BIOKINETICIST Justin Bowden recently opened his practice in Uitenhage.
His passion lies with orthopedic and cardiovascular rehabilitation as well as hydrotherapy with additional interests including functional capacity evaluations (FCE’s), disabilities, return to work evaluations and rehabilitation.
“I believe that I have been placed in Uitenhage for a reason and that reason is to live a life in service and to the betterment of others,” said Justin.
He has been practising biokinetics for five years and has gained valuable experience at the occupational health and wellness divisions of Mercedes Benz South Africa (MBSA), Volkswagen South Africa (VWSA) Uitenhage Plant as well as Eskom in East London.
“When working at Volkswagen it was brought to my attention that there is no Biokineticist with his/her own practice based in Uitenhage. Most patients are required to travel to Port Elizabeth to obtain orthopedic and cardiovascular rehabilitation,” said Justin.
In walking the extra mile for his patients, he travels to patients of his who are unable to get themselves to the practice due to transport and health complications.
The field of biokinetics is fairly new in comparison to physiotherapy, occupational therapy, chiropractics and podiatry. Biokineticists specialise in the later stages of rehabilitation (6 weeks post-surgery).
“To give you a simple analogy: a person might walk into my practice complaining of shoulder pain, which is a common injury based on our life style, poor posture and repetitive work and activities of daily living.
“It is then my role to perform an orthopedic assessment on this individual to determine the underlying pathology, what specific muscles need to be strengthened and what muscles need to be stretched.
“An appropriate rehabilitation programme for this particular individual will then allow for optimal biomechanical functioning of the shoulder joint,” explained Justin.
Biokineticists are also trained to rehabilitate people who have cardiovascular, metabolic, circulatory and neuromuscular disorders i.e. strokes, heart attacks, bi-pass surgery, diabetes, cholesterol, hypertension, motor neuron disease, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis.
In addition to this, they are able to perform manual blood pressure testing, cholesterol, glucose and haemoglobin testing, lung function testing, resting and stress ECG testing, fitness testing and childhood development testing.
“Working in Uitenhage has made me come to the realisation that it is in the seemingly small places that the greatest potential for growth and development lies,” said Justin.
The Justin Bowden Biokeneticist practice is centrally located at 64 Caledon Street, at the back of general practitioner Dr Deon-Jacques Pieterse’s consulting rooms. There is ample and safe parking.
- Enquiries: 083 570 7218
