What do I do if I have been injured at work?

At face value WorkCover can appear to be a very complicated process and a little overwhelming so here are a few simple steps that will make it easier for you.

• Notify your employer that you have been injured at work as soon as possible.
• Go to your doctor and they will fill out a WorkCover medical certificate.
• Give a copy of your WorkCover medical certificate to your employer and insurer and get a claim number.
• Call our office  97553910  and make an appointment
• Take you WorkCover medical certificate and any other insurance information (eg letter of acceptance of liability from the insurer) with you to your initial appointment at our office.
• Return to your doctor for a review and to have your WorkCover medical certificate updated

Do I have to pay?

No, we will bill the insurer if all of the following exists:

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• You have a current WorkCover medical certificate requesting Chiropractic,
• A WorkCover claim number,
• A letter of acceptance of liability from your insurer.
• You have current treatment plans approved. **

Yes you will have to pay in the following conditions:

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• Your claim has not been accepted by the insurer and is pending. The insurer will reimburse you once the claim has been accepted.
• You do not attend a schedule session and provide 24 hour notice of cancellation. In this case you will be held liable to cover the cancellation fee at your expense. You cannot seek compensation for missed sessions from your insurer.
• If you are currently receiving physiotherapy, exercise physiology, chiropractic or osteopathy of another clinician for the same WorkCover case. You cannot see different clinicians from different practices or business. If you do not make us aware of this scenario and we claim on your behalf you will be held liable to pay the amount owing.

Tracking your visits.

A new WorkCover plan is required every 8 sessions for payments of treatments to be processed. We deliver the first plan at session 6 to ensure the insurer will have time to respond and approve ongoing therapy. Therefore the next plan will be submitted in session fourteen.

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Compulsory Third Party (CTP) Insurance Claims

Who can make a claim?

Individuals who are injured in or as a result of a car, motorcycle or truck accident (who are not at fault) may make a claim for compensation. This can include the driver, passengers, pedestrians and cyclists who are injured in the accident.

Who do I claim against?

Most motor vehicle claims will proceed against the CTP insurer of the vehicle at fault. If the accident involves an unidentified vehicle (e.g. hit and run accident, etc.) or an uninsured vehicle, you can be compensated through the Nominal Defendant government insurance scheme.

What do you need to do?

• Get vehicle registration details and the insurance company of the driver at fault.
• Contact the driver at fault’s insurance company
• Submit an Accident Notification Form to the insurer of the driver at fault.
• If you are the driver at fault in the accident, you may also lodge an Accident Notification Form but you may not be eligible to make a full claim.
• Get a claim number from the insurer
• Make an appointment at our office 97553910, bring your claim number.
• To make a full claim, a Personal Injury Claim Form will need to be completed and submitted within 6months, and must be signed by a Justice of the Peace. Click on link to help find a JP in your area.

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SURFACE ELECTRO-MYOGRAPHY (SEMG)

Spinal evaluation technology, known as the InSight(TM) Spinal Scanning System was developed for astronauts and is now endorsed and used by chiropractic practitioners, worldwide. This validated, evidence-based technology is used to identify unmanaged stress patterns in the muscles, joints and nerves of the spinal core. Surface electromyographic (sEMG) sensors can be placed along the spine to detect how gravity, here on earth, uses precious neuro-muscular energy.

Chiropractors use the Insight(TM) to help identify where subluxations, or misalignments of the spine, can be creating unhealthy muscle activity. Subluxations disturb nerve activity, causing an abnormal amount of electrical flow to the muscles. This can be associated with other developing health challenges as persistent stress can alter nervous system control . The Insight Subluxation Station calculates these imbalances within the spine which assists chiropractors when they adjust their patients. The Insight allows for increased accuracy in diagnosis and improved treatment outcomes.

The Insight Subluxation Station combines diagnostic technologies, certified by the Space Foundation, to measure the gravitational effect on the spines of space shuttle astronauts. The Chiropractic Leadership Alliance (CLA) continued the development of the system into the commercially available model. The system includes measurements of skin temperature differentials, the sensitivity of paraspinal tissues, analysis of spinal range-of-motion, and heart rate variability to create visual reports that chiropractors can use to diagnose their patients and help bring better health to millions of people worldwide.

The Chiropractic Leadership Alliance is a successful, privately held company with more than 8,000 chiropractic clients on six continents. CLA’s mission is to help create worldwide wellness by improving the practice and perception of chiropractic everywhere.

Static and Dynamic Surface Electromyography(sEMG)
CLA’s INSiGHT™ scanning technology helps bridge the gap between known advantages of chiropractic adjustments and concrete measurements. Static and Dynamic Surface Electromyography (sEMG) is an essential part of our INSiGHT™ system, providing a major piece of the puzzle of general well-being by assessing paraspinal tension.

What is sEMG and how can it support chiropractic care?
This technology reads electrical activity (action potential) in order to measure paraspinal tension, similar to the use of electromyography in EKG/heart rate measurement machines.
The electric current pattern is a critical component in how your body functions. The muscles on either side of your spine should be balanced: if they are not working equally well, the body is forced to compensate, which takes energy. This imbalance can monitored by sEMG technology. Alterations in electrical activity in the paraspinal muscles can shed light on the muscular changes linked to vertebral subluxations. As such, chiropractors can use sEMG to establish a baseline for paraspinal electrical activity.
In contrast to EKG/heart rate monitors, the sEMG used within CLA’s INSiGHT™ technology has sensors that are 1,000 times more sensitive. This enables them to read the electrical activity of paraspinal muscles, which is much weaker than that of the heart. The sensitivity and accuracy of the Insight technology is unsurpassed

What do these results look like?
With CLA’s sEMG system, chiropractors can access action potential measurements through the following methods:

Normal scan – This establishes normal levels of electrical activity for reference during treatment. The normal scan will have a pear-shaped pattern.

Amplitude scan – This scan reveals the amplitude (tension) among paraspinal electrical activity, noting areas of hyper or hypo-tonicity as it compares to a normal population. CLA’s chiropractic tools use a color-coded system: Green bars show mild elevation (compared to the normal scan), blue bars convey moderate elevation, red bars indicate high elevation and yellow bars display readings below normal amplitude

Dynamic graph – With CLA’s sEMG, chiropractors can track up to four channels of muscle activity as their patients are guided through different physical movements. The ‘event marker’ feature assists interpretation by marking the position of the patient during the test. This graph is accompanied by a dynamic narrative report.

sEMG-Pattern view – This cutting edge graph is patent-pending and unique to CLA’s INSiGHT™ technology. It highlights patterns in how energy is distributed throughout the spine and whether this system is efficient or not. With this view, chiropractors can easily visualize underlying imbalances and room for improvement for patients who are interested in better wellness.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

– Quantifications Report:  The Quantifications Report Graph documents each patient’s progress.
The Science Behind sEMG
1 – SEMG – AN ACCEPTED TECHNOLOGY FOR CLINICAL USE
According to other sEMG manufacturers who market to the medical profession, the following medical specialties have utilized surface EMG since the late 1980s:

• Urologists for diagnosis and treatment of urinary incontinence
• Orthopedists for muscle rehab and training
• Physiologists for anxiety, tension/migraine headaches, rehab
• General practitioners for circulation problems, anxiety, desensitization, distonia [muscle tonus], incontinence, spasms, relaxation, psychosomatic  symptoms
• Family practitioners for circulation problems, anxiety, desensitization, distonia [muscle tonus], incontinence, spasms, relaxation, psychosomatic  symptoms
• Neurologists for anxiety, muscle training and rehab, spasms
• Speech pathologists for anxiety, relaxation
• Sports Medicine for muscle training and rehab
• Corporate Medicine for muscle training and rehab
• Psychiatrists and psychologists for anxiety, desensitization, psychosomatic symptoms, tortocollis, writer’s cramp, phobias
• Rehab centers for muscle training, relaxation, spasms, and urinary incontinence
• Occupational therapists for muscle training/rehab, relaxation, migraine headaches
• Dentists for TMJ, anxiety, tension/migraine headaches

Go to www.bio-medical.com to see how sEMG is currently being used by physical therapists, physiatrists, message therapists, and RNs.

2 – INDEPENDENT STUDIES
Christopher Kent, DC, FCCI, JD, CLA Co-Founder and Research Director, and one of the chiropractic profession’s leading researchers, sums up the issue on reliability of sEMG: “Studies spanning decades consistently report high levels of reliability. Quite simply, no other procedure I am aware of in chiropractic, except measurements on x-rays, approach the reliability of sEMG. Studies from the Mayo Clinic to the NZ Chiropractic College have demonstrated this. NONE OF THESE STUDIES WERE PERFORMED OR FUNDED BY CLA.” Price, Clare, Ewerhardt

(1) observed that surface e lectrode paraspinal electromyography has been employed since 1948 to measure muscular activity. Cobb et al
(2) concluded that “…muscle spasm (even when mild) is accompanied by muscular hyperactivity which can be evaluated by suitable electromyographic techniques. Our data suggest that surface electrodes allow better sampling than Teflon coated needles…” and that “…integration procedures (surface EMG) allow better quantification than does the visual evaluation of a (needle) EMG…”
Surface electrode electromyography with attached electrodes exhibits very good to excellent test-retest reliability. Reliability is a measure of the ability to reproduce a measurement, which is expressed as a coefficient ranging from 0.00 to 1.00. Perfect reliability results in a coefficient of 1.00, while chance agreement would be 0.0. As presented below, research data indicates that the reliability of sEMG is clearly superior to palpation for muscle tension. Spector
(3) reported a surface EMG study performed at New York Chiropractic College which yielded correlation coefficients ranging from 0.73 and 0.97. Komi and Buskirk
(4) compared the test-retest reliability of surface electrodes vs. needle electrodes in the deltoid muscle. The test-retest reliability for surface electrodes was 0.88 compared to 0.62 for inserted electrodes.Giroux and Lamontagne
(5) compared the reliability of surface vs. intramuscular wire EMG of the trapezius and deltoid muscles during isometric and dynamic contractions. The statistical analysis on the integrated EMG was a factorial analysis model with repeated measures. They found that surface EMG was more reliable than inserted wire EMG on day-to-day investigations.
Andersson et al
(6) compared the electrical activity in lumbar erector spinae muscles using inserted electrodes and surface electrodes. They found that the standard deviations and coefficients of variation for wire electrodes was greater than those for surface electrodes. They concluded, “Wire electrodes are more sensitive to electrode location and give estimates with less precision than surface electrodes.” Thompson et al
(7) found that the scanning electrode technique correlated well with the “gold standard” of attached electrode technique (The Insight sEMG has both static and attached electrode techniques).Cram et al
(8) evaluated the reliability of surface EMG scanning in 102 subjects in the sitting and standing positions. sEMG scans were performed on three occasions approximately one hour apart on the same day. The median correlation between hand-held and patch electrodes was high, with a correlation coefficient of 0.64. The authors concluded, “With adequate attention given to skin preparation, EMG sensors held in place by hand with a light pressure provide reliable results.”

3 – SURFACE EMG REFERENCES

• Price JP, Clare MH, Ewerhardt RH. Studies in low backache with persistent muscle spasm. Journal Phys Med Rehabil 1948; 19:703.
• Cobb CR, DeVries HA, Urban RT, et al. Electrical activity in muscle pain. Am J Phys Med 1975; 54(2):80.
• Spector B. Surface electromyography as a model for the development of standardized procedures and reliability testing. JMPT 1979; 2(4):214.
• Andersson G, Jonsson B, Ortengren R. Myoelectric activity in individual lumbar erector spinae muscles in sitting. A study with surface and wire elec-trodes. Sc and J Rehab Med 1974 Suppl; 3:91.
• Giroux B, Lamontagne M. Comparisons between surface electrodes and intramuscular wire electrodes in isometric and dynamic conditions. Electromyography Clin Neurophysiol 1990; 30:397.
• Komi P, Buskirk E. Reproducibility of electromyographic measurements with inserted wire electrodes and surface electrodes. Electromyography 1970; 10:357.
• Thompson J, Erickson R, Offord K. EMG muscle scanning: stability of hand-held electrodes. Biofeedback Self Regul 1989; 14(1):55.
• Cram JR, Lloyd J, Cahn TS. The reliability of EMG muscle scanning. Int J Psychosomatics 1994; 41:41.