How much does physiotherapy cost in Kelowna, and is it covered?

Our physiotherapy rates

Physiotherapy at Back in Health is offered at one clinic, Kirschner, at #120-1815 Kirschner Rd in Kelowna. The initial assessment and treatment is 45 minutes and $135. After that you choose between a 30-minute follow-up at $100 and an extended 45-minute follow-up at $135, depending on what the visit needs to cover.

Virtual appointments by video are priced the same way: $135 for 45 minutes and $100 for 30. Video suits education, exercise progression and check-ins on an injury that has already been assessed, and you need a camera, such as a laptop webcam or phone. Every appointment length and price is also listed on our Rates page.

The first visit is not just a consultation. It includes treatment, so you leave with initial hands-on work and a starting home programme rather than only a plan for later.

What decides your total cost

The price of one visit matters less than the number of visits and how they are spaced. A recent ankle sprain that settles over a handful of appointments costs very differently from rehabilitation after knee surgery, which can run over several months. Your physiotherapist should give you a rough expectation at the first visit and revisit it as you progress.

The other big factor is what you do between appointments. Physiotherapy at Back in Health leans on a progressive home programme, and people who keep it up often find their visits can be spaced further apart. A 30-minute follow-up is usually enough once the plan is mostly exercise progression; the extended 45-minute follow-up is there when a visit needs more hands-on work or a fuller reassessment.

If cost is a real constraint, say so at the start. A physiotherapist can plan around a set number of visits, lean more on home exercise, or use shorter follow-ups, and that conversation is far easier at the first visit than at the eighth.

How extended health covers physiotherapy

Most employer and private extended health plans in British Columbia include physiotherapy, usually as a yearly dollar maximum, sometimes with a per-visit cap or a percentage the plan pays on each visit. Some plans pool physiotherapy with other paramedical services under one shared allowance, so massage or acupuncture visits earlier in the year can reduce what is left for physio.

Treatment has to be given by a registered physiotherapist to be claimable. In BC that means registration with the College of Health and Care Professionals of BC, and your receipt shows the physiotherapist's name and registration details. Some plans also ask for a doctor's referral before they reimburse, even though you can book a physiotherapist directly in BC; that is a rule of your plan, not the law.

Before a first visit, it is worth asking your insurer four things: whether physiotherapy is covered, how much is left this benefit year, whether there is a per-visit limit, and whether a referral is needed for reimbursement.

Direct billing at Back in Health

Back in Health direct bills most major insurers, including Canada Life, Sun Life, Manulife, Johnson, Pacific Blue Cross, GreenShield, Empire Life and RWAM. When your plan allows it, the clinic submits the claim at the visit and you pay only the portion the plan does not cover, rather than paying in full and waiting to be reimbursed.

Direct billing depends on your individual policy, so please check with your insurance company that your plan provides it. Bring your plan details to the first visit, or add them when you book in Jane. If a claim is declined or your allowance has run out, that portion becomes payable at the desk.

If you are covered by a spouse or partner's plan as well as your own, ask your insurers how coordination of benefits works. Many people can submit the balance one plan did not pay to the second plan, and a health spending account, if your employer offers one, can often cover what is left after that.

MSP, ICBC and WorkSafeBC

Basic MSP does not cover visits to a private physiotherapy clinic. People who qualify for MSP supplementary benefits may get a partial payment for a limited number of visits a year, shared across several practitioner types, so it is worth checking with Health Insurance BC if you think you qualify.

After a motor vehicle accident in BC, ICBC pre-approves a block of physiotherapy with no doctor's referral, and Back in Health bills ICBC directly. Bring your claim number to the first appointment, and start early, because the pre-approved treatment is counted from the date of the accident rather than the date you first book.

We do not currently accept WCB or WorkSafeBC claims at either clinic. If your injury happened at work, contact WorkSafeBC about where your claim can be treated.

Booking physiotherapy at Kirschner

Physiotherapy at Back in Health is with Becky Maranda, who has more than twenty-five years in physiotherapy and postgraduate training in manual therapy, craniosacral therapy and visceral mobilization, and Tess Mihell, who has practised in the Okanagan since 2012, has further training in needling techniques, and offers virtual appointments. IMS (intramuscular stimulation) is booked as part of a physiotherapy appointment, not as a separate service.

The Kirschner clinic is on the ground floor of Kirschner Plaza, with step-free access and a free front lot, close to Capri Centre and the Highway 97 corridor. Appointments run from 6:30am, Monday to Saturday; hours vary by practitioner, so see open times in Jane. No referral is needed to book.

For the first visit, bring loose clothing you can move in, a list of your medications, any imaging reports you already have, and your extended health details if you want direct billing. If you are coming after surgery, bring any protocol or restrictions from your surgeon; after a car accident, bring your ICBC claim number.

How physio compares with kinesiology and massage on cost

The Kirschner clinic also offers kinesiology and registered massage therapy, and people sometimes compare the three on price. Private kinesiology is $100 for a 50-minute initial visit and $95 for a 45-minute follow-up. Registered massage therapy runs from $95 for 30 minutes to $195 for 90 minutes, with 60 minutes at $140.

They do different jobs, though. Physiotherapy assesses the problem and builds the plan, kinesiology coaches the strength and movement work, and massage therapy works on soft tissue directly. Some people use all three for one problem, often with physiotherapy setting the direction and kinesiology or massage filling in between, and many extended health plans cover each under its own benefit.