And what can it do for me?
It’s a question we get a lot!
And you’re not crazy for not knowing.
We’re not physios, we’re not personal trainers, and we certainly aren’t going to give you a massage.
Exercise Physiology is only a relatively new profession in Australia and was created to address the issue of no one quite having the scope to prescribe all the amazing new emerging evidence highlighting the importance of exercise (especially to those that are high risk or living with medical conditions or injuries of some kind).
We’re the lovechild between a physio, doctor and personal trainer.
We have exercise knowledge, but also medical, psychological and anatomical knowledge to help us assess and prescribe this extremely effective tool to everyone.
The Nitty Gritty
Exercise physiology is an allied health profession qualified by an evidence based tertiary undergraduate or masters degree. We focus on how exercise affects the body at a physiological, anatomical and psychological level.
In order to practice we need to first pass a series of exams (including practical exams) at our University, we need a combined 500 hours of internship experience and we are required to continue ongoing professional development every year to maintain our accreditation.
All of this means we are accredited allied health professionals and are eligible for Medicare claiming and private health insurance.
And also we’re very smart (according to us anyway).
Our Focus
As well as the science of the body, exercise, injury and illness, we have a strong focus on how to help you. The person, attached to these parts.
We adopt a strong focus on you, your routine and your lifestyle to treat a you as a whole, rather than their injury or condition/s in a realistic way (we won’t tell you “it’s just your mindset bro!”).
We combine our knowledge and expertise to elicit the most effective care plan for your health and lifestyle centred goals.
In summary, we prescribe exercise like it is a medicine to help treat a wide range of medical conditions and musculoskeletal injuries no matter what barriers stand in the way (including time, injury, illness etc)
How we help you:
Below I’ll list a whole range of conditions we can help.
But that’s a bit boring, and theoretically we can help anyone with just about anything (so the list can become quite extensive – one of the beauties of working with the broadest health tool in medicine, literally).
A much better way for us to frame this to you is:
- If you want to get exercising but something is standing in your way (health, injury, busy diary, motivation, confidence), we can help
- If you’re feeling as though your overall health isn’t quite where you want it, we can help
- If there is a barrier stopping you doing what you love to do, we can help
- If you want to get back to what you love (or work towards a new love), we can help
- If you’ve never liked exercise but know you need to do it, we can help
Basically, we want to help you get back to living, no matter what stands in your way.
Anyway here’s that (brief) list of conditions we have been proven to help.
Musculoskeletal injury or disease:
- Muscle, tendon or ligament disease and injuries.
- Arthritis (all forms)
- Post surgical rehabilitation (such as replacements, reconstructions, arthroscopies)
- General aches and pains
Cardiometabolic conditions:
- Diabetes
- Heart disease/heart attacks
- High blood pressure
- High cholesterol
- PCOS
Pain and fatigue
- Persistent pain (>3 months)
- Fibromyalgia
- Chronic fatigue
- Long COVID
Mental health
- Stress and Anxiety
- Depression
- Low motivation
Neurological disorders:
- MS
- Parkinson’s
- Stroke
- Movement/coordination issues
Healthy Ageing
- Osteoporosis/low bone density
- Balance and falls prevention
- Sarcopenia (age related muscle and strength loss)
Pregnancy
- Preparation prior
- Pre and post natal health
- Pelvic floor and core recovery
Cancer (All kinds)
- Prevention
- Management
- Improving outcomes and quality of life
- Reducing treatment related symptoms
Do you think exercise physiology could help you? Kickstart your journey with our 12 week Health Turning Point Program. Learn more by clicking here
