Clinical Exercise Coaching fills a gap in health care. You as a health seeker or a health professional likely know the frustration of this gap. You know exercise is essential for your health. Nothing replaces it. However, unlike getting nutrition advice from a Registered Dietitian or support for healing an injury from a Physical Therapist, there is a lack of information about how to make exercise a lifelong habit when you have or want to prevent a medical condition.
Happy World Clinical Exercise Physiology Day.
Did you know there was such a day or a profession? Most people don't! Yet everyone needs this professional as part of their healthcare team.
Clinical Exercise Physiologists (CEP) are health care professionals who specialize in using exericse as medicine for preventing and treating chronic illness.
This day of celebration and recognition of the health professionals you need to meet started in Australia. In that country Clinical Exercise Physiologists are part of the health care system. In the United States, you are most likely to have the opportunity to work with a clinical exericse physiologist if you go to cardiac rehabilitation or pulmonary rehabilitation.
Clinical Exercise Physiologists are the missing healthcare professional
However, in our country, only 20% of people eligible for this special type of rehabilitation go to these specialized programs. That is unfortunate because we help them get their physical and mental confidence back after a cardiac or pulmonary diagnosis or event. If you have diabetes, cancer, or are having bariatric surgery you also may work with one, but it's quite rare for programs to have a CEP on staff. In this country, our services are not reimbursed by health insurance companies. This has been a major barrier to incorporating CEPs in health care as they do in other countries
I have had the absolute privilege of being a CEP since 1989. When I graduated with my master's, I was so excited to get out and help people dealing with or wanting to prevent chronic illnesses like heart disease, diabetes, cancer, depression, anxiety, neuromuscular disorders, autoimmune disorders, or weight gain through science-based exericse. I quickly found out information was not enough. I noticed patients were highly motivated by fear of disease and that kept them coming in for exercise. However, the fear of disease burned out quickly and patients ended up struggling with sticking with an exericse program.
Health Coaches are making a difference
As I dove deeper into the science of motivation, I knew I needed more skills to help clients and patients use the great information about how exericse is medicine. Ten years ago, I took a year-long training and became a certified health coach through Wellcoaches. This past year I took more training and became a National Board Certified Health coach.
Health coaches are making a difference in healthcare. However, the scope of practice of a health coach does not allow them to advise about how to exericse with chronic illness. A health coach will help you put recommendations into practice and turn them into habits, but without specific recommendations from a Clinical Exercise Physiologist, you are left to search the internet for information. If starting to exericse left you in pain, feeling embarrassed or ashamed, exhausted or fearful of injury, or a heart attack you likely have received misinformation about how to exericse in the right way for you right now.
The blending of physiology and psychology for whole-person science-based information
The combination of physiology and psychology allows me to share information about how to use exericse as medicine, without resulting in guilt and fear to be the source of motivation to exericse. I learned coaching conversation skills that bring out value-based motivation so exericse becomes a way to take care of yourself so you can do what you love with those you love, without fear, but with confidence.
The Clinical Exercise Coach
This is what I call Clinical Exericse Coaching. It fills a gap in health care. You as a health seeker or a health professional likely know the frustration of this gap. You know exercise is essential for your health. Nothing replaces it. However, unlike getting nutrition advice from a Registered Dietitian or support for healing an injury from a Physical Therapist, there is a lack of information about how to make exercise a lifelong habit when you have a medical condition.
In Clinical Exercise Coaching, I share the amazing wealth of clinical information about how to use exercise as a way to prevent or treat mental or physical conditions in a way that is positive, life-giving, and intrinsically motivating.
I created Exercising Well because most people do not get the unique, science-based information that a CEP has to share about exercise. I found most of what I was doing in the hospital clinic was dispelling misinformation about how to exercise and how to use it to be healthy. I wanted to share evidence-based information in a way that builds self-efficacy, or confidence that you can exericse on your own, without someone telling you what to do and motivating you to do it.
You are not likely to meet a CEP in your health journey, but you can add this specialty of Clinical Exericse Coaching to your healthcare team. I've made it affordable and easy to access with remote sessions and online learning. If you keep hearing how important it is to exericse for preventing or treating health issues but struggle with pain, time, motivation, or stress getting in the way, Exericisng Well was made for you.
Click here to learn more about Exercising Well and how to fill the gap between exericse recommendations and habits.