What is a Kinesiologist? This is the most common question we get asked and simply put we are human movement specialists.
Kinesiologist undergo a 4-year University degree in either Kinesiology or Human Kinetics with courses that include anatomy and physiology, health and exercise science, exercise physiology, biomechanics, pathophysiology and many more. We use this knowledge to treat and optimize function using research based movement science. Within most provinces and territories in Canada the profession is not regulated. Although there are still associations in place that promote a code of ethics and standards to practice. Within BC, Kinesiologists must be a member of the BC Association of Kinesiologists (BCAK).
Kinesiologists have a wide scope of practice and multiple directions that they can specialize in. Some areas of practice include injury assessment and rehabilitation, health and fitness, exercise therapy, disability/case/health and safety management, biomedical technology and research. You can find a Kinesiologist in different settings including gyms, clinics, and any other health care facility. Everyone can benefit from Kinesiology including but not limited to youth, seniors, athletes, and workers/businesses.
During your time with a Kinesiologist you will receive an assessment and an active treatment plan. At the intake they will ask you multiple questions to get a good picture of your history. Then during the assessment, they will watch you do a magnitude of different movement patterns so they can watch your whole body move and determine the dysfunction that is happening. Once they found a problem they will dive deeper to find the cause of the dysfunction and where the it is actually coming from. The active treatment will include different exercises to try to correct the cause of the problem. Treatments could include flexibility/mobility, stability, motor control and functional movement exercises in order to help fix your movement.
