Medical exercise training and corrective exercise are growing rapidly. It’s important to make sure both concepts are used appropriately. Many clients may report pain and discomfort to their fitness professional. In many instances, the immediate response is to think of an exercise to manage the discomfort. Obviously, the personal trainer, corrective exercise specialist or medical exercise professional cannot diagnose. But there should be some process to determine if the client should seek medical care.

In the corrective execise realm the response may be to put the client through a screening to determine what exercise will manage the discomfort or the accompanying muscular imbalance. We need to start thinking beyond muscular and postural imbalances as the source of client pain and discomfort. In many cases, these non-muscular/postural sources of discomfort are not considered by the corrective exercise specialist or personal trainer.

In the METI – Medical Exercise...

Clients are leaving physical or occupational therapy earlier and with greater limitations such as weakness, lack of endurance, etc. This is not the fault of the physical or occupational therapists, its the changes in insurance reimbursement for rehabilitation. As a result the medical exercise professional is seeing clients with greater ‘residual functional deficits”. These deficits limit client function and are the primary reason for the growth in medical exercise training since 1994 when we offered the first Medical Exercise Specialist workshop and certification.

The job of the Medical Exercise Specialist is shifting toward identifying and developing an exercise program to improve these “residual functional deficits”. These deficits may be in range of motion, strength, endurance, balance, power, etc. The function wheel below identifies the key components of function. Your job as the medical exercise professional is to deal with these deficits.

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So you want to build a medical exercise practice? You completed the Medical Exercise Specialist (MES) or Post Rehab Conditioning Specialist (PRCS) certification but now what? Which physician or physical therapist should you approach first? What should you say to physicians and therapists? What will medical professionals want for referring clients? How should you explain medical exercise training (MET)? Will doctors accept you as a Medical Exercise Specialist? How do you build credibility to obtain referrals?

Get the answers to these questions and more in Medical Exercise Jumpstart!!

With the changes in health care there must be a new professional added to the medical management team to assist with large numbers of chronic disease clients. In July of 1994, the first Medical Exercise Specialist workshop was held in Washington, DC to train fitness professionals to “Bridge the Gap” as part of the medical management team and assist with the large numbers of chronic disease sufferers. This video will discuss this new professional as well as the scope of practice and role of the Medical Exercise Specialist. This is the fourth in our series “Medical Exercise Training…. The New Modality”. Below please subscribe to our blog to receive the final segment.

Changes in health care, insurance reimbursement and the recognition by both medical professionals and the general public have increased the need for the integration of exercise into medical management plans. In this the third segment of the video series “Medical Exercise Training….The New Modality” we outline the “new fitness approach” that must be utilized to deal with the health care crisis. A key to this new fitness approach is the use of Functional Outcome Measures" - FOMs. 

This is the second in our series “Medical Exercise Training…..The New Modality”. In this video we review the “wasted billions” that could easily be avoided if medical exercise training was integrated into management of chronic medical conditions such as osteoarthritis, diabetes, hypertension, low back pain, obesity and total joint replacments. Click the “play” button to watch the video. To white paper titled "Medical Exercise Training....The New Modality" please click here. 

Medical Exercise Specialists are finding opportunities in a wide range of settings from health clubs, to physical therapy clinics, to hospital based fitness centers. As opportunities grow there must be some outline of a path to professional growth and success for medical exercise professionals. This is our attempt at establishing a “Medical Exercise Specialist Career Success Path”. Education without a defined course can be useless. The steps we outline in this video are similar to what we see in other professions such as law, medicine and engineering. The six points along with MES Career Path are:

1. Foundation
2. Application
3. Management
4. Specialization
5. Growth
6. Leadership

Avoiding or missing the steps along this path can be done but there may be possible negative outcomes down the road. This is the first of a series of posts and videos outlining the “Medical Exercise Specialist Career Success Path”. Join us tomorrow for part 1 – Medical Exercise Specialist...

Medical Exercise Training (MET) is the New Modality to manage medical conditions. Exercise is the missing modality in many medical management plans. This five-part video series will review the importance of this emerging modality and how it may be used to manage our chronic disease crisis. Click the “play” button below to watch.