Biokinetic Blueprint

One of my standard questions during my initial assessments with patients is, "What do you do for a living?" The answers vary drastically, which means I get to interact with many interesting people. My mind immediately shifts to what the job entails physically, and inevitably my next question is, "How many hours a day do you spend sitting behind a desk?" The stigma has been set in motion, and the saying adopted is that "sitting is the new smoking." It was an interesting case study during the COVID shutdown and the "new normal" of working from home. I had an influx of patients reporting lower back issues, shoulder, and neck issues. These were sudden onset with no attributable reason other than starting to work from home. Common threads appeared and were interesting to note as a result of working from home. I'll break them down a little bit; people were even less active than being at work, desk setups were makeshift, no ergonomics were considere...

Hello pain, my old friend. This line may resonate with many patients who have struggled with injuries, joint issues, and inactivity for years. But why are we in pain? Pain is a highly subjective phenomenon, specific to each individual. One person's 10/10 pain may be another person's 5/10, and vice versa. The reality of our pain experience is determined by a number of factors, yet the overarching thread is that our individual pain is real and experienced just as we feel it. In terms of biokinetics and pain, it is generally preferred to not see a patient in pain, as acute treatment can be more challenging. Instead, we would rather allow the patient to subside to a manageable level with other modalities first. Pain can be a significant limiting factor for exercise and making progress with injuries. Our bodies' ability to protect us and our minds' willingness to provide barriers due to pain may not allow us to progress. Biokineticists are in a position to facilitate a patie...

  You know that understated leader or superhero, the one who leads from afar, does the hard graft, has the greatest impact, yet doesn't get all the acclaim. That is Biokinetics for you in a nutshell. I believe that due to the nature of the profession, it is undervalued by other medical professions and society as a whole. The problem lies in the education behind the profession and where it fits into the rehabilitation process. Biokinetics is a young profession and is still establishing itself, although it has already made a big impact. "Exercise is hard" is the common phrase from most people, but have you had a session with a Biokineticist yet? Have you felt the burn and activation of a muscle yet undiscovered that has the potential to change your back pain, take away that niggle in the hip, or alleviate the pain of countless years of knee pain? The unknown hero is around the corner and awaiting your call. Biokinetics is a medical profession first and foremost, working wit...