Hello! My name is Courtney and I am a Kinesiologist at Rebalance Rehab. I specialize in Pre and Postnatal fitness and am passionate about helping women discover what their bodies are truly capable of! Whether you are trying to conceive, pregnant, newly postpartum, or further postnatal and had your kid(s) years ago, I am here to create the best program for you and what your body needs.
I’d like to share a bit of information on how myself, as a Kin, and a Pelvic Floor Physiotherapist work together.
I refer every single one of my clients to a pelvic floor (PF) physiotherapist at some point along their journey with me. The question I usually get in response is, “why do I have to see them if I’m seeing you?”
In truth, I love this question since it gives me the opportunity to explain the differences between the two and how we work so well together as a team.
I like to give them something to relate it to. I tell them, “A Kinesiologist is to a Physiotherapist, similar to what a Nurse is to a Doctor.” We work really well under their guidance and don’t have as much schooling behind us.
As a Kinesiologist, I am unable to diagnose physiological symptoms my clients may be experiencing such as knee pain, shoulder pain, pressure in their pelvis, etc. With my education, I can come up with a pretty accurate hypothesis of what I think it may be, and provide exercise prescription with that knowledge, but I am unable to actually tell my client what it is.
As a Physiotherapist, however, they can diagnose the pain (remember, these are non-medical diagnosis! They are not Doctors). What I mean is, they can perform more thorough movement assessments and will be able to tell you if your knee pain may be caused by a muscle or meniscus issue, for example or, that your pelvic pressure is being cause by pelvic organ prolapse.
A Pelvic Floor Physiotherapist can also assist with so much more than this. They can treat the entire body, not just the pelvis, but they are able to do an internal assessment of the pelvic floor to really find out what is going on with those muscles and organs. With this information, they can prescribe movements in order to rehabilitate and attempt to correct any issues.
As a Kinesiologist, I can then use the information from the Pelvic Floor Physiotherapist’s assessment and incorporate it into a better and more individualized exercise program. The more information that I have access to the more accurate of a strength program I can design to better suit their needs.
As a Kinesiologist, I am able to take many courses on top of my education that allow me to perform different types of assessments and treatment methods. For example, I am also able to perform Functional Movement Screens (FMS), Soft Tissue Release (STR), Fascial Movement Taping (FMT), and have taken even more courses than that. As long as I have taken a course, these modalities fall under my scope of practice. This is similar with a physiotherapist, only they have more education and access to different types of courses than Kinesiologists (for example dry needling).
I hope this blog has provided you with more information regarding how a Kinesiologist and Physiotherapist differ but also how they can work together! If you are interested in starting to strengthen and improve upon your pelvic floor function or just want to ask some more question of how I can help in your rehab journey, please call the Rebalance Rehab clinic at 604-799-3080 to book an initial assessment!
Courtney Claggett BKin
Practicing Kinesiologist
Certified Pre and Postnatal Coach
Rebalance Rehab
(604)799-3080
[email protected]