What does a Kinesiologist do in Ontario?

Summary:

• To sum up what Kinesiologists do, they treat and prevent injury and disease, and improve movement and performance.
• Kinesiologist’s work primarily through the exercise portion of a physiotherapy treatment plan.
• Kinesiologist’s can work at a gym helping to “personal train” others.
• Kinesiologist’s can do functional evaluations and ergonomic testing.

What Does a Kinesiologist Do?

Kinesiologists are highly educated, health care professionals who are experts in body movement.

What can Kinesiology do for you?

Registered Kinesiologists are Ontario’s recognized experts in preventing and managing injury and chronic disease and helping to reach peak physical performance.

Kinesiologists use evidence-based research to develop programs for people, helping them get and stay fit, and perform at their optimum level. Kinesiologists believe in empowering people to look after their own health. They focus on prevention and wellbeing, increasing worker productivity, and reducing time lost to injuries and accidents, helping you get back to work and back to health faster.

Some areas of Kinesiology practice include:

• Health promotion
• Injury rehabilitation
• Pain and chronic disease management
• Ergonomics
• Fitness training
• Return to work planning and disability management
• Public health

Where do Kinesiologists work?

Kinesiologists provide many services and work in a variety of settings, including:

• Community care
• Family health teams
• Hospitals
• Rehabilitation and wellness clinics
• Insurance, health and safety consultancy firms
• Nursing and long-term care homes
• Health and fitness clubs
• Private practice

My take on what Kinesiologists do?

Kinesiology is a new profession so the use and implementation of Kinesiology in Ontario and around the world is still being developed. With a large scope of practice Kinesiologists can work in many settings. All settings essentially work with how the body moves and its functionality.

So far in my experiences I have seen Kinesiologist’s working as physiotherapy assistants that specialize in the exercise component of a treatment plan. In that setting I have also seen Kinesiologist’s do functional abilities evaluations, cardiovascular treadmill testing, and ergonomic assessments. There have also been some cases where I have seen Kinesiologist’s work at gyms working more on the return to work and work hardening of clients. Other then those above I know of some Kinesiologists that work in the aerobic exercise component of cardiac rehab here in London.

Currently in my search I have only seen Kinesiologists work primarily in the primary care model, where the injury or disease has already occurred and now they are helping in the treatment and recovery phase. Ideally, I would like to see Kinesiologists work more in the preventative model where they work with individuals to develop exercise plans and guidelines before they develop any diseases or problems. I would also like to see Kinesiologists work more closely with general practitioners and family doctors through an exercise referral to see a Kinesiologist to start an exercise program.

In Ontario, Kinesiology is considered a regulated healthcare profession. The first of its kind in the world. This means we need to set the standard with how Kinesiologists are developed and deployed in the healthcare system for the rest of the world.

Hopefully this help,

Spencer at Kinformation

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