Osteoarthritis and Rheumatoid Arthritis Treatment Oakville

For almost 20 years, Dr. Steve and his Oakville team has been using evidence based treatment and working with patients who are suffering from arthritis stiffness and pain. Whether it is Osteoarthritis of the knee or Rheumatoid Arthritis of the foot or hand, Dr. Steve  and his chiropractic and physiotherapy team has a custom shockwave program ready for you.

A graphic showing word "arthritis" written on blackboard

What Our Patients Are saying

  • Dr Steve and his staff are amazing. Love his high energy and enthusiasm. Have seen several Dr’s for my shoulder injury and Dr Steve is the only one that has fully explained what’s going on that made sense. Only had a few treatments but already noticing an improvement. Front desk... read more

    Steve & Angela Pinder Avatar Steve & Angela Pinder
    October 7, 2024

    Exceptional care and expertise! Dr.Steve truly goes above and beyond to provide personalized and effective treatment highly recommend

    Michael azim Avatar Michael azim
    February 6, 2025

    Steve and his team are absolutely amazing. Very efficient. Absolutely knowledgeable and corrected my issue Very quickly. Steve and team are so friendly and such positive high energy in the office. Love seeing everyone 💕

    Linda Paul Avatar Linda Paul
    December 7, 2024

  • I’ve been to Dr Steve more than once over past several years. I had severe sciatica pain stemming from lower back to right hip to all the way down to right tows. He has magical hands. His sessions healed the issue completely and now I am able to play... read more

    C C Avatar C C
    September 7, 2024

    Dr. Steve was amazing! He listened to my issues & addressed them according. He was friendly and empathetic.

    Sabrina Hasan Avatar Sabrina Hasan
    August 7, 2024

    Great staff , very welcoming and knowledgeable

    Heidi Bedard Avatar Heidi Bedard
    July 7, 2024

  • I have been struggling with De Quervain’s for over 9 months and found Dr. Steve on YouTube a few weeks ago. Cannot recommend this clinic enough, if you have any wrist/thumb mobility issues they will help you! After 3 weeks of treatment here I can finally say I feel better... read more

    Aleksia Petrov Avatar Aleksia Petrov
    June 7, 2024

    I would definitely recommend the Nottinghill Family Wellness Centre for anyone in need of chiropractic services. Dr. Steve significantly improved my back posture after two to three sessions; the staff are both friendly and professional, and the atmosphere is very relaxing.

    Rick Dong Avatar Rick Dong
    October 7, 2024

    I was initially reluctant to try another chiropractor after a series of bad experiences that left me in more pain. However, my husband visited Dr. Steve at Nottinghill Family Wellness Centre following a scary knee injury and had nothing but amazing things to say about his care. He booked me... read more

    Ingy ES Avatar Ingy ES
    September 7, 2024

What Types of Arthritis Do We Treat?

 

Our Oakville based clinic treats mainly two types of arthritis. Osteoarthritis and Rheumatoid Arthritis. Although both are types of arthritis outcomes and treatment strategies are very different.

Our health professionals develop personalized treatment protocols that are scientifically driven and backed by over 60 years of combined treatment experience.

Our chiropractic and physiotherapy team use a combination of Shockwave Therapy, IFC, Acupuncture and at-home exercise programs to help their patients with pain and stiffness.

A graphic showing types of Arthritis get treated at Oakville clinic

A graphic showing what osteoarthritis is, where a person is holding his knee

What is Osteoarthritis?

Osteoarthritis is essentially a decrease of joint space. This could be seen in your knee, spine or anywhere in the body where there are two bony joints. Osteoarthritis is a degenerative joint disease that can be diagnosed via x-ray or CT scan. The grading system is Mild to Moderate to Severe Osteoarthritis. If you are diagnosed with Mild OA, it means you can start to see some bony changes on your x-ray but nothing to worry about yet. Mild is the first 1- 20% change in degeneration or your joint space. Moderate OA is when 21% to 90% of degeneration is experienced. In this case the arthritis has progressed to the point where intervention is necessary before it becomes Severe OA. Severe osteoarthritis is essentially bone on bone contact, with little to no joint space left. At this point surgical intervention is going to be an option but treatment can help prolong the surgery.

What are the symptoms are Osteoarthritis?

The first signs of osteoarthritis (OA) often include pain or stiffness, particularly at night or after prolonged inactivity. If you wake up at 3 a.m. with knee pain and stiffness that wasn’t present during the day, OA may be the culprit.

As the condition progresses, patients commonly experience increasing joint stiffness and discomfort, especially after periods of rest. Pain and stiffness lasting 30 to 45 minutes post-activity are also frequent symptoms. Many individuals report swelling, reduced flexibility, and joint tenderness. Some may notice bony growths, while others experience grinding or cracking sensations, which may or may not be painful.

The best way to manage arthritis is through movement. Staying active helps maintain joint function and prevents worsening stiffness, swelling, and instability. Don’t wait—address your symptoms early to keep your joints mobile and pain-free.

A graphic showing symptoms of Osteoarthritis

A graphic showing a doctor holding knee bone

What causes Osteoarthritis?

Osteoarthritis can be caused by many things, but age and repetitive movements/tasks are the most common cause. However, OA can also be caused by being overweight, prior injuries or traumas, family history, or women due to being higher risk. Many of Dr. Steve patients come into our Oakville clinic with one knee that has Moderate arthritis, and the other knee being fine. After a thorough history, we determine that an old ankle or knee injury on the opposite side from 20 years ago has caused a compensation, and the patient has been placing more weight on their arthritic knee for years.

What is the best treatment for Arthritis and Osteoarthritis?

At our Oakville clinic Dr. Steve uses a combination of IFC (Interferential Current Therapy), HEAT therapy, Instrument Assisted Soft Tissue Therapy and Shockwave Therapy to help patients with OA. Most patients will feel and experience improvement in range of motion and a decrease in pain within the first 5 to 6 visits. At that point Dr. Steve will further his recommendations on footwear, sleeping position, stretching protocols and a specific at home strengthening program.

A shockwave gun being used on patient to cure Arthritis

Steps to Treating Osteoarthritis in Oakville

A female patient receiving IFC treatment for rib pain

1. IFC and Moist Heat

All of Dr. Steve’s arthritis treatment starts with Suction IFC and Moist Heat. Although heat sounds counterintuitive when a joint is swollen, Dr. Steve uses this combined with the IFC to get the blood flow moving around and pump out the stagnant fluid in the joint. IFC is an electrical stimulation device that is applied with a vacuum (not sticky pads) and helps with pain relief and increases blood flow to the affected area. The IFC has 4 suction cups, that are connected to a suction unit and the electrical stim unit. Most clinics in Oakville use sticky pads to provide IFC treatment. Over Dr. Steve’s 20 years of treating arthritis, he has found the sticky pads to be unreliable and the suction cups to provide a much better treatment.

2. Shockwave Therapy for Arthritis

If you have been to our Oakville clinic before you have most likely used shockwave therapy. Dr. Steve has developed a specific shockwave program for Osteoarthritis patients that allows them to start feeling better almost right away. The gun will be fired between 1500 and 2200 times for osteoarthritis treatment, depending on the location and patients pain tolerance. Dr. Steve always recommends icing after your shockwave treatment to help the body with inflammation and better healing.

Most OA patients at our clinic will notice a difference after their very first visit. Treatment plans are usually made at twice a week for 4 weeks, then once every 10 days. Then you will move to maintenance, which is once a month to maintain all the healing we have done and prevent the arthritis from progressing.

A patient receiving shockwave treatment for golfer's elbow

Woman showing best at home exercise for Arthritis

3. Arthritis At-home recommendations and exercise protocol

After your first treatment Dr. Steve and his team will give you at home exercises and stretches to help loosen up muscles and regain strength. These exercises and stretches are individualized for you and your specific case of OA. They can also be changed depending on any pain experienced or if a progression to a harder exercise is needed. Also, you will be sent home with icing instructions that should be implemented after treatment and whenever stiffness or pain increases.

Arthritis treatment at our Oakville clinic can be performed by both our Chiropractors and Physiotherapists!

What is Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA)?

Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disorder, where there is an increase in inflammation around joint lining. This swelling is often said to be more painful than is counterpart OA and can lead to the joint being displaced or deformed. RA symptoms may include joint pain, stiffness, warm and swollen joints, muscle loss and affects to the eyes, mouth and nose. If you are curious or think you have RA talk to your doctor or one of our Oakville Chiropractors today.

A graphic showing early symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis

A graphic showing treatments of rheumatoid arthritis

What causes Rheumatoid Arthritis?

As stated above, RA is an autoimmune disease where the body attacks itself and, in this case, it attacks tissue within the joints. This attack causes the joints to become inflamed, swollen, limited range of motion and even deformed. RA can also cause a whole body to affect leading to a change around the eyes, mouth and an nose, an overall sense of sickness, sadness and fatigue. If you think you might have Rheumatoid arthritis please see you medical doctor for needed tests or x-rays.

What is the best treatment for Rheumatoid Arthritis?

Here at our Oakville Chiropractic clinic, we think that one of the best ways to treat RA is to get new blood to the area to help promote healing. So, we get you on your own specific treatment plan of IFC, HEAT and shockwave therapy to break up the inflammation or swelling and promote new blood flow to the area. This in clinic treatment along with specific stretching and icing programs will help with your symptoms of your RA. Dr. Steve is a realist and understands that his treatment protocol is only one small part in the healing process when a patient is having an RA flare up. He will work with you to find triggers and stressors that could be causing the RA flare up. Physiotherapy and Chiropractic are an affective treatment for arthritis. Vinaya our lead physiotherapists has over 20 years of treating arthritis in patients.

A patient receiving shockwave therapy for knee pain

Does Shockwave Therapy Help With Arthritis?

Yes, shockwave therapy has become the gold standard of treatment for most types of arthritis. Whether it is OA or RA a shockwave therapy treatment protocol will help with your pain and get you moving again.

Shockwave therapy is an air gun that hits a bullet against an applicator head up to 20 times a second. Most shockwave treatment for arthritis lasts about 1800 to 3000 hits.

Is shockwave therapy painful for treating arthritis? It can be uncomfortable, but not really painful. The intensity of the shockwave can be adjusted between 0.3BAR and 5BAR depending on patients pain threshold.

How does shockwave therapy help with arthritis? Shockwave causes small amounts of damage to the affected area. This allows the body to start healing the damaged tissue. It is also the only modality that has been proven to start new blood vessels to be formed. This allows more oxygen rich blood to the injured location and aids in healing. This is great for chronic or moderate to severe osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.

Arthritis Treatment FAQs