Dr Karen Bonina
Dr. Karen Bonina is a Doctor of Chiropractic passionate about supporting families to feel powerful and strong in their bodies through all transformations of life. She empowers her patients to move through life confidently, whether it be pregnancy, postpartum, perimenopause, or even young ones learning to crawl or thrive through growth spurts. She believes manual therapy is simply a piece of the puzzle, and the ultimate goal is to provide education to understand what your body is asking of you, and how to gracefully support it to feel your best every day. Dr. Karen is dedicated to focusing on a whole-body approach, treating the myofascial connections between your joints, ligaments, muscles, and nerves as one.
Therapeutic Approach
She grew up playing many sports, mainly soccer and field hockey, and was in and out of Chiropractors’ and Physiotherapists’ offices with injuries throughout her athletic career. As she moved through her soccer career as a young girl, she always felt there was a lack of understanding of how her body functioned and how to best support it to perform at the highest level. From then, she always knew she wanted a career where she could support individuals, especially girls and women, in reaching their health and wellness goals and to live a more pain-free life. She is continually enhancing her education to advance her research and styles of treatment to help all patients thrive under her care. Her philosophy in the clinic is that she will always work within your comfort zone, and provides a variety of adjusting, myofascial release, and active rehabilitation techniques specific to your needs.
Education
She graduated with a Doctor of Chiropractic, magna cum laude, from Palmer College of Chiropractic West in 2022, where she was awarded the Student Fellowship Award for her excellence and leadership in the college and profession. She graduated with a Bachelor of Human Kinetics in Clinical Exercise Physiology from UBCO. She has spent the last 10 years studying the human body, movement patterns, and dysfunctions in the bones, joints, and soft tissues. Most importantly she’s learned that health and function aren't one-size-fits-all, and treatment will look different for everyone!
Accepting New Patients
Dr. Karen is dedicated to helping women, children and families in reaching their goals.
Selected Academic Qualifications & Courses
- Bachelor of Human Kinetics in Clinical Exercise Physiology, UBCO (2018)
- Doctor of Chiropractic, Palmer College of Chiropractic West (2022)
- Member of the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association
- Webster Technique Certified, ICPA
- Pediatric Science: The Infant Course Certification, Somatic Senses Education
- Instrument Assisted Soft Tissue Mobilization, PCCW
Dr. Karen grew up in North Vancouver, with the mountains, hiking trails, ocean, and big city as her backyard. She moved to Kelowna in 2014 to attend UBCO where she found her passion for musculoskeletal health, and moved to San Jose, California in 2019 to refine her chiropractic craft at Palmer West. She values family and community connection wholeheartedly, and so West Kelowna became the right place to call home after graduation.
Over the last 2 years, West Kelowna has been the perfect home base for her and her fiancé (Dr. Jamie Gallo), and now their new puppy Scopa the bernese mountain dog, to explore all the treasures and hideouts that BC has to offer. You can often find her unplugging on weekends to find somewhere new to explore. When in town, you can likely find her at Paul’s Tomb, on the mat or behind the desk at Our Yoga Space, or any Italian restaurant she can find.