Question 1

Do I need a doctor's referral to go to physio?

Accepted Answer

No, you do not need a doctor/physician's referral. However, if you have health care benefits, some insurance companies require a doctor's referral for them to accept your claim.
Each provider will have a unique College of Physical Therapists of British Columbia registration number that must be present on your receipt. Your insurance company will want this number to make sure you are seeing a properly registered professional.
 
Did you know… you can choose which clinic to go to. It does not have to be the clinic on the referral pad!! Most of the time, it is simply the first referral pad the doctor pulls out that they fill out. You are free to go and see any physiotherapist, at any clinic you like! Or better yet, have New Leaf Physio come to your house.

Question 2

Does New Leaf Physio contact my family doctor?

Accepted Answer

At the request of our client, giving NLP consent to share medical information with your family doctor, we will share your assessment results and give regular, every 5-10 treatments, updates as well as a discharge report. We do this because the more your family doctor knows of your journey, the better equipped they are to help you along the way.

Question 3

Do you cover ICBC and WorkSafe BC claims?

Accepted Answer

New Leaf Physiotherapy does not cover ICBC or WorkSafe BC claims.

Question 4

I just had surgery. Can physio help me to get moving again?

Accepted Answer

Absolutely! The amount of time after surgery to get moving can be quite variable. Some surgeries require bedrest for a couple of days after and other types of surgery you can get up that day, postoperative day 0 (zero), or the day after, postoperative day 1. This is done by the physiotherapists in the hospital. After you are discharged and go home, if you have having problems getting around, having muscle weakness and balance issues it would be beneficial to have NLP come to your home to assess you. Some muscle strengthening can occur right away, after a knee or hip replacement. Other times, after an abdominal surgery, you should wait a few weeks to make sure the incision heals, before starting to activate the muscles in the area.

Question 5

How long does it usually take once I call, to get an appointment?"

Accepted Answer

We strive to see you as soon as possible. The majority of the time we can book a new client in within a week.

Question 6

What should I wear to my assessment?

Accepted Answer

When assessing a body part it is best practice to be able to see the body part move. If it is a lower body injury wearing shorts in encouraged. If it is an upper body injury, then wearing a tank top would be beneficial. In addition, wearing long hair in a pony tail is helpful for neck, upper back and shoulder assesses.

Question 7

How long is each visit?

Accepted Answer

The first visit is with a medical history, assessment and first treatment, typically is between 45 – 75 minutes.

Follow up visits, which include a reassessment of the area and discuss of what worked and what needs to be modified as well as treatment is between 30-60 minutes.

Question 8

How many visits will I need?

Accepted Answer

This is highly variable. You may need one visit or you may need months of care. It depends on your diagnosis, the severity of your impairments, and numerous other factors. You will be re-evaluated at most visits and when you see your doctor, we will provide you with a progress report with our recommendations, if you like, see above.

Question 9

I get confused about all the information on using cold vs. heat. Is there a simple way to remember?

Accepted Answer

Yes, I think there is a simple way to remember. If you have injured yourself very recently, within the past 96 hours, 4 days, you should use cold. Cold/ice should be left on no more than 10-15 minutes. The cold should be wrapped in a towel or some other barrier between the skin and cold pack. After 15-20 minutes, the body recognizes that the cold/ice is on an actually INCREASE the blood flow to the area to limited any potential damage done by the cold. Remember that cold/ice penetrates the skin deeper than heat. With cold you get vasoconstriction, fancy word for decreased blood vessel size, with less blood flow to the area, less warmth going to the area, cold goes deeper into the body.
 
Basically, any other time, you should be safe to use heat. Heat does not penetrate the body as deeply. If you have even put a hot pack on your leg and taken it off, you can see a red silhouette of the hot pack. That red silhouette is where the body has increased the blood flow to absorb the heat given to that area on the body, so the skin does not burn. Heat with only typically penetrate to ¼ of an inch, deep. That is it. You will increase the temperature of your muscles more with a 10 minute walk than 15 minutes of a hot pack. People like hot packs more because the packs given them a sense of relaxation as well, which will help with tight muscles and muscle spasm.
One exception, if you think you have an infection, i.e. you fell and scraped your knee and the next day it is swollen and painful. I would recommend you see a doctor first before doing either. If it turns out to be an infection in the joint, putting on hot or cold could cause permanent damage to the joint. Best to be started on antibiotics, asap.

Question 10

What is the difference between physiotherapy and physical therapy?

Accepted Answer

There is no difference, two different ways to say the same thing. Physiotherapy is more of an English and Canadian terms. While physical therapist is more of an American used term.
The same can be said for the term physiotherapist and physical therapist.

Question 11

How does a physical therapist differ from a chiropractor?

Accepted Answer

Physical therapists are university educated healthcare professionals. They are concerned with movement. What moves on the client, what moves too much, what does not move enough. We are concerned with how this movement/lack of movement/too much movement contributes to the discomfort the client is feeling.

Chiropractors are college educated alternative healthcare professionals. Chiropractors are more concerned with alignment. Chiropractors usually order x-rays or different types of scans to look for the alignment of the spine. They look at how the alignment of the spine is comparable to the client's symptoms.

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