Therapies

Here is the full list of therapies and treatments offered by our practitioners.

You can see which practitioner offers what therapy by clicking here.

If you are unsure which therapy/treatment is suitable for you, call us and our front desk will help determine which practitioner to match you up with.

Active Release Technique

Active Release Technique is a specialized method of treating pain, tightness and injuries to muscles, tendons, ligaments, fascia and nerves. Its aim is to remove scar tissue or adhesions in order to improve how these tissues function. Adhesions develop in tissues that are under constant stress due to prolonged athletic activity, poor posture, repetitive movements and after an injury.

Every ART treatment is a combination of examination and treatment. The ART provider uses their hands to evaluate the texture, tightness and movement of the involved tissue. Abnormal tissues are treated by combining precisely directed tension with patient movement.

Acupuncture – Medical

Acupuncture has been incorporated into medical practices all over the world, combining traditional knowledge with scientific studies taking place in biomedical science departments at many universities.

Medical acupuncture uses specific acupuncture points based on anatomical landmarks, to target the area of your body that you are experiencing pain.

The sterilized needles which are about the thickness of a human hair and are available in different lengths are inserted into these points. They are hardly felt when inserted. Acupuncture needles allow our chiropractor or physiotherapist to be very specific in terms of location and depth so that they can be placed into the tissue that is causing your pain. The needles are often stimulated with small electrodes allowing the current to pass through the needle directly into the affected tissue giving the treatment increased effectiveness.

What is the evidence for acupuncture?

Considerable scientific evidence supports that natural painkillers or opioids are released during an acupuncture treatment which explains its painkilling effects. Changes in blood flow due to altered secretion of neurotransmitters and neurohormones have also been documented.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) also now recognizes that acupuncture works and has evidence-based backing, and recommends it for many types of musculoskeletal pain including muscle spasms, tightness and inflammation.

Compression Stockings and Socks

Leg problems are widespread throughout the world and millions of people both male and female have varicose veins, according to the Vascular Disease Foundation. Studies show that 33% of women and 17% of men have venous problems.

If you have tired, aching, swollen legs, or if you see the beginning of varicose veins, compression hosiery may be able to help you feel better and stop further progression. Venous circulation problems can progressively worsen over time and can affect your health and quality of life.

Symptoms of Venous Disorders

• Heavy, tired, aching legs
• Initial signs of varicose veins
• A feeling of tension, cramps, or fatigue in your legs
• Swollen ankles/feet
• Spider veins
• Skin discoloration or problems
• Leg ulcer

Your examination includes a comprehensive history and examination followed by a custom fitting and selection of the correct garment to assist you with your condition.

SIGVARIS International is our supplier. Headquartered in Switzerland and made in the U.S.A, with distribution in more than 60 countries, SIGVARIS is recognized as a global industry leader in compression therapy.

Custom Foot Orthotics

The purpose of foot orthotics is to alleviate pain in the body that originates from the foot. Foot pain can have effects on the ankle, knee, hip and lower back.

Our certified Pedorthist can evaluate the cause of your pain by performing an extensive history and physical examination to your foot, ankle, knee and hip as well as watching you walk. The correct orthotic device will then be designed specifically for you and the types of shoes that you wear. After dispensing your orthotics we have a comprehensive follow up program to ensure that the device is doing the job that it was designed to do.

Custom Knee Bracing

Custom knee bracing provides external support to knees that are:

• Unstable due to a ligament injury
• In post-surgical rehabilitation
• In an advanced stage of arthritis.

The purpose of the brace is to allow you to return to daily and/or athletic activities earlier and safer.

What is a Custom Knee Brace?

A custom knee brace is fitted using measurements from your knee and leg and each brace is designed with features that are specific for your injury/condition.

Each custom knee brace is made from high-grade aluminum or titanium. They are incredibly durable, waterproof and are extremely lightweight and streamlined.

What Conditions Can Custom Knee Bracing Help With?

• Osteoarthritis. A brace can help to redistribute weight away from the arthritic portion of the knee, with an easy-to-use click wheel to adjust the degree of off-set.
• Knee instability due to ligament injury.
• Post-Surgical Rehabilitation.

Will my Insurance Cover the Cost of Custom Knee Bracing?

If you have extended health benefits, the cost of your custom knee brace may be covered. We recommend that you contact your health insurance provider to determine the details of your coverage. You may be required to have a prescription from a physician or your surgeon.

If requested, we can provide you with a cost estimate for your brace. This way you can submit for pre-approval to your insurance company, to ensure that you are covered prior to us proceeding with the examination and fitting appointment.

Concussion Management

A concussion is a type of traumatic brain injury caused by a direct blow to the head or by a hit to the body that causes the head and brain to move rapidly back and forth. It considered a mild, reversible brain injury that affects the normal functioning of the brain.

If the signs and symptoms of a suspected concussion are observed, it is imperative to immediately be removed from the activity (whether it be work, school, or a sport).

Concussion Treatment may include:

• Cervicovestibular rehabilitation
• Manual therapy of the cervical spine and temporomandibular joints and
  muscles
• Adaptation, habituation, and balance exercises
• Gait and head movement
• Activity/sport-specific training drills”

Read More About Concussion Management Here

Massage Therapy

Deep Tissue Massage

Massage techniques vary in style and in depth. The depth of a massage can vary from gentle massage used for relaxation, to intermediate, to deep tissue massage. Our therapists will sit down with you and determine the type of massage that is most appropriate for you. If your therapist determines that the source of your pain is deep within a muscle or if you prefer a massage that is deep and incorporates a lot of pressure, deep tissue massage can be utilized throughout your treatment.

Hot Palms Massage

Hot Palms uses soft sand or oatmeal filled pouches that are heated and used along with massage oil or cream to glide over the skin. The pouches can mould and contour to bones and joints to help alleviate primary regions of chronic muscle tension. These regions typically include the back of the leg and hips, the musculature of the back and shoulders and the chronologically tight muscles surrounding the neck.

Myofascial Release

Fascia is a connective tissue that surrounds muscles. It extends as an uninterrupted sheet from the head to the tip of the toes. Since the fascia is continuous and connects the whole body together, adhesions and tension in fascia in one area of the body can affect muscles and tissues in another area.

Myofascial Release is a safe and very effective hands-on technique that involves applying gentle sustained pressure to release restrictions in the fascia that exist as a result of trauma, poor posture, stress or surgical procedures.

Prenatal Massage

Congratulations! You are expecting.

Some of our Registered Massage Therapists have special training along with years of experience and can provide the most effective and beneficial Massage Therapy treatments for you and subsequently, your baby.

With pregnancy, changes to your body are inevitable and are often accompanied by discomfort. As your baby develops, it changes your center of gravity which results in the pushing and pulling on many tissues.

Our Registered Massage Therapists can address these concerns and help you be as comfortable as possible as your body goes through these changes.

Studies have shown that Massage Therapy is not only beneficial to the expectant mother, but it is healthy for your baby as well. Quite simply….. when the expectant mother feels well and is pain-free, these benefits are felt and positively affect your child.

In addition to the overall benefit to the mother and child, there is also evidence that Massage Therapy has positive effects on the labour and birthing process by:

Decreased pain in all stages of labour
Reducing the mother’s stress and anxiety
Increase the quality of your experience of childbirth

Our Massage therapist will use ergonomic cushions and supports along with performing some or all of your massage treatments in side-lying positions, to ensure your safety and comfort during your Massage Therapy treatments.

We will work with you to develop a treatment plan that will complement the care you are receiving from you other health care providers and we will be happy to communicate with them if needed.

NISA

Neuromuscular Integration and Structural Alignment (NISA) is a deep-tissue fascial technique that is used to address postural concerns or dysfunction.
Fascia is a type of fibrous connective tissue that surrounds muscles, organs and joints. NISA focuses on stretching and loosening this tissue to improve posture and restore proper body alignment. This results in pain relief, improved breathing and an increase in movement.

Swedish Massage

Swedish massage is the most common and most recognized type of massage. Your massage therapist performs various movements that warm up and knead the muscles being worked on to, release tension, promoting circulation and breaking up tightness or adhered tissues. Swedish massage promotes relaxation, eases muscle tension and promotes a sense of relaxation.

TMJ Massage

Temporomandibular joint dysfunction is a general term for pain and dysfunction of the joint surfaces, the articular discs, and the muscles of mastication (or the jaw muscles).

Commonly experienced as jaw deviations, clicking, or locking, or as pain in the jaw/head/teeth/inner ear. Common causes of dysfunction include increased stress, muscle imbalances-due to hypertonicity/trigger points/postural dysfunction/overuse, or trauma-due to prolonged dental work/hit to the jaw.

The therapist will treat the surrounding structures and progress to begin relaxing the outer muscles and fascia of the jaw. If it is deemed appropriate, intraoral treatments using latex-free gloves to address the deeper muscles of the jaw may be very helpful.

Decreasing the fascial restrictions, trigger points and hypertonicity within the TMJ will help decrease the pain experienced by the client, and assist in a more smoothly moving temporomandibular joint.

Your therapist will work with you in identifying which structures within the TMJ are causing the issues and will determine the best course of action in treating these structures within your comfort level to give you the maximum benefit from treatment.

Trigger Point Therapy

A trigger point is most commonly known as a knot and trigger points often cause muscular pain that can be present in the location of the trigger point or refer pain to another area of the body. Trigger points have several causes, including stress, an old injury, poor posture, or overexertion.

Trigger point therapy is a technique that involves the applying of pressure to specific areas of tender muscles to eliminate pain and promote circulation and ultimately to break up the trigger point.

Kinesiotaping

Kinesio Taping is a technique that utilizes a special medical tape that gives support and stability to your joints and muscles without affecting circulation and range of motion. Its efficacy is exhibited through the activation of neurological, circulatory and muscular systems. The Kinesio Tape is applied over muscles in specific configurations to reduce pain and inflammation, relax overused tired muscles, and to support muscles in movement. It is a non-restrictive type of taping which allows for the full range of motion and can be worn during athletic activities.

Laser Therapy

Our Chiropractors and Physiotherapists perform laser therapy as part of their treatment, under their regular treatment fee, if we feel that laser therapy is of benefit to your condition.

Therapeutic laser therapy is a safe, effective and painless therapy that stimulates your body’s own healing systems to relieve pain, increase joint mobility and promote cell regeneration.

The laser works by providing your body with billions of photons of light which can then be absorbed and changed into chemical energy. This energy is then used to support and promote tissue repair. It is this biostimulation effect of the laser which causes a decrease in inflammation and pain and an increase in tissue regeneration and healing. Treatable conditions include low back pain, neck pain, arthritis, knee pain, tennis elbow, plantar fasciitis, sprains and strains, tendonitis, and carpal tunnel.

Is Laser Therapy Safe?

Low-Level Therapy is very safe. It has been used for over 20 years internationally. Extensive documentation and studies have shown it to be effective and safe. Your clinician will thoroughly examine your records, evaluate your condition, and design a treatment program if laser therapy is appropriate for you.

Is Laser Therapy Painful?

Laser Therapy is pain-free. A small percentage of people have reported a slight tingling along a nerve pathway. Some feel a slight sensation of warmth. The most noticeable sensation is of the probe head of the laser as it comes in contact with the skin. The majority of patients, however, feel nothing during treatment.

Our lasers are class IIIb lasers. They are produced by Theralase and ML830.

McKenzie Method

The McKenzie Method is a system of evaluating and treating low back pain that radiates into the leg, and neck pain that radiates into the arm. It is an active treatment philosophy that involves specific movements guided by the clinician along with postural education to teach the patient how to help manage and treat the pain when they are not in the clinic.

Post-Operative Rehabilitation

Our physiotherapists at Target Therapeutics have specialty training and years of experience in helping patients recover to pain-free correct function after your surgery. We understand post-operative protocols and know the best time to start rehabilitation and the steps needed to ensure your success and bring you to maximum functionality. We have years of experience working closely with orthopedic surgeons, and you can trust that your recovery will occur in a timely and appropriate manner. We have experience rehabilitating a large variety of orthopaedic procedures including arthroscopic surgery, ACL repair, rotator cuff surgery, hip or knee replacement, discectomy/spinal fusion or carpal tunnel release…etc.

Call us and one of our physiotherapists would be happy to talk to you to ensure you are matched with the appropriate physiotherapist for you and that you start your rehabilitation in a timely manner.

Shockwave Therapy

At Target Therapeutics we have the most advanced and most highly researched Shockwave device available on the market. It is designed and manufactured by Electo Medical Systems from Switzerland.

How does Shockwave work?

Shockwave is based on the delivery of low energy acoustic pressure waves, to specifically target the affected area and produce a cellular response, causing the affected tissue to regenerate. Scar tissue and calcifications are disrupted and neovascularization (formation of new blood supplying vessels) promotes the removal of the broken down debris while macrophages stimulate cellular repair of degenerated tissues.

Shockwave is most effective for the treatment of tendon to bone connection (Entheisopathic) and ligament to bone (Desmopathic) conditions. The most commonly treated conditions are chronic and persistent and don’t seem to be responding to other forms of treatment. They include but are not limited to:

• Plantar Fasciitis
• Calcific Tendinitis of the shoulder
• Rotator cuff Tendinitis of the shoulder
• Patellar tendonitis· Achilles tendonitis
• Golfer’s and tennis elbow

Medical studies have shown Improvement Rates of:

91% for Calcific Tendinitis (Journal of American Medical Association 2003)
77% for Tennis Elbow (The Journal of Orthopedics’ 2005)
90% for Plantar Fasciitis (Journal of Orthopedic Research 2005)

Does Shockwave treatment hurt?

You may feel some discomfort during treatment however the intensity of the treatment can be modified by your practitioner prior to and during the treatment to achieve the correct level of discomfort.

How quickly will I feel improvement?

Many patients report an improvement almost immediately following treatment. This effect is most commonly temporary and is associated with an anesthesia effect from the hyperstimulation of the treated area.
Within 2-4 hours after treatment, you may feel some soreness in the treated area.
Significant improvement is most commonly felt a few days after the second treatment.
The healing process will continue throughout the treatment plan and may take several weeks or to months to be fully complete.

How many treatments are needed?

Most conditions require 3 treatments and occasionally a fourth treatment will be needed.

How frequently are the treatments scheduled?

Treatments are always scheduled one week apart.

How long will my appointment be?

The initial appointment is half an hour long and it includes a history and physical exam as well as a Shockwave treatment. There may be other forms of treatment incorporated as well including A.R.T and/or laser therapy
Follow up appointments are scheduled to be15 minutes long. These appointments consist of a Shockwave treatment and there may be other forms of treatment incorporated as well including A.R.T and/or laser therapy.

Soft Tissue Tool Technique

Soft Tissue Tool Technique is an innovative, patented form of instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization that enables clinicians to effectively break down scar tissue and fascial restrictions. The technique utilizes specially designed stainless steel instruments to specifically detect and effectively treat areas exhibiting soft tissue fibrosis or chronic inflammation.

Spinal Decompression

Spinal decompression is achieved through the use of a highly specialized, computerized decompression table which relieves pressure on one or multiple pinched nerves in the spinal column.

Patients are secured onto the decompression table with specialized straps. A computer controls the force and angle of disc distraction which is pre-determined by your physiotherapist. This enhanced control allows the decompression table to apply a traction force to the discs, reducing intradiscal pressure and creating a vacuum.

It is used to treat conditions that result in chronic back pain such as disc bulge, disc herniation, sciatica, spinal stenosis, and spondylolisthesis.

Spinal Mobilization and Manipulation

Spinal Mobilization/ Manipulation is a technique used to treat the pain of spinal origin and/or to maintain proper functionality and mobility of the spine. Its purpose is to restore proper motion and to free up tightness to the joints involved.

Spinal mobilization involves moving the spinal joints through increased ranges of motion without the creation of an audible click or popping sound.

Spinal manipulation involves moving the spinal joints slightly further than in a mobilization, resulting in an audible click or pop sound. The click heard is caused by the release of nitrogen gas which is under pressure inside the fluid that surrounds each spinal joint.

Both procedures are painless and result in an increase in the range of motion of the spinal segments that have been treated. Patients describe that they feel the release of tightness and tension and often the feel that their pain has been relieved.

Spinal Traction

Spinal Traction is used to treat acute and chronic low back pain. It is performed on a specially designed motorized table that pulls and stretches the spine and decreases pressure on the nerves that exit the spinal column. Our Chiropractor, Dr. Martin Dziak has one of these tables in each of his two treatment rooms. This table can be used to bring the low back into various degrees of back bending (extension) or forward bending (flexion) to create the angles of movement necessary in order to help with your condition. The speed of movement can be controlled along with the amount of side bend (lateral flexion). Often Spinal traction is used in association with other therapies in order to help you during your treatment plan.

Spinal Traction has been shown to have significant effects on decreasing low back pain that radiates or shoots down into the buttocks, leg or foot.

Conditions treated include:
▪ Sciatica
▪ Degenerated disks
▪ Spinal Stenosis
▪ Spinal Arthritis

Stretching Programs

Stretching is often integrated into our treatment and rehabilitation programs. Stretching serves to increase flexibility and speed recovery by lengthening the involved muscles, fascia, ligaments and tendons.

Your practitioner will determine which ranges of motion are limited and they will show you how to stretch the tissues that are involved. They will also give you a plan as to how you can do the stretches at home in order to aid in your recovery.

There are a number of different stretching techniques that your practitioner may use. They include P.I.R. or Post Isometric Relaxation, isolytic stretching and muscle energy techniques.

TMJ Treatment

The joints that move when you open and close your mouth are called the Temporomandibular joints or TMJ. Your left or right TMJ can be a source of pain. A TMJ joint is composed of the joint surface of your jaw bone and the joint surface of your skull and there is a small disk in between that helps your jaw glide smoothly when it opens and closes. Muscles that attach to your jaw lengthen and shorten when you open and close your jaw.

People with TMJ problems most commonly experience pain when eating which is often accompanied by clicking or locking. The jaw may not open and close symmetrically and move to one side, or the jaw may not open fully. TMJ problems can also be involved in headaches.

Common causes of TMJ dysfunction and pain include:

• Jaw clenching at night due to stress
• Trauma from a hit to the jaw or after a tooth has been pulled or a person has had dental work for long periods of time where their mouth was held in an open position.
• Muscle imbalances between the left and the right-sided muscles.
• People who have had braces or retainers used to expand the upper jaw.

Our Physiotherapist will perform a detailed examination to determine the source of your TMJ pain and make a plan as to how it can be addressed.

Treatment options include

• Mobilization of the TMJ joints.
• Soft tissue work to the muscles that move the jaw to remove and knots which can affect the muscles function
• Laser therapy
• Ultrasound
• Acupuncture – Medical