AFTER THE FIRST BLOCK
Extensions: what happens when the treatment period ends
Ten visits or five weeks goes quickly. Here is how the extension request works, when it has to be filed, and what to do if WorkSafeBC says no.
THE SHORT ANSWER
What happens when my WorkSafeBC physiotherapy treatment period ends?
Treatment does not stop automatically. Your physiotherapist submits a Treatment Plan Request Report asking WorkSafeBC to approve an extension, due at least seven days before the current period ends and no earlier than its third calendar week. A Standard Extension adds 8 visits over 4 weeks and an Extended Extension adds 16 visits over 8 weeks. A WorkSafeBC officer must approve the extension before it starts, so it is a request rather than an automatic renewal.
A treatment period of 10 visits or 5 weeks sounds generous until you are in it. For anything beyond a straightforward strain, the first block often ends while recovery is still underway.
What happens next is a documented process with real deadlines, and understanding it is the difference between continuous treatment and a gap of several weeks while paperwork catches up.
This page covers how the request is made, what makes it more likely to succeed, and what your options are if it is refused.
AT A GLANCE
- Standard Extension
- 8 visits or 4 weeks
- Extended Extension
- 16 visits or 8 weeks
- Request due
- 7 days before period ends
- Not before
- Week 3 of the period
- Approved by
- A WorkSafeBC officer
- Automatic
- No
- Discharge report
- Within 14 days of last visit
- Gap of 3+ months
- May need a new assessment
THE PROCESS
How an extension is requested
Your physiotherapist submits a Treatment Plan Request Report to WorkSafeBC. It sets out your current functional status, what has improved, what has not, and what further treatment is recommended and why.
The timing window is specific and narrow. The report is due at least seven days before your current period or extension ends, but no earlier than the third calendar week of that period. WorkSafeBC wants enough treatment to have happened to judge progress, and enough notice to decide before you run out.
A WorkSafeBC officer approves the extension before it starts. Treatment delivered in advance of approval is not covered, so if your period is ending, ask your physiotherapist whether the request has gone in.
WHAT MAKES A REQUEST STRONGER
Why some extensions get approved and others do not
Extension decisions turn on documented functional change and a clear plan, not on how much pain you report. The most useful thing you can do is be specific about function.
Talk about tasks, not pain scores
"I cannot lift a 20kg box to shoulder height, which my job needs 30 times a shift" is far more useful in a report than "it still hurts, about a 6". Function is what WorkSafeBC is funding a return to.
Attend the visits you book
A pattern of missed appointments undermines the case that more treatment will help. The clinic cannot bill WorkSafeBC or you for missed or cancelled appointments, but the attendance record still shapes the picture.
Report what changed, including small gains
Measurable progress supports a case for continuing. No progress at all across a full block points a reviewer toward a different pathway rather than more of the same.
Flag return-to-work barriers early
If modified duties are not actually available, or the work is aggravating the injury, say so. That belongs in the report and it affects what gets approved.
IF THE ANSWER IS NO
When funding ends before you feel ready
WorkSafeBC may approve continued physiotherapy, move you to a different rehabilitation stream better suited to a complex injury, or close active funding if the clinical evidence suggests more treatment will not change the outcome.
If funding closes and you disagree, the claim decision review process is the route. In the meantime, treatment does not have to stop: private-pay and extended health are both options, and your physiotherapist can restructure the plan toward a home programme that needs fewer clinic visits.
One timing detail worth knowing. If there is a gap of more than three months in your treatment, a new initial assessment may be clinically appropriate, which is a slower restart than simply resuming.
This page is general information about how WorkSafeBC funding works. It does not replace assessment by a regulated practitioner. Go to an emergency department rather than a clinic if you have severe or worsening pain, numbness or weakness in an arm or leg, loss of bladder or bowel control, confusion, repeated vomiting, or a head injury with loss of consciousness.
CLOSING OUT
The discharge report
When treatment ends, your physiotherapist files a Discharge Report within 14 days of your last visit. It records your functional status at discharge and what home programme you were given.
It is worth asking for a copy. If symptoms return or the claim is reviewed later, a clear record of where you finished is the most useful document you can have.
BOOK OR ASK
Book a WorkSafeBC assessment if
WORKSAFEBC AT LAUNCH REHAB · FIVE STUDIOS
We accept WorkSafeBC physiotherapy claims at all five studios and bill WorkSafeBC directly, so pre-approved physiotherapy and kinesiology support sessions cost you nothing at the desk. We do not accept WorkSafeBC claims for massage therapy. Not sure where to start? Call any studio and describe what happened. It is a two-minute conversation.
FAQ
Common questions.
WorkSafeBC's Visit Allocation table sets out two: a Standard Extension of 8 visits over 4 weeks, and an Extended Extension of 16 visits over 8 weeks. Each requires a Treatment Plan Request Report from your physiotherapist and approval by a WorkSafeBC officer before it starts. Whether more is available beyond that depends on your claim and is a decision for the WorkSafeBC officer managing it.
SOURCES
Where the facts on this page come from.
- Physiotherapy Services Reference Manual · WorkSafeBC · February 2026. Accessed 3 September 2026
- Workers Compensation Act, RSBC 2019, c.1, s.151 (Application for compensation) · BC Laws, Queen's Printer for British Columbia · Accessed 3 September 2026
KEEP READING
More from the WorkSafeBC guides.
- What WorkSafeBC covers
What WorkSafeBC covers
The real visit counts: 10 visits or 5 weeks, then extensions. Straight from the manual that sets them.
READ - Timelines, extensions and comparisons
WorkSafeBC compared with ICBC
Two systems, different rules. Which one applies, and what happens when a crash happens at work.
READ - Claims and paperwork
Filing the claim and your first visit
Who reports what, the deadlines that actually bind, and what to bring to appointment one.
READ
FROM THE JOURNAL
Related reading from our clinicians.
READY?
Start your WorkSafeBC treatment at any of our five studios.
We accept WorkSafeBC physiotherapy claims and bill WorkSafeBC directly at Lougheed, Coquitlam, Richmond, New Westminster and North Burnaby. No referral needed. Bring your claim number, and if you do not have one yet, call and we will explain how to get it.