Prescribing Medically Appropriate Exercise
Assignment D1:
Exercise Rx Guidelines
Exercise Rx Guidelines
Instructions:
Get familiar with the Exercise Rx Guidelines and complete the quiz below.
Get familiar with the Exercise Rx Guidelines and complete the quiz below.
If "Deconditioning" was a recognized diagnosis, like hypertension or diabetes, it would be easier to educate health professionals and their patients about the one and only effective treatment for it - exercise.
The lack of exercise - deconditioning - is one of the most common preventable causes of premature disease, disability, and death.
Exercise Is Medicine® (EIM) is a Global Health Initiative managed by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) that encourages physicians to include physical activity (exercise) in their patients' treatment plans.
Ideally, physicians need to refer their patients to evidence-based exercise programs and qualified fitness professionals who can do proper fitness testing and issue medically-appropriate Exercise Rx's.
EIM is committed to the belief that physical activity promotes optimal health, is integral in the prevention and treatment of many medical conditions, and should be regularly assessed as a standard of health care for every patient.
An Exercise Rx in the right “dosage” is a highly effective strategy for the prevention, treatment, and management of more than 40 of the most common chronic health conditions that plague our modern society.
One of the main goals of the EIM Initiative is to provide doctors a reliable resource for fitness testing, therapeutic fitness training, and behavior change support on behalf of their patients that have sedentary-related health risks and chronic medical conditions.
Certified Sports Med-Tech Assistants work closely with Sports Medicine Technicians to provide these types of professional services in a community setting that is convenient and affordable. Conducting accurate medical-fitness tests that lead to medically appropriate Exercise Rx's is crucial for securing patient referrals from local physicians.
A medically appropriate Exercise Rx is based on the participant's body composition analysis and medical-fitness test scores. Use the charts below to follow the guidelines as set forth by the American Association of Sports Medicine Technicians (AASMT).
Ideally, physicians need to refer their patients to evidence-based exercise programs and qualified fitness professionals who can do proper fitness testing and issue medically-appropriate Exercise Rx's.
EIM is committed to the belief that physical activity promotes optimal health, is integral in the prevention and treatment of many medical conditions, and should be regularly assessed as a standard of health care for every patient.
An Exercise Rx in the right “dosage” is a highly effective strategy for the prevention, treatment, and management of more than 40 of the most common chronic health conditions that plague our modern society.
One of the main goals of the EIM Initiative is to provide doctors a reliable resource for fitness testing, therapeutic fitness training, and behavior change support on behalf of their patients that have sedentary-related health risks and chronic medical conditions.
Certified Sports Med-Tech Assistants work closely with Sports Medicine Technicians to provide these types of professional services in a community setting that is convenient and affordable. Conducting accurate medical-fitness tests that lead to medically appropriate Exercise Rx's is crucial for securing patient referrals from local physicians.
A medically appropriate Exercise Rx is based on the participant's body composition analysis and medical-fitness test scores. Use the charts below to follow the guidelines as set forth by the American Association of Sports Medicine Technicians (AASMT).
For sedentary individuals to begin and progress through a therapeutic fitness training program, the following principles are applied:
- Exercise is most beneficial for health and fitness when done as frequent short bouts at relatively higher-intensity.
- Exercise is more accessible when the movements can be done any where, any time - emphasizing body-weight movements.
- Exercise is easier to integrate into a busy schedule when done as short, higher-intensity bouts (<10 minutes).
- Exercise is better tolerated when the type of exercise is matched with the individual's physical capacity.
- Exercise is better tolerated when the amount of exercise is limited to the individual's fitness level.
- High frequency of dosing is achieved and maintained by prescribing 1-3 short sessions per day, 6 days per week.
- As the individual's fitness level increases, the prescribed minimum amount (dosage) is increased.
- As the individual's volume of exercise increases, progression is slowed to allow adequate physiological adaptations.
Fitness Test Selection Criteria
- An individual who is in the Obese Class 2 or 3 category from their Body Composition Analysis is only tested for CPV Fitness.
- Obese Class 2 or 3 individuals are only prescribed doses of AEROBIC exercise.
- A dose of Aerobic exercise is 0.5 miles, which translates into a 10-minute brisk walk or slow jog at 3 mph.
- Obese Class 2 or 3 individuals need to lose enough weight to be in the Obese Class 1 category before being prescribed doses of Strength exercises.
- An individual who is in the Overweight or Obese Class 1 category from their Body Composition Analysis is tested for CPV Fitness, but may also be tested for Muscular Fitness, depending on the individual's health and fitness status.
- Overweight and Obese Class 1 individuals who participate in both CPV and Muscular Fitness testing are prescribed doses of both Aerobic and Strength exercises.
- A dose of Strength exercise is the amount of exercise (work) a typical "fit" individual can do in 1 minute (including recovery time).
- The amount of time that less fit individuals take to complete a dose of Strength exercise is usually more than 1 minute.
- An individual who is in the Underweight or Healthy Weight category from their Body Composition Analysis is tested for CPV and Muscular Fitness.
- Underweight and Healthy Weight individuals are mainly prescribed doses of STRENGTH exercises.
- Doses of multiple Strength exercises are gradually increased in duration and intensity so that their CPV Ftness is improved along with their Muscular Fitness.
QUIZ D1