.png){kind=small}
Exercise with chronic illness. Getting the right advice.
Most people with chronic conditions I’ve come across have the same questions about exercising. How often should I exercise? Which exercises are safe?
Understanding the basics about exercise and chronic disease
In the past, our services have only been made available to those with health insurance and by medical referral. However, we believe that more people should be able to benefit from an exercise programme which can ultimately promote independence to help them lead a more fulfilling life at work, home and in leisure.
If you have a chronic condition, regular exercise can help you manage symptoms and improve your health. Exercise can help to improve your heart health and endurance and help with weight loss.
The right advice
To ensure your safety and reassurance while working with us, ExerciseRx only hires qualified and competent Clinical Exercise Physiologists, which is a new profession in NZ that requires Postgraduate education in Clinical Exercise Science. Our Clinical Exercise Physiologists are specially trained and experienced in exercising people who have serious medical conditions (physical and/or psychological).
We stay in close touch with various universities to ensure that our staff are getting the correct education and understanding for this role. This also helps to ensure that our staff are confident in dealing with chronic conditions that display a vast array of sporadic symptoms.
This is something a lot of exercise professionals are either not trained in or they are not confident in dealing with.
And because of this, you will often find they are not prepared to help or they do and you end up worse off.
There is so much more to it than just exercise...
Unlike other services, we put emphasis on establishing positive long-term behaviours rather than on a quick, short-term fix which could result in your relapsing. The psychology of exercise is paramount in how we work so your time with us is not all about exercise.
We are unlike Physiotherapists in that we do not work with acute conditions nor make comment on injury diagnosis.
And, we are unlike Personal Trainers in that we educate you on how to look after and motivate yourself, rather than form a relationship that requires our constant input.
Our difference is that we work with your medical diagnosis (whether or not your health professionals can find one) and aim to educate and help you understand the “how’s” and “why’s” of exercise, for your specific condition/s, so that you have the tools to exercise safely and independently at your own pace.
Want to know more about how we can help?