Allied health is referred to as a wide range of health services provided by professionals who are not doctors, dentists or nurses. Allied health therapists are a distinct group of health professionals who have expertise in disease prevention and transmission, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation, and cater to all age groups. Coupled with assistive technology and trained support staff, these professionals can deliver direct care, treatment, diagnostics and health interventions to restore and maintain physical, sensory, psychological, cognitive, and social functions.
To name a few, Allied Health professionals include physio therapists, occupational therapists, respiratory therapists, audiologists, speech and language pathologists, nutritionists, dietitians, and Accredited Exercise Physiologists commonly known as AEPs.
AEPs are among the most sought professional allied health services since they deal with exercise and its impacts on your body. People from all sects of life, whether ordinary individuals looking for improved fitness, professional athletes, or individuals facing motor disabilities or chronic injuries, need specialized services of an exercise physiologist.
Exercise has shown proven results to reduce the risk of many health related physical and mental conditions including heart disease, dementia, diabetes, mental illness and many types of cancer. Apart from preventing illness and rehabilitation, exercise is acknowledged by masses as a means of improving mood, boosting energy levels, brushed up happiness level, and enhancing general well-being.
Exercise is a very individualized area since its physical and mental impacts vary from person to person and to enjoy full benefits of exercise, you need professional guidance. And that’s where AEPs or exercise physiologists can help.
Although you can do general exercise activities on your own to keep yourself active, but when it comes to your next level fitness related goals such as gaining muscle mass and strength, well shaped and shredded body or losing fat to acquire your healthy body weight, you need highly specialized custom made workout programs. Similarly, individuals facing problems associated with conditions such as lower back pain, whiplash, osteoarthritis, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, mental health problems, pulmonary disease and more, also require professional assistance to cope better with these conditions.
Accredited Exercise Physiologists specialize in these areas through a four years full degree program from university and have professional in-depth knowledge of diseases and conditions associated with them. Why you should seek professional assistance from AEPs? Answer is very simple. AEPs are properly educated professionals and know exactly about what they are dealing with, and AEPs are Medicare Australia’s registered practitioners who also hold recognition from many other government organizations such as Department of Veterans Affairs. Many private health insurers also recognize AEPs and cover your AEP’s services costs.
In today’s fast moving online world, people have easy and quick access to health services and you will find hundreds of thousands physical and mental fitness gurus who proclaim to be health professionals. It is important to be careful as choosing the right service provider can be as difficult as looking for a needle in a haystack. Best recommendation is to go for AEPs instead of putting yourself in the hands of fitness influencers who most of the times use pictures of their trimmed and well shaped bodies to lure their followers and have nothing authentic to back up what they are claiming. Also, what worked for your Instagram inspiration might not work for you.
Exercise Physiologists develop treatment plans, workout programs and custom made exercises strictly individualized to their clients needs after taking into considerations a range of factors such as an individual’s current fitness level, preferences, existing health conditions and detailed medical history linked to those conditions. Accredited Exercise Physiologists in collaboration with Assistive Technology experts, also design exercise environment for people who are experiencing any kind of motor disabilities or chronic injuries.
When to see an Exercise Physiologist
There can be many indications or symptoms, when appear, makes seeing Exercise Physiologist inevitable. Among many of the reasons of seeking help from AEPs, some are:
Chronic Pain: If you feel pain in your body which prevails and persists longer than two to three months you need to seek medical help. These pains are chronic pains and if not diagnosed and treated timely can lead to disabilities. Apart from medicine you might need to see Exercise Physiologists who are specialists in chronic pain diagnosis and treatment. It is also important to understand and consider the difference between Physiotherapists and Exercise Physiologists. Physiotherapists work on acute pain management while exercise Physiologists deal with chronic pain problem which takes longer time to manage and reduce its impact on the patient.
Chronic Condition: Chronic conditions develop from many factors such as delayed diagnosis or impacts of medication that you are taking for some other health related problem. For instance, if you are taking medication for chronic pain it can impact in negative way leading to chronic condition or risk of comorbidity. Comorbidities are associated with worse health outcomes which can be complex to manage clinically and increase health care cost. Accredited Exercise Physiologists have full set of skills and professional knowledge to deal with complex conditions and they are most capable of creating tailor made exercises programs for patients undergoing chronic health conditions.
Injury: As explained earlier, physiotherapists can generally diagnose and manage acute treatment of injuries and once they are done with acute treatment which is usually the first phase, the second phase requires rehabilitation and recovery. Exercise physiologists are skilled and trained professional who can help you recover better through exercises specifically designed for you. Injuries left un-attended after the first phase may lead to long term or permanent disabilities. Physiotherapists usually refer their patients to Exercise Physiologists after initial diagnosis and treatment.
Mental Illness: It is fair enough to think that AEPs only deal with physical health conditions but it is not the case as Accredited Exercise Physiologist are also qualified to develop exercise programs which can help you achieve mental well being as well. It is widely accepted by both health professionals and laymen that exercise is a powerful tool for preventing conditions associated with mental health of an individual. Exercise is well known for treating depression and anxiety. Exercise physiologists can typically be extremely helpful to those who are suffering from mental impacts of chronic physical conditions such as chronic injuries or chronic pain.