Chronic Illness Exercise Management
Appropriate exercise should be included in the treatment of all patients
The use of exercise as a medical treatment is an old concept, but one that did not start gaining acceptance until the 20th century. Today, exercise scientists are exploring the limits of exercise as a therapy—of exercise as a medicine.
An exercise prescription, like any prescription, has a type and dose, a dosing frequency, a duration of treatment, a therapeutic goal, and anticipated adverse effects. This is true whether the exercise is simple stretching for range of motion, aerobic exercise for all around fitness, resistance training for strength, or a more integrated type of functional exercise designed around activities of daily living.
Generically speaking, any exercise prescription resembles a drug prescription: Exercise A, taken N times daily, for X duration of weeks/months/years. The exercise type and dose are chosen by the person’s individual needs, goals, and ability level; the frequency and intensity of each session are chosen by the person’s intrinsic endurance and ability to recover; the progression and duration of the programme is determined by the person’s intermediate and long term goals.
To prescribe exercise in the context of chronic disease, one needs to consider how the physiology of exercise training interacts with both the pathophysiology and medical management of the patient’s chronic disease(s).
Our Physicians have been working in the area of exercise prescription for many years. Working closely with our Physiotherapy staff, we can develop an exercise prescription that will aid in the recovery from many chronic long term illness'.
Please ensure you bring all relevant medical history if you are booking an appointment for this particular area of medicine.
