Rehabilitation and Prosthetic Services

Bernadine Sanchez, Registered Kinesiotherapist, Tampa VA Medical Center leads a Be Active and MOVE! group telehealth physical activity session

National Kinesiotherapy (KT) Week was celebrated September 8-12th, 2014.  KT is the application of scientifically based exercise principles adapted to enhance the strength, endurance, coordination, range of motion and mobility of individuals with functional limitations or those requiring extended physical conditioning.  KT (formerly corrective therapy) is an allied health profession whose roots can be traced back to 1943.

During World War II, corrective physical reconditioning units were established to accelerate the return of troops to active duty following injury, and as a result, corrective therapists, became a part of the U.S. Armed Forces' rehabilitation effort employing exercise and mobility programming.  In 1946, corrective therapy became a part of the rehabilitation process for hospitalized Veterans within the Veterans Health Administration.

Since that time, the discipline has evolved through a structured educational curriculum and expanded into both the public and private sectors.  In 1987, corrective therapy was renamed kinesiotherapy to better represent its role as a provider of therapeutic exercise, and the national organization became known as the American Kinesiotherapy Association.  In the continuing effort to meet and maintain the highest standards for rehabilitation, KT was formally recognized as an allied health profession by a national accrediting body, the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP), in April 1995. 

Today, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is the single largest employer of kinesiotherapists providing services to Veterans and Servicemembers through a holistic approach to overall patient care emphasizing psychological as well as physical benefits of therapeutic exercise and education within the acute and post-acute rehabilitation process.  Kinesiotherapists apply specialty training and certifications in their evidence-based practice across the continuum of care for Veterans with a wide spectrum of  neurologic, orthopedic, mental health, surgical, and medical conditions, including special populations such as stroke, spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury (TBI), amputation, homeless, and geriatric patients. 

For more information on VA Kinesiotherapy, please contact your local VA KT Department within Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Services at your local VA medical center.