An informative and interesting web cast was recently broadcast on www.medscape.com. The web cast was titled "Exercise in the Age of Evidence-Based Medicine: A clinical Update." The presenters were Dr. Steven Blair, who is a professor in the Arnold School of Public Health at the University of South Carolina, Dr. Paul Thompson, who is Director of Cardiology at Hartford Hospital, and Dr. Tim Church, who is a professor at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The purpose of the web cast was to educate physicians regarding how to educate and motivate their patients about becoming more active and reaping the benefits of exercise. The presentation was timely, as there have been more research studies on activity, fitness and cardiovascular disease since 2000 than in all previous history.

One of the main points of the presentation was to illustrate the strong correlation between cardiovascular fitness and the risk of cardiovascular death or "events" such as heart attack. Dr. Blair educated the physicians that in addition to knowing a patient’s status regarding smoking, cholesterol levels, blood pressure and coronary artery calcium, that "...low fitness, which is brought about by physical inactivity, is a strong additional predictor of these coronary heart disease events." Dr. Blair also presented data showing how someone can greatly reduce their chances of having a coronary event by improving their level of fitness.

While discussing the risks of exercise, the doctors agreed on the importance of properly screening patients prior to exercise and then "You ramp people up very, very slowly over the course of weeks." The doctors agreed that 30 minutes of aerobic exercise, five days per week is ideal, but if that is unattainable that "...when you do just a minimal amount of physical activity, you receive a whole bunch of benefit."

Dr. Church recommends strength training two days per week to his patients. He stated, "I think the people who really stand to benefit from strength training are women, aging individuals, and individuals with diabetes. Because, as you said, skeletal muscle is an endocrine organ and, to keep skeletal muscle happy, the body does a much better job in metabolizing glucose." He also reported that "aerobic exercise keep(s) you alive ... and strength training keep(s) you out of the nursing home."

In summing up the importance of discussing exercise with their patients, Dr. Blair stated, "I think that would be our final advice - that you’re not doing your job as a physician if you don’t get physical activity on the patient’s agenda and give them the encouragement. And if every physician in America did that and their staff supported it, you know, we could actually have quite an effect on this big public health problem."

How Peoplefit can help
Peoplefit Health and Fitness Center is devoted to improving the health and wellness of people in the greater Woburn community. We use our expertise to create safe and effective individualized exercise programs in order to help you reach your goals. If you would like to speak with a physical therapist about exercise and its effects on any health related condition, please contact us.