Exercise Physiology

What is an Exercise Physiologist?

Accredited Exercise Physiologists specialise in clinical exercise interventions for people with a broad range of health issues. Inertia Exercise Physiologists work side by side with Inertia Dietitians Physiotherapists, Podiatrists and Remedial Therapists to improve the clinical and lifestyle outcomes of their patients.

 

People who see our Exercise Physiologists are those people that may be at risk of developing, or have existing medical conditions and injuries. The aims of exercise physiology interventions are to prevent or manage acute, sub- acute or chronic disease or injury and assist in restoring one’s optimal physical function, health or wellness. These interventions are exercise-based tailored programs and also include health and physical activity education, advice, support, assistance and coaching for those that may be ready to make appropriate lifestyle modifications.

 

When should you see an Exercise Physiologist?

There are a wide range of reasons why a person may benefit from consulting an Accredited Exercise Physiologist. These can be broken up to include Chronic Disease management, acute and subacute musculoskeletal rehabilitation and a third higher end category of maximising human potential which may include optimising sporting performance and high performance programming.

 

Chronic disease management referrals occur after a diagnosis of a range of conditions including- these may for best outcomes be paired with Dietitian, Physiotherapist or Podiatrist intervention concurrently pending the condition at hand:

• Cardiovascular disease & Cardiac Rehabilitation
• Pulmonary disease
• Metabolic disease
• Weight Loss
• Neurological disease
• Long standing Musculoskeletal disease (including arthritis, osteoporosis/osteopenia, acute and/or chronic musculoskeletal issues)
• Depression and other mental health conditions
• Cancer 

 

Maximising Human Potential

• Create and implement end stage exercise programs to return athletes to sport.
• End Stage Work Hardening Programming
• Programming strength and endurance for weekend warriors or amateur athletes wanting to perform at their peak.

What to expect when seeing an Inertia Exercise Physiologist

A typical session with an Inertia Exercise Physiologist will consist of:

Initial Consultation

At this time the Exercise Physiologist will assess a range of measurements based on the patient’s capacity and also goal orientation to determine baseline capacity and for future comparison. Measurements might include:

• Body composition- height, weight, waist and body fat percentage
• Aerobic capacity
• Range of Motion (ROM)
• Flexibility
• Muscular strength
• Balance

Program Prescription

The Exercise Physiologist will have gathered enough information to set a physical activity schedule to suit the patient’s needs to aid in the management of chronic disease and to achieve specific goals. An exercise or lifestyle intervention may be home or clinic based depending on the needs of the patient but will aim to increase physical activity levels to meet the recommended guidelines for a given chronic disease or injury.

Program Review

Our ongoing review process allows the exercise physiologist to reassess your goals and adherence to the program. This is also an opportunity to determine the effectiveness of the program and review/modify intensity or approach of the exercise prescription to suit your needs. Re-assessment of functional measures will also occur to aid with this review process and to give a comparison to baseline measures. This is also an opportunity for you and your exercise physiologist to address any barriers to exercise such as motivation and to develop a strategy to overcome it.

Program Reporting

Our Exercise Physiologists provide program updates and reports to all referring practitioners, whether it be your Physiotherapist, Podiatrist, General Practitioner or treating specialist.

The Inertia Advantage

Our state of the Art Gym facilities allow us to provide a range of lower end exercises and arrange all the way through to high-end exercise and rehabilitation programs for our patients. We also have the option to conduct exercise classes in small groups or individually pending patient preferences. Our practitioners conduct fortnightly patient clinical reviews between each other (when permission is granted) on how to collectively achieve the best outcome for their patients. Our clinicians also have the distinct added advantage to call other disciplines into consults to gain an on the spot opinion on how to best manage particular conditions or how other disciplines may be helpful to the outcome.

We strive for the absolute best results for our patients and their families across all our disciplines.