General
No, Physiotherapists have been considered Primary Health Professionals since 1995. With this change, Physiotherapy services may be accessed directly without a referral from your Physician. However, if you have an extended Health Care Provider, the Provider may still require a Physician’s referral to Physical Therapy before reimbursing your fees.
If there are any immediate medical concerns, please see your Physician to assess these concerns and ensure that there are no contraindications to beginning Physiotherapy. If there are no immediate medical concerns or once any medical concerns have been cleared, accessing Physical Therapy immediately can help with an accurate diagnosis, provide you with a proper environment for healing of your injury and prevent any delays in healing.
At present, DaVinci Wellness Centre is not an Alberta Health Services contracted clinic. Therefore, we do not offer any Community Rehabilitation Programs (CRP).
Currently, our Clinic is set up for direct billing through Alberta Blue Cross (including Alberta School Employee Benefits Plan, RCMP, Department of Veterans Affairs), Sunlife, Standard Life, Manulife, Great West Life, Chamber of Commerce and Johnston Insurance (also known by Maximum Benefits). We are working with other benefits providers to allow us to be able to direct bill. Please feel free to contact our office to see if your extended health plan allows direct billing for Physiotherapy or Massage Therapy. We are also able to direct bill on your behalf to Motor Vehicle Insurance companies (as legislated by the Diagnostic and Treatment Protocols of Alberta) and WCB.
Absolutely! We focus on providing one and one Treatments with our patients. In addition to time spent directly with your Physiotherapist, you may also interact with our Registered Personal Trainer or Kinesiologist as they assist with exercise supervision.
At DaVinci Wellness Centre West Edmonton, our first step in managing your injury is to perform a detailed assessment to accurately determine what we need to focus on. Following the assessment, our Physical Therapists will provide you with a balanced Orthopedic Physical Therapy treatment plan, which may include, but is not limited to, Manual Therapy, Therapeutic Exercises, Thermal Modalities, Electrical Modalities and/or Dry Needling/IMS.
An assessment is needed to get to the root of your pain and movement related problems. An assessment allows us to identify the cause of your symptoms, provide a diagnosis, establish goals for treatment and develop a treatment plan.
This is a difficult question to answer without any context. The number of treatments you’ll have to attend depends on many things including the severity of your injury, other medical issues and goals for treatment. Following your Initial Assessment, your Physiotherapist will be able to give you an approximate timeframe for your recovery and how many sessions may be required.
You may feel sore following your Initial Assessment, because in an effort to get to the root of your pain, your Physiotherapist needs to identify what reproduces your pain. Part of your Initial Assessment will include a discussion about ways to decrease and manage your pain post assessment.
Booking a Physiotherapy Assessment is really easy! You have the option to call DaVinci Wellness at 587-635-3222 and choose a day and time that works best for you. If you are more internet savvy you can book your appointment online. No doctor’s prescription or referral is needed, unless specified by your extended health benefit plan.
Please wear something that you are comfortable in. Your Physical Therapist will need to see the area of the body that is being assessed/treated, so please ensure that that area can be shown or please bring a change of clothes to be able to expose the area. If you forget the change of clothes, we do have medical gowns and shorts on site.
The Initial Assessment may take a little while longer than regular visits. For your assessment, you’ll find yourself at the clinic for approximately 45 minutes while treatment visits last around 30 to 45 minutes.
Some of our goals with Physical Therapy are to decrease pain, improve function, improve mobility and strength, decrease inflammation and swelling, and to give you the proper tools to manage your injury at home. Sometimes, when your injury is quite irritable, your Physical Therapist can provide different remedies to help settle down your symptoms and/or instruct you on the necessary tools to help you manage at home. However, if the benefit of coming in does not outweigh the suffering you would experience in traveling to the clinic, it may be best to reschedule your appointment.
Aches and Pains
Both TENS and IFC work to modulate your pain through similar mechanisms. Receptors on our skin are stimulated through the gentle vibrations created by TENS and IFC electrodes. This non-painful stimulus blocks the entry of painful stimulus and prevents a pain message from being sent to our brain. Generally, TENS works to provide pain relief and IFC works to provide an anti-inflammatory effect.
Both heat and ice can be useful in the management of an injury. However, in certain circumstances one may be better than the other. In general, use ice with new or acute injuries to calm down signs of inflammation (heat, redness and swelling). Use heat to treat older or chronic injuries and muscle tightness.
Electrical Muscle Stimulation is a modality used in the treatment of pain and swelling, in the recruitment of weak or underutilized muscle and/or to promote tissue healing.
A TENS or IFC modality should always be strong but comfortable. Comfortable intensity will differ between patients, but it should always be pain-free.
Specialty Services
Manual Therapy is a “hands on” approach with injuries relating to structures forming joints, together with associated muscles, connective tissues (ligaments and tendons), and nerve tissue. Manual therapy may include Deep Tissue Techniques in the form of Massage or Friction, Joint Mobilization, and/or Soft Tissue (e.g. muscles and nerves) Mobilization.
Manual therapy may also involve manipulation of the joints or spine by a certified professional. This involves moving a joint beyond its dysfunctional motion limits but still within its anatomical limits. A Manipulative Technique indicates that a controlled high speed and localized thrust is performed which may or may not result in the patient experiencing a “popping” sensation that is usually painless.
The goal of Manual Therapy techniques is to reduce pain and restore movement and function to joints and accompanying soft tissue structures.
Both Acupuncture and IMS are Dry Needling techniques used to treat pain and inflammation typically associated with Musculoskeletal injuries and conditions. The biggest difference between these two techniques is that Acupuncture is based on principles of Traditional Chinese Medicine and is guided by a set of predetermined points meant to modulate pain by manipulating Chi (energy force) in the body.
IMS on the other hand, is based on western medicine’s understanding of muscles and nerves and is used in the treatment of neuropathic pain in the body. During IMS, the Therapist will insert an acupuncture needle into tight bands of muscle along the spine and the affected muscles.
Typically, insurance companies view Acupuncture provided by a Physiotherapist to be part of a Physiotherapy Treatment. To have Acupuncture treatments covered under your Acupuncture allowance, the service must be provided by an exclusive Acupuncture clinic with a Registered Acupuncturist.
Absolutely. Our facility has Physical Therapists who are certified in Acupuncture and/or IMS (Intramuscular Stimulation).
Please inform our office if this is a form of treatment that you are interested in and we will schedule you with the appropriate Physical Therapist.
Motor vehicle accidents
If you have been involved in a Motor Vehicle Accident, please ensure that the accident has been reported to your Motor Vehicle Insurance Provider. If there are any immediate medical concerns, please see your Physician to assess these concerns and ensure that there are no contraindications to beginning Physical Therapy. Physical Therapy coverage for MVA injuries may be accessed through the Diagnostic and Treatment Protocols or Section B Protocols.
My Physiotherapist indicated that I have 21 sessions covered by my Insurance company for my MVA. Why did that get used up in 14 sessions? The 21 treatments allocated within MVA treatment protocols can be used more quickly if the treatment of more than one body part is required. One treatment unit is designated per body site which may change the number of sessions covered.
No, research shows that wearing a cervical collar after a neck injury or car accident can actually lead to the worsening of symptoms. Schedule a Physiotherapy Assessment if you’ve been in a car accident, and we will help you on your road to recovery!
