Kelvin Physiotherapy Clinic

Kelvin is super knowledgable and passionate about what he does. That is very hard to come by in any field of work. You can see it in the results. Promised. He can fix anything if you obey his instructions and do your exercises.
To be honest it doesn’t hurt that much. It does of course… but not unbearable
And it fixes u.

I worked with least 15 rehab professionals over a 1.5 year period following a serious injury. I was on the brink of giving up in despair when someone begged me to at least try seeing Kelvin. I finally relented, and thank goodness I did. Kelvin was the first who actually was able to help me recover function. Gradually, over time, I improved more than I had even thought possible.
He is quirky and extremely unconventional, so you need to know what you are getting yourself into. The treatments may be very painful (but note that if you are very explicit about your tolerance — and insist — he will scale back his treatment) — but they really work. Also note they aren’t necessarily painful for everyone. But he is not shy to do what needs doing. He doesn’t want to waste his time or yours — so I can understand how some people might not like this absence of time/​attention/​pampering as some other reviewers have complained is absent from the experience. These are fair complaints, but to be clear: if it weren’t for him, I would likely still be bed ridden.
Not only that, but I have thoroughly interrogated him regarding the rationale and theory (including anatomy and physiology) behind what he is doing — and his breadth of knowledge is literally unparalleled among rehab professionals that I have worked with or known professionally. Furthermore, if he cannot help you or you do not need more treatment, he will tell you so (unlike many people).

We go to physio with expectations of a few things, results and the typical physio clinic pampering. The pampering is not found here, this is a results driven place and the physio ‘terrorist’ as Kelvin calls himself, is not going to coddle his clientele. There are no two ways about it, his method hurts ALOT. He does generate results and it perhaps comes faster than usual, but this is at the cost of the pain.
Another point…
Kelvin is the only physio therapist here, and he sees multiple clients at one time. When i go to physio i expect one on one attention, and that is not offered here. Kelvin will put you in a room and ask you to lay there, then leave you for up to 30 minutes while he visits his other patients.
Although i have gotten results from this clinic, i have decided to no longer see kelvin because of the lack of communication. With matters of my health, i want to be kept in the loop. Wouldn’t anyone?

Based on the reviews, you either love it or you hate it. I am in the latter group. I would give this place a zero if I could. Poorly organized and the wait time was excessive.
Kelvin is a one man show. I think he’s just spreading himself too thin so his turnover of patients is at its maximum.
I’m used to one-​on-​one sessions with a physiotherapist for the full appointment time. I saw him running around, person to person, barely getting 3 minutes of attention.
The only redeeming grace was that they refunded my payment.

Whenever I feel out of alignment I come here, introduced a few years back from my dear, who sometimes comes here, it does the job, and is central (as in location) enough to get everything done, whether prior to work, or after. If you have been in some accident, and needing to get your body back to as normal as you can, one of the places to come is here. I hear many ICBC, WCB related cases, whether it’s back related, or any injury, from wrist, to leg injuries, they don’t just get you ‘back on your feet’ but also teach you exercise techniques to keep your body right.
It’s not cheap going to these sessions, $ 60 a pop, but health is not cheap, that probably translates to this nice office and depending on which office you get assigned to, the views are pretty spectacular. This office takes up half the floor of the building, and once you walk in, you sign in, pay then you go and ‘warm-​up’ before Kelvin will see you. There is guidance here from his staff on exercises you need to do to relax the area your looking for treatment. If your in a rush, this place is not for you, plan accordingly, as you could be here upwards to 1.5 hours, my normal procedures are a bunch of stretches and exercises that are prescribed from Kelvin’s staff then moving on to the right side of the office where Kelvin, himself, works his magic, and it can be cruel and painful, if you hear screams coming from the room… let me just say it is normal!
I can say Kelvin’s techniques are a little medievil, but they work, from him making you lie on a table, where you eventually fall asleep, and out of nowhere he will pull, tug, put something back in place with a deep massage like an assassin sneaking in the bushes. For those scared of pain, well, here’s what I have to say to you, it may hurt in the short run, but you will be corrected in your problems in the long run.
Some may come out seeing that it is a waste of time, but if you go often enough it trains you to do your stretches at home, conditions you to take care of yourself and dodge Kelvin’s ‘killing’ techniques, but as all human’s are, how lest we learn, and in some ways Kelvin has a lot of fun with his patients, knowing their names and always asking for how they are feeling, and advising on progress.
I’m still coming here every so often, he hasn’t scared me off just yet. And as I said, the location is central, just good luck on finding parking, but just remember the Skytrain ain’t too far.

No, thank you. No more Kelvin Physio for me.
I’m sure that there are many people who would disagree with what I’m about to say… based on his huge number of clients who fill his waiting room on a daily basis. However, Kelvin’s approach to physical therapy did not work for me (I went for issues related to a knee injury).
For days after receiving treatments, my whole leg would be swollen. After causing significant pain, Kelvin would say that he got the knee to release. Other physios that I have seen since take a much gentler approach… with absolutely no pain… with much greater success.
I also did not like the way that Kelvin treats his staff members. They were often very young girls who looked terrified. They were in fear of making mistakes. It made me uncomfortable as a client.

It’s too bad some people judge Kelvin’s amazing ability to put you back in good form by the amount of time he spends with you. He’ll spend the amount of time with you that you need, not what you want. He doesn’t need to spend lots of time with you because he puts you back, releases the spasm and that’s it, what more do you need? He doesn’t do what you want but what you need and most people are not aware of what they need and then think they are not being treated properly. Kelvin developed his own technique and he is the only one who has ever been able to help me. No one comes more highly recommended than Kelvin but remember the crux of responsibility in becoming stable physically lies with you and not Kelvin. He can only do so much, then you must exercise to keep up his work.
If you want to be healed then see Kelvin and do NOT judge him by the amount of time he spends with you. Also, he has staff that is supposed to help with exercise as he can’t be in two places at once. Be realistic.

After seeing a handful of physios, you really learn to differentiate those who genuinely want to help you & those who want to help their business. Kelvin is unfortunately categorized by the later.
I visited Kelvin’s clinic for 3 weeks on a coworker’s recommendation & grew thoroughly unimpressed with each treatment. The first 45 — 60 min of treatment are spent doing self-​directed exercises that could just as easily be done on your own time. Kelvin is nowhere to be seen during this so almost no feedback/​direction is given.
Following that, Kelvin would then spend anywhere from 2 — 5 minutes with me for each session — a pitiful amount of attention. I would have felt this time wasn’t completely wasted had I actually received some constructive advice/​direction. It wasn’t until my 3^rd session (after I had to ask) that he told me what I should/shouldn’t be doing between treatments, stretches/​exercises I should do, etc. You get the sense he just wants you out of there as quickly as possible.
The bulk of my scant few minute spent with Kelvin involved him doing cheap used car sales-​type tactics to make me think he was actually doing something.
I don’t doubt that some people may see positive results seeing Kelvin, but I also feel any recovery could just as easily be accomplished doing exercises at home.
For better results, service & attention, I would go elsewhere.

I’ve been going to Kelvin Tam for at least a good 5 – 6 years. I was there when the cost per treatment was only $ 30 — $ 35 then it increases gradually by a $ 5 interval to now it’s $ 60 per visit.
Techniques: he knows what he is doing. He is really good at treating sports injuries. I’ve been seeing him on a regular basis for 3 consecutive years at one point in my life when I was injuring myself through training for ballroom competitions. I would get anything from pulled leg muscles (to the point I couldn’t walk), dislocated knee caps, locked back, to dislocated hips etc. He was able to fix me in the shortest amount of time possible. I couldn’t have done it without him.
Waiting time: bloody long! Despite his techniques, it usually takes me about 1.5 hr to 2 hrs just to see him. You will spend the majority of the time doing exercises supervised by Kelvin’s certified kinesiologists. Depending on the injury, you may be sent off to doing 15 minutes of heat pad or ice pad. After what seems like forever in the torture chamber (you hear people scream and moan), you will most likely spend no more than 5 minutes with him.
Location: I think his office is conveniently located if you were taking the sky train (Vancouver City Hall station). The walk isn’t too far. However, if you were driving, be prepared to cough up coins. Meter parking is expensive around his building. Be prepared to pay.
Office/​Staff: the office is spacious and staff is poker faced. Kelvin’s clinic is 2 office rooms combined (walls knocked down) and converted into a physio clinic. There are 4 individual patient rooms, a medium-​sized reception, and a fairly large exercise room with treadmill, bikes, weight machines, yoga mats, fitness balls etc. The staff works long hours so don’t expect them to flash you any smiles and don’t be offended if you smile at them and you don’t get the same in return.
Would I recommend Kelvin? Yes and no. It really depends on what you are looking for in a physiotherapist. If you had the time in the world to wait for him, by all means, yes, he is great! But you want a quick fix, this place is not for you.
I give this place 4 because Kelvin delivered what I was looking for.

Unfortunately this is a run-​of-​the-​mill type physiotherapy clinic. They make you line up and go through their standard «treatments» and don’t really care about you as a patient. You’re a number, or a dollar sign. Worst thing is that the main physiotherapist, Kelvin, is a delusional sadist who used scare tactic to hook you into their service, and then he take joy in inflicting pain on you. It’s scary and I never returned.

Five stars but big tip though… MAKE SURE you see Handry and not Kelvin. I’ve been to so many physiotherapists and looking back, I was never sure if physio worked or not. This one however is the first one that I can positively say that … physio works! Ask for Handry. He is very good and knows exactly what he is doing. Seriously, he works miracles… He works you hard for sure but nothing better than going to someone who can pin point the cause and is creative in the exercises he gives you.
He fixed my knee after my reconstructive surgery and now I’m training for the half marathon!
I should also add that it’s a very clean and spacious facility and central as well!

I’ve seen a few physiotherapists over the years and Kelvin is by far the most knowledgeable and competent of the lot! Yes, sometimes you do have to wait, but he gets results! I’ve been to see him for a few injuries, including whiplash and back misalignment. I highly recommend him.

get prepared — he likes to talk. you could be there for up to two hours, most of the time just sitting around waiting for him. he’s good for back and leg injuries, but if it’s something specific like your foot or your hand, look for another physiotherapist…