I’m curious how other practicing kinesiologists in BC would view this situation.

Suppose a physiotherapist wanted an independent-contractor kinesiologist to schedule their clients only during the hours the physiotherapist chose to be in the clinic, so that the physio could be present to oversee the kinesiologist’s work and make sure things were being done appropriately.

What gives me pause is both the professional implication and the contractor arrangement. On one hand, it seems to imply that a qualified kinesiologist needs a physiotherapist physically present to make sure they know how to perform their role. On the other hand, the kinesiologist is supposedly an independent contractor, yet is expected to adapt their schedule around the physiotherapist’s preferred working hours rather than having meaningful control over their own availability.

I completely understand collaboration, communication between providers, and having systems in place for clinical concerns. I also recognize that there are excellent and less-experienced practitioners in every profession. If I were bringing another healthcare professional into a practice, I would want to assess their competence carefully—but once I chose to work with them, I would also expect there to be professional trust and respect for their scope and expertise.

For those of you working in BC, would this arrangement bother you? Would you see it as reasonable clinic oversight, or as a sign that the working relationship may not really treat the kinesiologist as an independent professional?

I’m especially interested in hearing from kinesiologists who have worked as independent contractors in physiotherapy clinics.

Hello,

I am a kinesiologist in Kitsilano (Vancouver), I am looking for a physiotherapist interested in sharing a private space with a functional active rehab set-up.

Hello,

I am a kinesiologist in Kitsilano (Vancouver). I am looking for a physiotherapist to share my space with (completely private space with functional rehab setup). If you are interested please let me know.

I am curious how other kinesiologists in Vancouver think about treatment space for active rehab patients.

Would you prefer to work in a completely private active rehab space with adequate gym equipment, where it is only you and the client in the space, or in a larger gym environment with more equipment but more people, noise, and activity happening around you?

I can see the benefits of both. A larger gym may offer more equipment variety and a lower cost structure. However, a completely private space may provide a more professional and comfortable setting for assessments, exercise instruction, pain-focused rehab, nervous system regulation, and clients who may feel uncomfortable, distracted, or self-conscious in a busy gym.

For those working with ICBC, private, or general active rehab clients, how much does the environment matter to your practice?

Some things I’m thinking about are:

• Client privacy and comfort
• Professional/clinical presentation
• Access to enough equipment for progressive exercise
• Reduced noise and distractions
• Ability to build client trust
• Space cost and scheduling flexibility
• Client retention and referral potential

If you have worked in both settings, which one did you find better for active rehab, and why?

I have been thinking about the broader rehabilitation market and where Canada may be heading.

In the U.S., U.K., and Australia, there seems to be growing frustration among physiotherapists around workload, compensation, reimbursement pressures, burnout, high student debt, and the increasing commercialization of rehab services. Obviously, each country has a different healthcare and insurance system, so the issues are not identical, but the general concern seems similar: the demand for rehabilitation is increasing, while the working conditions and financial sustainability for clinicians are not always improving at the same pace.

This makes me wonder what Canada’s rehabilitation market will look like over the next 5–10 years.

On one hand, Canada has an aging population, high rates of chronic disease, long wait times, increasing musculoskeletal injury burden, and growing demand for active rehabilitation, return-to-work support, exercise prescription, and long-term function-based care. That suggests the rehab market should continue to grow.

On the other hand, if physiotherapy becomes increasingly expensive for patients, overbooked, insurance-limited, or difficult to access, I wonder whether the market will start shifting more toward interdisciplinary rehab models. For example, greater use of kinesiologists, occupational therapists, exercise physiologists, athletic therapists, massage therapists, and other rehab professionals working within clearer scopes of practice.

I am especially curious whether Canada may eventually see more separation between acute injury assessment/treatment and longer-term functional rehab, exercise progression, chronic disease management, and performance-based care. In that kind of system, physiotherapists may remain central for diagnosis, acute management, and complex clinical care, while other qualified rehab professionals may take on a larger role in ongoing functional restoration and exercise-based rehabilitation.

For those working in physiotherapy, kinesiology, occupational therapy, athletic therapy, exercise physiology, insurance-based rehab, or private practice in Canada:

How do you see the Canadian rehab market changing?

Do you think Canada will follow some of the same problems seen in the U.S., U.K., and Australia, or do you think our system will evolve differently?

And do you think there will be more space for kinesiologists and other exercise-based rehab professionals, or will physiotherapy continue to dominate most of the rehabilitation market?

It sometimes feels like kinesiology is stuck in a chicken-and-egg situation.

Regulation is delayed because the profession is not yet fully integrated into healthcare. But at the same time, the profession cannot become fully integrated without regulation, public access, fair compensation, and more humane working conditions for kinesiologists.

I recently saw a kinesiology job posting in North Vancouver offering $23/hour. To me, that is deeply concerning. For a profession that requires a 4-year degree, and often additional graduate education, certifications, continuing education, clinical reasoning, liability, and responsibility for people’s recovery, that wage does not reflect the value or skill required.

In my opinion, full-time kinesiology work should start at a minimum of around $45/hour for a new graduate.

There is currently a major active rehab gap in the healthcare system, and I believe kinesiologists are the profession best trained to fill it.

Active rehabilitation is not simply “fitness,” general exercise, or a small add-on to care. Human movement involves complex interactions between the musculoskeletal, neurological, cardiovascular, and metabolic systems. Kinesiologists spend years studying movement, exercise physiology, biomechanics, motor control, neurological aspects of movement, rehabilitation principles, chronic disease management, functional progression, and exercise prescription.

That depth of education matters.

Many patients/clients report that kinesiology finally helped them make progress with injury recovery, pain, function, and return to daily life when other approaches did not get them there.

Exercise can be incredibly therapeutic, but when poorly prescribed, it can also aggravate symptoms or delay recovery. Active rehabilitation should be treated as a skilled clinical service, not a generic add-on that any provider can automatically deliver at the same depth.

Of course, there is overlap between healthcare professions. But overlap does not mean interchangeability. Other providers may understand parts of exercise and rehabilitation, but kinesiology education is specifically built around the science of human movement and exercise prescription. That is exactly why kinesiologists are needed.

I wonder why there still seems to be so little will to allow kinesiology services to reach the level of recognition, regulation, access, and compensation they deserve.

How do others see this changing over the next 5 years? Do you think kinesiology will finally become more formally integrated into healthcare, or will the same barriers continue?