Evan Bray Show: Kinesiologists can help with chronic health conditions

Two-thirds of Canadians live with chronic health conditions, which kinesiologists can help manage through personalized exercise programs, Austen Zentner, executive director of the Kinesiology Association of Saskatchewan, told The Evan Bray Show on Thursday.

Listen to the interview with Austen Zentner here:

This transcript has been edited for length and clarity.

EVAN BRAY: Do doctors prescribe physical movement? And where do kinesiologists fit in?

ZENTNER: for a really long time, doctors have been recommending diet and exercise. Where the kinesiologist comes in is to fill that gap on the exercise prescription. Your doctor isn’t going to give you a fully fleshed out exercise prescription, but a kinesiologist will come in and personalize it and give you the how-to.

Read more:

• Personal trainer offers tips to help new year fitness goals
• USask prof says extreme cold can be ideal for exercise
• Sask. government expands community wellness bus project to P.A.

BRAY: Are there a lot of experts in kinesiology in Saskatchewan?

ZENTNER: Across the province, we’ve got well over 100 members. There’s a ton of people who have kinesiology degrees — it’s a very popular program at U of S and at U of R, but not a whole lot of people get their degree and realize that they could work as a kinesiologist. I think the public also don’t know kinesiologists are available or what we do.

There are a lot of people that work under different titles, but they are kinesiologists. Many exercise therapists and personal trainers have a kinesiology degree.

BRAY: How can a kinesiologist help people that are dealing with chronic conditions?

ZENTNER: Right now, one of the biggest burdens to Canada’s health care system is conditions called hypokinetic diseases — diseases that are caused by or made worse by a lack of movement.

There’s a ton of conditions that fit into this definition, things like Type 2 diabetes and any obesity related conditions. Moving your body can also help with arthritis, and back pain. People might think that doesn’t make any sense — if my knees hurt how could moving my body more help me?

The science is pretty clear and someone who’s tried it might say that after six weeks with a kinesiologist, two months in the gym and a year of being consistent with it, they feel a million times better.

BRAY: What does the path to seeing a kinesiologist look like?

ZENTNER: It’s totally situational. It’s not like you go to the pharmacist, they give you your cure, and then two weeks later you’re done. Your body takes time to adapt, and it takes it takes effort and work on the client’s part and on the kinesiologist’s part.

If it’s something that is more acute, your doctor told you you need to exercise but you don’t have any idea what you’re doing, maybe a session every two weeks for the next two months is all you need.

Sometimes it might be a lot longer process every week for months or years. It comes down to what the client needs, as well as the overall health outcomes.

BRAY: What is the value of movement in everyday health?

ZENTNER: There are a lot of people out there living with conditions that they don’t think about on a daily basis because they’ve adapted so much to it. Little changes can make a huge difference.

BRAY: Will my insurance cover kinesiology?

ZENTNER: It depends on your insurance — some do, some don’t.

The scope of kinesiology is so wide that your insurance might covers the health related aspect, weight loss, or even some manual therapies  — laser, ultrasound, things like that.

If your insurance doesn’t cover it, call them and ask. If they say no, just start begging? Motion movement, kinesiology, is important for the people of this province and the he sooner we can get the funders and insurers on board, the better off our province will be.

BRAY: How can people get in touch with you?

Our website is kinsk.ca, and my email is info@kinsk.ca. I reply to every email I get. Sometimes it takes me a while, but, but I swear I get to them.

Read more:

• Personal trainer offers tips to help new year fitness goals
• USask prof says extreme cold can be ideal for exercise
• Sask. government expands community wellness bus project to P.A.