Your First Visit at Willow Park Village Chiropractic & Wellness
Book your appointment online, or give us a call during business hours at (403) 278-5350 and we'll be happy to assist you.
After booking your appointment, you'll receive an email request to complete your electronic patient form. If you'd prefer to complete your form on paper, we'll ask that you arrive 15 minutes before your appointment time.
We are located in Willow Park Village Mall, in the South section (next to Caesar's Steakhouse). Click the icon above to be directed to our location on Google Maps.
Your First Chiropractic Appointment
consultation
You'll have a consultation to discuss your health-related problems, concerns, and potential treatment options. This initial visit is designed for your chiropractor to learn more about you, your condition, and expectations to determine how chiropractic care can meet your goals.
examination
After your consultation, your chiropractor will perform a complete examination testing your reflexes and flexibility. Other standard neurological, orthopaedic, postural, and physical tests will be performed as well.
treatment
At the conclusion of this initial appointment, you can choose to proceed with your first treatment. This may include spinal adjustments, physical therapy, and/or soft tissue massage. Treatment is interactive, so you can express concerns about the different styles of treatment anytime.
Your Chiropractic Journey
1. Health history & initial exam
The first step on your path to wellness is to complete a detailed health history and lifestyle analysis. You’ll also receive a structural and functional assessment of your body and spine mechanics which could benefit you in the following ways:
- Improve movement in your neck, shoulders, back and hips
- Improve your posture
- Provide relief from headaches, neck and back pain
- Help you prevent work-related muscle and joint injuries
- Relieve repetitive strain injuries
- Help enhance your athletic performance
- Provide relief from whiplash
- Improve your flexibility
- Relieve pregnancy-related back pain
- Help correct gait and foot problems
2. Personalized wellness plan
From there, we will present you with a diagnosis, and a plan moving forward. Your personalized care plan will include your schedule for chiropractic care, lifestyle tips, prescribed home care exercises, and potentially massage therapy, traditional acupuncture or cold laser therapy to complement your care. All perfectly designed to help you reach your health goals. If agreed upon, treatment will begin during the first visit.
3. Reassessments
After the initial visit there can be many ways to proceed. Some people could present new injuries or ailments which should be addressed on subsequent visits. The patient is encouraged to share all other health concerns during these visits to include them in their overall health profile in order to better address the whole person. Some people might require 1 to 3 treatment sessions to achieve their goals and some might require and benefit from longer term ongoing care depending on their particular phase of care.
Phases of Care
relief care
Acute injuries, low back strains/spasms, rib sprains and neck tweaks might be resolved in a matter of days or weeks until the patient feels “back to normal”. This phase of care can be termed “putting out the fire”.
corrective care
“Putting out the fire” might be the easiest part of care, however chances of a condition recurring are high so it is necessary to continue receiving care for a time even when your symptoms are gone. During this phase, treatment frequency will likely decrease and you may begin doing exercises and stretches to stabilize healing. Flare-ups are common in this phase so don’t be discouraged. Depending on the severity of injury and how long you have been suffering, the phase of care could last anywhere from a few months to a few years.
wellness care
Once your body has fully healed, routine chiropractic care can help ensure that your physical problems do not return, and keep your body in optimal condition. Just like continuing an exercise program and eating well in order to sustain the benefits of exercise and proper diet, it is helpful to continue chiropractic care to ensure the health of your musculoskeletal system. When you make routine chiropractic care a part of your lifestyle, you can avoid many of the aches and pains that so many people suffer through, your joints can last longer and you will be able to engage in more of the activities you love.
Insurance FAQ
Yes, we do! Every plan is different, so please make sure that your plan allows direct billing, and that you are aware of the extent of your coverage. Chiropractic, massage, and acupuncture are all designated under the paramedical section.
If the claim is not approved to “pay the clinic” we change the claim to “Pay the insured member”, collect payment and then the insurance company pays the member once the claim is processed.
Claims that are not immediately approved online can sometimes be subject to an audit. Once the insurance company audits you, they will not send payment to our clinic and will send payment directly to you instead.
We direct bill to the following for Chiro, Massage and Acupuncture, but not limited to:
- Alberta Blue Cross
- Alberta School Employee Benefit Plan (ASEBP)
- Canada Life (formerly Great West Life)
- Chambers of Commerce Group Insurance
- ClaimSecure
- Desjardins
- GroupHealth
- GroupSource
- Johnson Inc.
- Johnston Group Inc.
- Industrial Alliance
- Manion
- Manulife
- Maximum Benefit
- RWAM
- Sunlife
- GreenShield
- SSQ Insurance
- Empire Life
- Equitable Life
We also direct bill to the following companies for chiropractic treatment only:
- Medavie Blue Cross (Blue Cross)
- Veterans Affairs (VET)
- Canadian Armed Forces (CAF)
- Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP)
Unfortunately, no. Insurance companies keep that information confidential. You can, however, easily check that information for yourself by calling your insurance company, checking their website, or asking your employer. We can track the amount billed to the insurance company to give you an idea of when your limits will be reached.
All we need is your date of birth and your prescription card, which will have your ID number, group number, and section number on it. It is also helpful if you can let us know what your coverage is: what percentage of each visit is covered, the maximum dollar amount allowed annually, etc.
For patients covered under two plans, typically we bill both insurance plans. We bill the primary plan first, and the remaining amount to their secondary plan.
Sometimes, the secondary company will request to see the Explanation of Benefits (EOB) from the primary plan before processing the remaining amount. In this case, we will provide the plan member with the EOB, and official receipt so they can manually submit the remaining amount to their secondary insurance provider.
If you are listed as the primary insured member on two plans, we can direct bill to both plans, without issue.
Have Questions? We're happy to help!
Give us a call, or send an email and a member of our team will be happy to assist you with any questions, as well as book your next appointment.