3 Benefits From Exercise Physiology
3 Benefits From Exercise Physiology
Let’s begin this article with a very common misconception. Namely, too many people conflate the terms physiotherapist, physiologist, and physical trainer. These are three distinct, though related professions, with different educational and training backgrounds. Now, a trainer is someone who helps you become stronger, more flexible, and helps you look better. This person improves your physical capabilities. However, they start from the notion that you yourself are healthy and fine (or at the very least include advice from physios). The other two are centred more on health.
A physiotherapist will work with people who are injured. They can make a diagnosis, and they treat physical problems (like broken bones, torn muscles or ligaments, postural issues). Physiologists, however, treat diseases by using exercise programs. So instead of fixing an injury you had, directly like a physio would, they treat an underlying problem (like hypertension, for example) with exercise. Below you can find some more concrete examples of just how useful a physiologist can be.
Assist you in leading a better life
One of the main benefits of a physiologist is that they can help you actually be able to exercise. So issues like diabetes, for example, need specialized care before you can begin exercise. Types of neuropathy, sight issues, neurological issues, anything that can hinder you and stop you from running or lifting a barbell will be regulated by a physiologist.
Furthermore, if you have any complications like respiratory problems or heart issues, they can help you with these as well. A physical therapist will (most of the time) look at your musculature, your skeletal structure, your posture, joints, and work from there. They will give you a specific routine you are supposed to do, and you should do your all to give 110% when doing it. There is a problem here, however, that physiologist to take into consideration. Namely, you may have a wonky shoulder that you are trying to fix – but can you really give 110% on every session? What if you have a heart condition? What if your insulin levels are all messed up? How hard can you exercise and do your physical therapy without passing out? A physio will show you how to exercise while keeping these issues under control.
Give holistic, lifestyle-related assistance
Of course, sometimes all you need is regular physical therapy. For example, being a couple of pounds overweight won’t really influence you recovering from tennis elbow that much. So if you are thinking “I should contact a physio near me” you are right, you should make that call. However, being twenty or thirty or forty pounds overweight can cause further issues. Having issues like that, or serious hypertension, can severely hinder recovery.
A physiologist approach issues holistically. For example, you may have a knee that constantly pops and hurts. You can do the right type of stretching and exercising to get your knee better, but perhaps the underlying cause of this problem is your weight problem. Exercise physiology will give you the tools to exercise in the right way to shed those pounds, to make the right lifestyle changes, and to keep your knees healthy at the same time.
If you have hypertension issues, a physiologist will advise you to clean up your diet, quit smoking, and set you on a programme that will keep you stressed just enough to make some gains and to improve your health, while not being taxing enough to actually aggravate your blood pressure issue.
Provide personalized care
Finally, a physio provides a very personalised and custom made care. Every patient is different, and every person has a host of issues, bad habits, underlying disease, chronic problems, and the like that needs to be regulated. They will analyse every part of your health, and work towards maximizing it. They will take mental things into consideration as well. Things like PTSD, anxiety, depression, Alzheimer’s, can be important to take into account when providing care. Things like asthma, high cholesterol, even a lack of motivation are vital for healing too.
And there you have it folks, a couple of benefits that are tied to exercise physiology. From providing very specific, personalized care, to giving you a whole body, holistic approach to your health, exercise physiology is a great tool for healing. Couple that with assisting you to exercise and develop yourself further, and you may just get a new lease on life with a good practitioner.
