Exercise is Medicine
May is both National Physiotherapy month and Exercise is Medicine® month. This makes May the ideal month to highlight the importance of increased physical activity in our everyday lives!
If there was a drug that could reduce your risk for heart disease, cancer, diabetes, osteoporosis, and many other chronic illnesses, would you take it?
The answer is probably YES – and you would probably want to take it for the rest of your life!
What is this wonder drug? It’s exercise. In addition to preventing and/or managing chronic disease, including depression, regular exercise increases your energy levels and improves the quality of your sleep.
Evolution Physiotherapy is proud to be one of the first facilities in Canada to join the American College of Sports Medicine’s (ACSM) Exercise is Medicine® network. Our team supports its guiding principles, and we believe that:
- Exercise and physical activity are important to health and the prevention and treatment of many chronic diseases;
- More should be done to address physical activity and exercise in health care settings; and
- We should encourage a greater focus on physical activity and exercise in health care settings
If exercise can improve our health so significantly, with few negative side effects, why don’t more people exercise regularly?
One barrier is that many people don’t know how to begin a safe, effective exercise program. Sometimes, they try an activity that is not appropriate for their current fitness levels and it doesn’t feel good. Even worse, it could lead to physical injury. A second barrier is that it can be challenging to get motivated to exercise. Any change or new routine needs motivation to get started and to stick with it until new habits are formed.
The team at Evolution Physiotherapy understands these barriers to exercise– and we have strategies and solutions to help address them. The first step is deciding to make a change and setting your fitness goals. And that’s where we can help.
Have you ever heard the saying “A goal without a plan is just a wish”?
Evolution Physiotherapy can help you reach your health and fitness goals through exercise. Our experienced, educated staff of physiotherapists can design an exercise program specific to your unique needs and fitness levels. We then work with you so you know how to follow the program and start to see the benefits of exercise while preventing injury. When you see real results towards your health and fitness goals, you’re more likely to stick with it!
All Evolution Physiotherapy’s exercise programs are designed to meet your individual goals for:
- Health objectives: to address pain, injury, muscle imbalances, faulty movement patterns
- Fitness objectives: weight loss, strength and conditioning, sport specific training
Every client is unique –so all our exercise programs start with an initial evaluation to determine what types of exercises are appropriate for you. We discuss and assess your specific goals, health history, injury history, exercise history, and functional movement limitations. This input is used to design a personalized exercise program.
Then, we educate and coach you through the exercises in the program. The program can be performed at home, at a gym, or under various levels of supervision at Evolution Physiotherapy – based on your needs and personal preferences. We can also work with you to identify and overcome the barriers to motivating yourself to be physically active.
So, if you’re ready to see what a commitment to exercise can do for your overall health and fitness, we’re here to help. Contact us to learn more about how Evolution Physiotherapy can be part of your plan towards meeting your goals!