St. Vital Physiotherapy & Sports Injury Centre

A Clinic with Deep Roots in St. Vital

St. Vital Physiotherapy & Sports Injury Centre has served Winnipeg since 1986. For 40 years, it has helped people recover from injuries, adapt to health changes, and return to the activities they enjoy.

Owner Lisa Poetker was born and raised in Winnipeg and studied physiotherapy at the University of Manitoba. She has worked in private practice in the St. Vital area for 26 years. When the established clinic became available about five years ago, the opportunity felt like a natural fit. Lisa knew its previous owners and respected the reputation they had built, its experienced clinicians, its neighbourhood doctor referrals, and its many returning clients.

Care Built Around Each Person’s Goals

The team works with people across many ages, backgrounds, and stages of recovery—from infants and athletes to working adults and seniors.

Although their needs can be very different, Lisa says the clinic follows one consistent principle: listen carefully, provide an individualized assessment, and build a treatment plan that feels practical. The goal is to help each person return to the activities that matter to them.

That plan can draw from a broad range of services and clinical skills. Team members have advanced training, and the clinic offers services that include acupuncture, trigger point needling, sports injury rehabilitation, pediatric physiotherapy, and neurological physiotherapy. Its neurological care can support people recovering from a stroke or living with Parkinson’s disease or multiple sclerosis. Pediatric care can include support for developmental delays and torticollis.

Continuing to Learn After 26 Years

Lisa values how physiotherapy continues to change as new research becomes available. The way she treats a condition such as tennis elbow today is different from the approach she learned early in her career. That ongoing development is one reason she still finds the work engaging after 26 years.

Continuing education is also part of the clinic’s culture. Lisa organizes training courses for staff each year, and all the clinic’s physiotherapists have pursued advanced education.

For patients who did not get the results they wanted from physiotherapy elsewhere, Lisa encourages them not to rule it out completely. A different therapist, approach, or combination of tools can create a better fit. She says her 26 years in practice have given her many treatment tools to draw from when finding an approach that works for each person.

A Diverse Team Serving a Diverse City

One part of the clinic that makes Lisa especially proud is its cultural and linguistic diversity. Team members have roots in several countries and collectively speak about a dozen languages. Lisa enjoys hearing patients receive care in their first language, knowing that clear communication can help them feel understood and comfortable.

She has also provided mentorship and practice supervision to internationally educated physiotherapists as they work toward Canadian licensing. The clinic’s diversity also caught the attention of a kinesiology student who wants to become a physiotherapist. Lisa says the student sought out the clinic after seeing its diverse team.

Movement Matters Inside and Outside the Clinic

Outside the clinic, Lisa teaches yoga, formerly played competitive tennis, and is now an enthusiastic pickleball player. What began as an invitation to join a local league quickly became a favourite activity that she shared with her husband and sister.

At St. Vital Physiotherapy, that same focus on movement takes many forms. For one person, the goal may be returning to a sport. For another, it may be working more comfortably, staying independent, or getting back to a favourite daily activity. Lisa says the clinic’s goal is to listen, build a doable plan, and help each person return to what they love.