It’s probably a job title you’ve heard of, but maybe you aren’t exactly sure what a kinesiologist is and what they do, or indeed how they fall into the rehabilitation puzzle following a car accident and a ICBC claim. Read on to find out more…
A kinesiologist is a health care professional who specializes in human movement and rehabilitation. They are experts at assessing how an individual is moving, what movement limitations they have (for example, a lack of shoulder or neck range of motion) and where they may have become weak following an injury or onset of pain. They can prescribe exercises to help you get stronger and increase your range of motion, and complete exercise sessions in our gym or your home to help build up your stamina and endurance. If you feel like your legs are weak, you’re getting rounded shoulders and can’t straighten up or your balance isn’t what it used to be, a kinesiologist can help. Because of these skills, kinesiologists are an integral part of the ICBC rehabilitation process following a car accident.
Lauren working with a patient in our clinics gym
Following a car accident, it is common to be diagnosed with a whiplash injury (the medical term is actually ‘whiplash associated disorder’, and can be graded from 1-4). A whiplash injury often can cause little tears and inflammation to occur in the muscles and ligaments around your neck, shoulder and upper back, and can be quite painful and debilitating. Passive therapy, such as registered massage therapy, IMS and other hands-on techniques are an important part of the rehab process.
However, research shows the most important part of a patients recovery is actually what is know as ‘active rehab’. This is the process where you learn to move properly again, to regain full movement of your neck and to build up your muscle strength. Our kinesiologists are expertly placed to assist in this part of the rehab program, and are easily accessible in our clinic. This is because due to the changes in British Columbia law and the ICBC claims process, every patient who sustains a motor vehicle accident and opens a ICBC claim will automatically be eligible for 12 kinesiology visits, at no charge to the patient! Don’t fret if your accident was before April 1st 2019, as all you will need in this case is a letter from your family physician and approval from your ICBC case manager to be able to work with our kinesiologists.
Our clinics kinesiologists, Phong Lee and Lauren Walker
So there we have it; kinesiologists have a vital role to play in the rehabilitation of ICBC car accident patients in Penticton, at no additional cost to you or your loved ones. Be sure to check out the kinesiology section on our website to learn more, or book online directly if you are ready to begin working with a kinesiologist. We also have a section of our site dedicated to ICBC claims, which can be found here.
Remember; we don’t want you to have a car accident or hurt yourself, but if you do, we are here to help.
