Our Services

Physiotherapists are highly trained in the body’s movement and correct biomechanical function. Physiotherapy is beneficial not only for individuals with acute or chronic pain/injury, or disease resulting in disability, but also for those interested in injury prevention. In your appointment, your therapist will provide a thorough assessment of your injury/condition causing either acute or chronic pain in order to determine where the primary source of that pain is coming from. Once the primary structure(s) are determined, an individualized treatment plan is created with the patient’s recovery goals in mind. At Orca Physiotherapy, the physiotherapist and patient work together as a team in order to achieve the patient’s functional goals.

You’re physiotherapy treatment may include a combination of any of the following: Education/activity modifications, manual therapy, therapeutic exercise prescription (ie. stabilization, balance, proprioception, strengthening, stretches), IMS/acupuncture/dry needling, ultrasound, shockwave therapy.

Pelvic Floor Physiotherapy focuses on assessing and treating the muscles, ligaments, and connective tissues that support the bladder, bowel, uterus, and pelvic organs. Treatment is designed to reduce symptoms, improve pelvic floor function, and help you return to the activities that are important to you.

Pelvic floor physiotherapy may help with:

• Urinary leakage (incontinence)
• Urinary urgency or frequent urination
• Pelvic organ prolapse
• Pelvic pain
• Pain during intercourse
• Pregnancy-related pelvic or low back pain
• Postpartum recovery
• Diastasis recti (abdominal muscle separation)
• Constipation or bowel dysfunction
• Tailbone (coccyx) pain
• Endometriosis-related symptoms and other persistent pelvic pain conditions

Vestibular Physiotherapy is advanced form of physiotherapy that assesses and treats conditions affecting the inner ear, balance system, and the way your brain processes movement. Treatment is designed to reduce dizziness, improve balance, decrease your risk of falls, and help you return to your normal daily activities with greater confidence.

Vestibular physiotherapy may help with:

• Vertigo (including Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo – BPPV)
• Dizziness or lightheadedness
• Balance problems and falls
• Unsteadiness when walking
• Vestibular neuritis or labyrinthitis
• Persistent dizziness after a concussion
• Motion sensitivity or motion sickness
• Visual dizziness or difficulty focusing during movement
• Persistent Postural Perceptual Dizziness (PPPD)
• Age-related balance changes

Intramuscular Stimulation (IMS), also called dry needling, is a treatment that uses very thin, sterile needles (similar to acupuncture needles) to treat tight muscles. These tight spots are often called trigger points, which are small areas in a muscle that can cause pain and stiffness. IMS helps relax these areas, reduce pain, improve movement, and support healing. Gunn IMS, developed by Dr. Chan Gunn in the 1970’s, is a whole-body neuromusculoskeletal model that focuses on underlying nerve dysfunction that causes muscle length shortening resulting in chronic persistent pain versus treating localized symptoms. Since it’s development, there have been many programs to train practitioners to do “IMS”: However, Gunn IMS is widely regarded in Canada as the “gold standard” of dry needling.

IMS may help with:

• Neck and back pain • Headaches and jaw pain (TMJ) • Tendon pain (tendinopathy) • Shoulder, hip, knee, and elbow pain • Sciatica and nerve-related pain • Muscle strains, overuse injuries, and ongoing muscle tightness • Sports injuries and long-term (chronic) pain

Your Physiotherapist’s Training:

This treatment is provided by a registered physiotherapist with extensive post-graduate training in needling techniques.

**Current Gunn IMS practitioner/member through the University of British Columbia

Shockwave Therapy (Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy or ESWT) is an advanced, evidence-based treatment that uses high-energy acoustic waves to stimulate the body’s natural healing response. It is commonly used to treat persistent tendon injuries and other chronic musculoskeletal conditions that have not responded fully to exercise or other conservative treatments.

Shockwave therapy may help with:

• Plantar fasciitis (heel pain) • Achilles tendinopathy • Patellar tendinopathy (jumper’s knee) • Tennis elbow and golfer’s elbow • Rotator cuff tendinopathy • Calcific shoulder tendinitis • Greater trochanteric pain syndrome (gluteal tendinopathy) • Hamstring tendinopathy • Shin splints (medial tibial stress syndrome) • Other chronic tendon or soft tissue conditions

This treatment is provided by a registered physiotherapist with post-graduate training in Shockwave Therapy.