Exercise Referral Schemes
Why Exercise Referral?
Exercise referral has become an established method of not only promoting physical activity/ exercise to individuals, as a means of improving their health and well being, but also encouraging habitual participation for long term benefits. Patients will be guided through the referral process where advice on lifestyle and a tailored exercise program will be devised and delivered. Such individuals range from those who are sedentary to those for whom chronic disease has already taken its toll.
We hope patients referred onto the scheme will use the information given to them to help make lifestyle modifications and gradually increase the amount of physical activity they do. For many people physical exercise is not even on the agenda. The psychological, practical, financial and sometime physiological barriers can be formidable. It has to be stressed that an individual entering into a GP referral scheme would not start fitness training, they would begin by exercising for health.
The Benefits Of Lifestyle Change
There is now compelling evidence that physical activity is important for health and has great potential for health gain and can help in the prevention, treatment and management of a range of health problems. Being active also improves feelings of well-being, boosts self confidence, improves sleep and helps with stress management. It’s a great way of meeting new people and having fun.
Physical activity has been shown to have the following benefits:
- Regular physical activity decreases the risk of cardiovascular disease mortality in general and of CHD mortality in particular. Physically inactive people have about double the risk of CHD.
- Regular physical activity prevents or delays the development of high blood pressure, and reduces blood pressure in people with hypertension.
- Physical activity is also important in helping people to control their body weight, and in controlling diabetes.
- Specific forms of physical activity can help to reduce the risk of falls and accidents, by improving bone health and maintaining strength, co-ordination, cognitive functioning and balance.
- Physical activity reduces the risk of colon cancer, and evidence is growing to support links with other forms of cancer. Moderate intensity physical activity enhances the immune system.
- Physical activity reduces the risk of depression, and has positive benefits for mental health including reducing anxiety, and enhancing mood and self-esteem.
- Physical activity can play a valuable role in the prevention and treatment of non-specific chronic low back pain.
For adults, experts recommend that people aim to take part in physical activity of at least moderate intensity, on five or more days of the week. This includes activities such as brisk walking or cycling as well as sports or planned exercise. The best way to keep physical activity and exercise a permanent part of one's life is to make it fun and enjoyable!
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The Course
The physical activity programme that you will be following will be individually designed for you by a well qualified exercise referral professional and will be based on your medical needs, present physical activity/fitness levels and your interests and preferences. You will be encouraged to commit to 2 sessions per week for a 3 month period for 45-60minutes, at a level you can cope with. The activities you will be taking part in will be explained and discussed with you in detail. In addition, throughout the referral programme, your progress will be monitored and you will be given continued support and advice.
During the physical activity referral period, you will experience the positive effects physical exercise can have on your quality of life. You will also meet new people and hopefully enjoy yourself!
In order to develop a physical programme specific to your needs the exercise referral professional will conduct some pre- exercise assessments/screening. It is necessary to carry out a pre-exercise assessment to find out what activity is most suitable for you and your health. |
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Staff Involved
Dr Teri Clarke & Colin McDonald
Teri Clarke is a doctor of chiropractic and graduated from the Anglo European College Of Chiropractic in 2004 with a Masters of Science Degree and was awarded clinician of the year. Prior to becoming a chiropractor Teri studied a BSc (hons) Health and Exercise Science. Teri transferred her skills to the cardiac rehabilitation department at the Royal Bouremouth hospital where she co-ordinated phase 3 & 4 cardiac rehabilitation schemes. Teri also ran her own independent personal training business at the David Lloyd leisure club in the New Forrest, Dorset. Teri has a strong philosophy on healthy living and lifestyle and thrives on teaching, motivating and guiding individuals to make healthy lifestyle choices to improve their general health. |
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Colin McDonald has been involved with Whitekirk Leisure for the past 6 years and comes from a sports background, playing professional football for 12 years. In his time at Whitekirk he has been responsible for gym inductions, fitness programs, swimming lessons and instructing groups exercise classes. Over the past 3 years his main focus has been one to one personal training and his recent qualifications include kettlebell instruction and the Wright Institutes GP referral course.
Week One
Patients entering our referral scheme will go through a series of fitness tests. However, fitness testing is not a diagnostic tool used to assess an individuals diseased or non-diseased status and nor is it a tool to determine a client’s readiness to engage in activity. Any client entering our referral scheme will have already had a full diagnostic health evaluation conducted by their relevant health professional.
Any non-diagnostic tests we carry out will be entirely based around the client’s needs, goals and suitability. For example, how would we deal with an extremely overweight, sedentary individual who has a low level of cardiovascular fitness and has flexibility or postural imbalances? A visual check, accurate health screening and conversation will detail all of this without putting the client at risk of injury or emotional insult.
The fitness tests we carry out will be used to help find a start point for the exercise programme and to
hopefully act as a motivational tool. These tests can include cardiovascular evaluation, flexibility, muscle
strength and endurance and resting, exercise and recovery heart rates. Blood pressure and if appropriate we can measure limb girths and body composition using a bodystat machine.
There are two ways to catalogue fitness assessment outcomes. One method is to compare assessment
results to the results (or norms) of other people who have taken the test. The second is to compare the clients own assessment results to his or hers previous results to determine the percentage of improvement from test to test.
Using the norms can be a double edged sword, it can motivate or discourage. Any improvement, regardless of absolute starting point, is positive; however even after months of significant improvement a client can still have a norm rating in the lowest category. That is why all tests will use a percentage improvement. This enables us to track improvements in fitness that are specific to the individual client. Another advantage to using percentage improvement is the development of our testing protocols. Using norms would require us to follow an established protocol. By modifying the tests and creating our own assessments, we can more effectively and safely meet the needs of any patients referred onto the schemes.
Health Risks
There will always be an element of risk associated with being physically active, however these risks need to be put into context, many thousands of patients have taken part in physical activity referral schemes and there remain very few reported serious adverse events.
The pre-exercise screening is undertaken to identify any underlying risks and the exercise referral professional understands the importance of designing and developing a progressive physical activity programme to suit your needs and your abilities. To avoid risk of injury you should follow the physical activity programme exactly as directed by the exercise referral professional.
If I agree to take part in the referral scheme what do I have to do?
- Agree and commit to attend the sessions
- Follow the exercise programme as directed
- Keep the exercise professional informed if you are unable to attend
- Inform the exercise professional of any changes in you physical/emotional condition changes or if your GP changes your medication or treatment programme
- Inform your exercise professional and your GP if you feel any of the following symptoms during physical activity: Dizzy/Faint, Unusual short of breath, Chest pains
- Let the exercise professional know if you experience any problems with your physical activity programme.
Confidentiality
We will ensure that all confidential information is securely held and only available to authorized personnel. In addition, all Whitekirk exercise professionals engaged on exercise referral schemes are covered by the confidentiality clause in their contract of employment.
The Referral Process & Quality Assurance
We have developed the content of our course through our experience, the teachings of the wright foundation GP referral qualification and the NHS document, Exercise Referral Systems: A national quality assurance framework. This has insured that our scheme has been developed to demonstrate best practice and best value for the needs of those involved.
Patient - Specific health problems - Specific exercise needs
Medical Professional - Patients selection under agreed guidelines - Past medical history - Treatment history - Measures HR & BP - Referral as positive intervention
Exercise Professional - Exercise register - Meets national occupational standards for exercise programming - Appropriate resuscitation skills - Confidentiality undertaking
Key Components - Pre-exercise assessment - Patient consent - Motivation - Exercise programming for
specific health outcomes - Supervision - Monitoring - Discuss maintenance of physical activity - Report
outcomes to GP
Medical Professional - Patient review - Encourage maintenance - Monitor health gains
Patient - Activity maintenance - Reduced health needs
Course Dates, Times & Prices
Contact Information
David Brodie or Colin McDonald
Whitekirk Golf & Country Club, North Berwick, East Lothian, EH39 5PR
Telephone - 01620 870300
Email - dbwhitekirk@yahoo.co.uk
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