, the contributing factors to your symptoms and the underlying cause of the condition. This helps guide the rest of your physiotherapy assessment to ensure we help you with your most meaningful challenges first.

We encourage you to share your:

Symptoms: All of them ;) Sometimes we feel limited to only sharing the impact of one symptom at a time. But the reality is that your body does not work in silos and it is important to look at the whole picture!
Limitations: What have you lost the ability to do?
Challenges: What are the things you are doing with some struggle? What are the challenges in your life that might impact your ability to follow through with the Plan of Care?
Expectations: We love to know what you expect from us and what you hope to achieve during the initial assessments and subsequent sessions.
Individual goals for recovery: What are we working towards! This is the exciting part of the assessment process as we get to paint a picture of how you want to feel and what you want to do when you complete your sessions with us.
Current and Past Medical History: This is important to share as we need to find a treatment plan that is effective and safe for you!

The focus of the physical assessment is to identify the underlying cause of your condition and determine the following key aspects of your challenges

Physical Impairments: pinpoint areas where you may be experiencing weakness or dysfunction that contributes to your symptoms.
Functional Limitations: crucial for determining the extent of the impact on your quality of life and shaping the most effective treatment plan for you.
Baseline of your Physical Abilities and Limitations: this starting point helps track progress and measure how effective the physiotherapy intervention is over time.

Your physiotherapists will assess the area of discomfort as well as screen adjunct regions while considering and respecting your physical and emotional well-being during our process. Your physiotherapist will do so by evaluating the following as appropriate:

Global Mobility
Flexibility
Functional movements
Balance

Coordination
Strength
Postural Habits
Breathing Patterns

Neurological Screen test
Joint & Soft Tissue Mobility

By the end of the assessment, they will have gained a feel for how your body will respond to our interventions and formulate the most effective treatment plan. Your physiotherapist’s recommendations are curated specifically to you, with progressions to ensure continuous progress is made throughout each phase of your recovery. You will have a clear expectation of your follow-up sessions with us, and home exercises to get your stronger and the most functional version of you.

Various and innovative rehabilitation strategies to help you

The Conditions We Treat. The Treatment Approach We Take.

Our Physiotherapists at MOOV have extensive experience in the assessment and treatment of various musculoskeletal conditions such as but not limited to

Neck, Back or Pelvis pain

Our Physiotherapists excel in diagnosing and treating individuals experiencing acute or persistent pain in the neck, back and pelvis. Through a combination of manual therapy, exercise prescription, and targeted interventions, they aim to reduce pain, improve mobility, and enhance overall function.

Injuries Resulting from or Without Trauma

At MOOV, our Physiotherapists are skilled in managing a wide range of injuries, whether they are the result of single event trauma, a series of repeated minor traumas or non-traumatic causes. They utilize evidence-based techniques to assess and treat these injuries, promoting healing, restoring strength, and facilitating a safe return to daily activities.

Tendinitis and tendinopathies

Tendinitis and tendinopathies can cause significant discomfort and affect daily functioning. These injuries also have the reputation of taking a long time to heal! Our Physiotherapists can help you expedite the healing process as they guide you through evidence informed protocols which include exercise therapy, manual therapy, and IMS/Dry needling to alleviate pain, reduce inflammation, and restore tendon health, allowing individuals to regain optimal movement and function.

Sprains and strains

Sprains and strains are common injuries that can occur during physical activities or accidents. Our Physiotherapists provide tailored treatment plans based on the PEACE and LOVE Principles which include manual therapy, therapeutic exercises, taping, as well as advice on braces to promote healing, reduce pain and swelling. They will also provide guidance for a prompt return to activities and sports while enhancing your strength, flexibility, balance, proprioception and agility as you progress through the subacute phase and onto the resilience phase to prevent recurrence of injury.

Post-surgical rehabilitation:

Our Physiotherapists are experienced in post-surgical rehabilitation for a range of procedures, including:

ACL Reconstruction, Meniscus Repair/ Debridement
Fracture Repair
Rotator Cuff Repair
Shoulder Dislocation Repair
Tendons Repair: Achilles, Hand, Shoulder
Bunionectomy
Total Joint Replacement: Knee, Hip, Shoulder
Labral Repair: Shoulder & Hip

They work with your surgeon and follow their protocol while developing personalized rehabilitation plans to optimize recovery, restore strength, mobility, and function, and facilitate a safe and successful return to daily activities.

Sports related injuries

Our Physiotherapists are committed to helping athletes return to their chosen sport at the earliest time possible. With their expertise in treating sports-related injuries and understanding the unique demands and challenges faced by athletes, they employ evidence-based techniques to manage these injuries.

Focus on maintaining the highest level of athleticism possible.
Provide sport-specific rehabilitation strategies that provide pain relief, train tissue resilience and address injury prevention.

Temporomandibular Joint Disorder (TMJ)

TMJ disorders can cause jaw pain, headaches, and difficulty with chewing or speaking. Our Physiotherapists offer specific interventions including:

Intra-oral & extra-oral manual therapy
Mobility and strengthening exercises
Relaxation techniques for the jaw muscle.

These strategies are all proven to relieve TMJ-related symptoms, improve jaw function, and enhance overall quality of life.

Persistent / Chronic Pain

Chronic or persistent pain can significantly impact one's daily life. Our Physiotherapists adopt a holistic approach, combining various techniques to help individuals manage and reduce persistent pain, improve function, and enhance overall well-being. Here are some innovative strategies used at MOOV:

Manual therapy to decrease soft tissue and joint sensitization

Therapeutic exercises to remap movement that are now associated with painful outcomes.

Breathing and mindfulness exercises to help calm your amped up nervous system.

Pain education to better understand the signals from our brain and body.

Pain management strategies to unlearn how to be in pain.

Gradual exposure to sensitized movements and activities.

Our Physiotherapy Treatments

Manual therapy

Soft Tissue Mobilization
Myofascial Release Techniques
Soft Tissue Desensitization
Active Release Techniques
Peripheral Joint Mobilization
Spinal Mobilization
Peripheral Joint Manipulation
Spinal Manipulation
Stretching
Passive Range of Motion
Active Assisted Range of Motion

Exercises

Mobility
Breathing
Flexibility
Tissue Loading
Strengthening
Return to Fitness
MOOV Strong
MOOV to Run
Yoga
Remapping
Mindfulness

Taping

K-tape
Athletic
Leukotape

IMSTherapy / Dry Needling

Learn More About IMS Therapy / Dry Needling

Education

Injury/ Condition
Pain Management
Desensitization
Gradual Exposure
Loading Protocols
Strengthening Principles
Training & Fitness
Running (Learn More About Running Rehab)

What is the Best Treatment Approach to Acute Injury Management?

At MOOV Physiotherapy, we prioritize the PEACE and LOVE approach, which is an effective, patient-centered, evidence-based, and comprehensive approach to acute injury management.

However, it's essential to understand that specific injuries may necessitate customized variations of this method. We strongly recommend consulting with one of our physiotherapists to receive an accurate diagnosis and personalized guidance for your treatment plan.

Here are the components of the PEACE and LOVE approach in acute injury management:

PEACE:

Protect: The first step is to protect the injured area from further harm.

Elevate: Elevating the injured area above heart level helps reduce swelling and promotes fluid drainage.

Avoid Anti-inflammatory Modalities: While it may seem counterintuitive, inflammation is a natural part of the healing process, and by inhibiting it too early, it can interfere with the body's natural recovery mechanisms.

Compress: Applying compression to the injured area helps control swelling and provides support to the injured tissues.

Educate: Understanding the injury, expected timeline for healing, and how you can actively participate in your recovery empowers you in your recovery process and is a crucial component of the recovery journey.

LOVE:

Load: Controlled loading helps promote tissue healing, rebuild strength, and restore function. This can involve progressive exercises and activities tailored to the individual's injury and stage of recovery.

Optimism: A positive mindset and optimistic approach play a significant role in the recovery process.

Vascularization: Promoting blood flow and circulation to the injured area for delivering oxygen, nutrients, and healing factors to the injured tissues. Strategies such as gentle movements, massage, and specific exercises can help enhance vascularization.

Exercise: Gradually incorporating therapeutic exercises specific to the injury and designed to improve strength, flexibility, mobility, and proprioception, helps individuals regain optimal function and prevent future injuries.

What is the Best Treatment Approach to Chronic Pain/ Injury Management?

At MOOV Physiotherapy, we value a holistic approach when considering chronic injury management in which, several key principles and strategies come into play:

Comprehensive Assessment

As explained above, a holistic approach to physiotherapy begins with a thorough assessment of the patient's condition, taking into account not only the physical injury but also their overall health, lifestyle, and psychological well-being. This assessment helps identify the root causes and contributing factors to the chronic injury.

Manual Therapy:

Physiotherapists may use manual therapy techniques such as joint mobilization, soft tissue manipulation, and massage to dim the pain response, improve mobility, and function. The goal is to provide a new experience to the body and seize this opportunity to do exercises that will help build a lasting experience of lesser pain with movement, a crucial step in helping you adapt to new challenges.

Functional Rehabilitation

The focus is not just on pain relief but on restoring function and optimizing performance in daily activities, work, and sports. Functional rehabilitation is tailored to your specific goals.

Individualized Treatment Plans

Our Physiotherapists create personalized treatment plans tailored to the patient's specific needs and goals. These plans encompass not only the rehabilitation of the injured area but also address any underlying biomechanical issues, muscular imbalances, or weaknesses that may have contributed to the injury. They also address any neurological adaptations that may be contributing to the perpetuating and undesirable pain signals generated by the brain, which has become an oversensitive protective mechanism that is no longer useful.

Exercise Prescription

Exercise is a fundamental component of physiotherapy for chronic pain and injuries. Physiotherapists design exercise programs that target not only the injured area but also the surrounding muscles and joints. These exercises aim to improve strength, flexibility, and proprioception to help become more robust and resilient and have less pain.

Preventive Strategies

A holistic approach includes teaching patients strategies to prevent future injuries. This may involve ergonomic assessments, proper body mechanics education, and advice on exercise and training techniques.

Patient Education

Education is a cornerstone of physiotherapy. Patients are informed about their condition, the expected course of treatment, and strategies for preventing future injuries. Patients are also empowered to take an active role in their recovery and learn more about pain, its role and develop strategies on how to “Tame the Beast”.

Pain Management

Holistic physiotherapy may incorporate various pain management strategies, to modulate your pain so you can teach your body to move without pain. It may include modalities that are more common like heat, and cold, as well as techniques like acupuncture or dry needling. But as explained above in the education section, we need to better understand what the signal of pain means and what to do when the “pain alarm” rings.

Collaboration

The Physiotherapists at MOOV often work collaboratively with other healthcare professionals, such as orthopedic surgeons, nutritionists, and psychologists, to ensure a well-rounded approach to care.

Long-Term Wellness

Holistic physiotherapy extends beyond the immediate recovery phase. It promotes long-term wellness by encouraging patients to maintain an active and healthy lifestyle, manage stress, and continue with appropriate exercises and preventive measures.

Discover our MOOV Strong & MOOV to Run Specialty Programs to find out how they can be an integrative part of your Physiotherapy Treatment Downtown Ottawa!

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