Kinesiology / Active Rehab
Kinesiology exercises to improve shoulder range of motion and strength
What is Kinesiology?
Kinesiology is an exercise-based rehabilitation therapy, kinesiology is typically structured as a one-on-one exercise session containing exercises that are specifically prescribed by a kinesiologist to help with your injury recovery. Most commonly used to treat injuries related to car accidents, our active rehab program is also often used for patients who may need reconditioning due to significant absence from physical activities due to surgery, pregnancy, etc.
Exercise is best done at least 3 times a week. Patients are encouraged to do more active exercises on their own, outside of the kinesiology sessions, as guided by their therapist.
What Can a Kinesiologist Help With?
- Help you sit, stand, and walk for longer periods of time without discomfort
- Teach you how to maintain good posture and move your spine more easily
- Help you regain strength and mobility after a period of physical inactivity
- Provide you with techniques to manage your symptoms on your own
- Educate you on how to prevent re-injury
- Address any issues you have with movement or range of motion
- Assist you in achieving your weight loss or muscle-building goals
- Help you increase your overall strength, endurance, and coordination
Benefits of Kinesiology
There are many reasons why someone would visit a kinesiologist, including:
- Recovering from injuries related to a motor vehicle accident
- Recovering from injuries related to a work injury
- Reconditioning after surgery, pregnancy, or other conditions
- Recovering and reconditioning after sports injuries
- Recovering from injuries related to falls
- Improving chronic medical conditions (such as heart disease or diabetes) through conditioning
- Working towards weight loss goals through conditioning
Our kinesiologist can work with a range of patients including seniors. Working with seniors would include guided exercising and fall prevention, improving walking patterns, maintaining mobility limitations, and strengthening.
A kinesiologist’s main goal is to improve human performance and function through exercise prescription. By tailoring an exercise program to your specific injury, you can continue exercising and moving correctly while decreasing your chance of re-injury. Depending on the person and injury, different goals may be set.
For example, a patient recovering after a car accident may have the following goals:
- Being able to maintain full work + non-work activities with no or minimal increase in symptoms
- Being able to sit up to 4 hours with minimal breaks and no or minimal increase in low back pain
- Being able to lift 50 lbs from floor to waist repeatedly without aggravating symptoms
- Being able to lift 20 lbs from shoulders to overhead repeatedly without aggravating symptoms
- Being able to walk up to 5km without breaks and no or minimal increase in symptoms
Kinesiology and Active Rehab are covered by ICBC
The Active Rehab Program (ARP) is our exercise program led by our kinesiologist which is covered by ICBC after a person is involved in a motor vehicle accident.
The program focuses on getting you back to pre-motor vehicle accident state, including helping to increase posture, mobility, stability, and strength.
A customized at home exercise program is developed to ensure you are working on exercising during your own time.
To read more about what is covered under an ICBC claim visit our ICBC Information Page.
Conditions that benefit from Kinesiology & Active Rehab
Concussions:
A concussion is a very commonly misdiagnosed problem that involves, but is not limited to, sports, a fall from any height, and motor vehicle accidents. Although most frequently associated with a blow to the head, your skull does not need to have an impact on a surface for you to get a concussion. The condition simply requires a sudden change of direction of your head, for example, a very intense whiplash.
Working with a kinesiologist after receiving a concussion can help to improve your muscular strength, cardiovascular endurance, and physical activity tolerance. You will also need a plan to return to your daily activity, and a kinesiologist can help you do so in a safe and realistic way.
Learn more on our concussion therapy page
Post-surgical Rehab:
Post-surgical rehab is rehabilitation that is needed after any major orthopedic surgery (ex. knee or hip replacement). A kinesiologist’s goal will be to improve muscular symmetry, treat for muscular atrophy, retrain movement patterns, and increase strength ultimately getting you back to doing the things you loved to do pre-surgery.
for more on how we can help you recover after surgery please visit our post-surgical rehab page
Muscular / Neuromuscular Dystrophies:
Kinesiologists can work with a range of different muscular diseases (ex. Parkinson’s Disease, Multiple Sclerosis). People with muscular diseases have their muscles weakened over time, decreasing mobility and making everyday tasks difficult. Improvement will focus on functional movement patterns, coordination, mobility, strength, and endurance.
Chronic Pain Disorders:
Kinesiologists can work with a range of different chronic pain disorders (ex. Fibromyalgia, Arthritis). Chronic pain is a very common condition and is categorized as pain lasting longer than 3 months. The pain can come and go or it can be there all the time, making it difficult for your daily activities such as working, having a social life, and taking care of yourself or others.
The Kinesiology / Active Rehab Process
Phase 1 – Initial Assessment
During your initial assessment, your kinesiologist will ask you about your nutrition, sleeping, and recreational habits, as well as what you do for work and your chief complaint. They will also thoroughly complete an assessment of your current condition or injury by utilizing a number of tests (ex. joint range of motion testing, manual muscle test). Goals will be discussed during the assessment and a tailored treatment plan will be made accordingly.
Phase 2 – Customized Treatment & Recovery Plan
Depending on the goals, and what was discussed in the initial assessment your kinesiologist will decide upon a treatment plan including the frequency, and duration of which to attend. Exercise prescription and education is what is focused on during the treatment plan as well as gradually progressing the exercises (intensity, frequency, volume etc). We recommend bringing comfortable workout attire to all of your kinesiology visits.
Phase 3 – The At-Home Program
It is important to work on your exercises at home or in a gym-like setting. Your kinesiologist will provide you with an at-home exercise program by utilizing Physitrack – a digital platform where fully narrated exercise videos are delivered straight to your smartphone or computer. These exercises will be hand-picked by your kinesiologist to assure you are doing the correct movements.
Phase 4 – Independence
Discharge from the Active Rehab program is dependent on how things are progressing. Getting back to regular function and having the knowledge from our movement specialists will eventually lead you to complete independence, which is always the main goal.
Kinesiology Educational Requirements (British Columbia)
Kinesiologists graduate with a 4 year Bachelor of Kinesiology Degree. They have studied the human body in motion (biomechanics), strength and conditioning, methods of rehabilitation, and have a great understanding of human anatomy and physiology.
Kinesiologist licensing and regulations are different in each province. In British Columbia, Kinesiologists are governed by the British Columbia Association of Kinesiologists (BCAK).
Take the next steps to feeling better…
If you have questions about whether this treatment is right for you please give us a call (604) 474-1276
