Ask the Expert — What is Active Rehabilitation

Active rehab is an evidence-based rehabilitation program used by trained kinesiologists to help individuals recover from an injury or illness. It is an individualized program where the clients play an active role in their treatment to help restore their physical function.

What does a typical active rehab session look like?
Your kinesiologist will first do a thorough assessment upon intake. The initial assessment will examine your past medical and exercise history, overall fitness, and functional limitations. This includes functional testing, postural assessment, and strength/range of motion testing. Once the baseline is established, individualized goals will be set to meet your needs.

In an active rehab session, you will actively participate in mobility, strength, flexibility, functional and cardiovascular exercises. 

Preventative education is a big part of each session. Clients will be educated on pain management strategies, pacing strategies, ergonomics-biomechanics etc.

What are the benefits of active rehab?

1. Strengthens muscle and improves flexibility and stability

2. Restore functionality

3. Improves blood flow, which speeds up the healing process

4. Improves quality of life by improving overall health and fitness levels

5. Prevents future injuries

How is it different from physiotherapy?
Although they share similarities, a physiotherapist is responsible for assessing, diagnosing, and treating patients with manual techniques that are more passive and hands-on. Whereas a kinesiologist has an in-depth knowledge of body movement, posture, body mechanics, and strength-conditioning, which are more active interventions. Both disciplines work well with each other to help with injury recovery.

In final words, active rehabilitation is for those who are looking to get back to doing activities of daily living, sports, or work. Also, it is for those experiencing pain who want to improve their overall strength and function to get back to doing the things they love in life. It is a great form of therapy to help improve your overall health and quality of life. 

Lastly, if you are in a motor vehicle accident in B.C., you are pre-approved for 12 active rehabilitation sessions with a registered kinesiologist without any referrals.

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