Penny For Your Thoughts?

[sensei8]

Some solid posts, all.

Let us not forget to pay attention to the gluteal muscles [um...our rear end]. Tight gluteal muscles will affect a great deal of many other things if not worked.

[Nidan Melbourne]

His specific issue is lower back and hips which are considered Lower Body + Trunk. Upper Body is your Ribcage and arms. And In regards to Physiotherapists they generally don't have the necessary training to prescribe proper exercises for rehabilitation. As many universities only run 1 semester of Exercise Prescription throughout their entire degree. Whereas an Exercise Physiologist (Including the relevent Undergraduate Degree of Exercise Science) they are required to complete 3+ Years on learning how to prescribe exercise.

I think we have a difference in terminology here. In the UK a doctor or surgeon will defer to a physiotherapist for such matters. I think our physiotherapists are what you seem to be calling Physical or Exercise Therapists, they are people who specifically work in rehabilitation after injury by means of physical therapy - exercise, massage, stretching etc. What does a physiotherapist do in your neck of the woods if they don't specialize in exercise and rehabilitation?

We have Physiotherapists which do the general rehab of injuries where they prescribe some exercises, massage and stretching but only really focus on the short to medium term of treatment then sends you on your way. But they don't provide proper rehabilitation regimes for each client, as such they will more often than not won't treat the cause of the injury whilst an exercise scientist/physiologist will.

But Exercise Scientists & Physiologists (Exercise Scientists just have a undergraduate degree of the same/similar name. WHILST Exercise Physiologists have postgraduate degrees; Masters or Honours or even some have a PHD in the field) focus on rehabilitation and training of people in a wide variety of conditions (Acute + Chronic) over a long term period. We work with clients who are low risk (<2 Risk Factors) to high risk (Asthamatics, Diabetics, Cardiovascular, muskuloskeletal, neurological, psychological etc clients). We have more training in rehabilitation and exercise prescription in relation to each of the different areas of a persons health to provide a better program in the long term. So in other terms we train and educate clients to become healthier and to manage their own health in which will improve their quality of life and when they return to their normal activities (once clearance has been given) they should be healther, fitter + stronger than before they got injured or sidelined for any other reason.

These two roles do:

- Rehabilitation

- Strength Training

- Flexibility Training

- Mobility Training

- Cardiovascular Training

- Provide individualized programs according to interests of the client

- Run Group & Individual Programs

- Provide Stretches

- Provide Full Physical Examinations (Heart Rate, Blood Pressure, BMI, Physical Measurements etc)

- Oversee Graded Exercise Tests

- And a number of other roles.

Exercise Science and Exercise Physiology are relatively new fields (Approx 10-15 Years old) in comparison to Physiotherapy. That is why Medical Professionals (General Practitioners, Hospital Staff, Psychologists etc) refer a bulk of their clients to physiotherapists and not us (Exercise Science/Physiology).

So Physiotherapists and Exercise Scientists/Physiologists are two very distinct and different roles. We still work in the same area, but the quality of what the person gets out of the session will differ greatly when given the correct treatment plan.

[Spodo Komodo]

I thought so, my physio is definitely what you call an exercise physiologist. I have lower back problems after an accident and I have been seeing my physio for about eight years now. I have exercises, we have looked at diets, I know what I can and can't do in the gym and we have even been through most of the karate syllabus in order to correct posture and make sure I am not damaging anything there. The other types of physiotherapist here are the occupational therapists who specialise in getting you back to work as quickly as possible (at least the ones employed by my former company did) and sports physiotherapists who usually specialise in increasing performance and decreasing the problems on injury in a particular sport. Given the UK preferences most of these specialise in popular sports such as running and football. There is a Martial Arts specialist at a nearby university but she has a long waiting list.

[Nidan Melbourne]

I thought so, my physio is definitely what you call an exercise physiologist.

Unfortunately there is still a clear line between the two. You might just have a Physiotherapist that is actually really good. Because they may have gone to do extra studies on top of their degree.

For you in the UK an Exercise Physiologist and Exercise Scientist would be required to be a member of BASES (British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences). Which is your National Federation for the field.

And for Physiotherapists it is the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy or there is also the National Physiotherapy Organisation.

Just to make things clear every country has different requirements for the training of Physiotherapists and Exercise Scientists/Physiologists.

So if you want to know which your Physiotherapist is a part of just ask. Because if he/she is being called a physiotherapist, then they are that and not the other.

[Duncan0013]

For me and my students, we have a list with over 200 body-mass exercises ranging from burpees and standard push-ups to more complex actions utilizing some of our stances and kicks.

Several things I recommend for overall health and joint longevity are:

1 - practice NEVER locking your knees, whether you are leaning on a wall, standing and waiting, or relaxing in a recliner. Always keep them bent. Straighten them for stretching, but not 'locked'.

2 - Isometric exercises while stance training. Works equilibrium for muscle pairs, like bicep vs tricep or quad vs hamstring. Aids in keeping both sides of motion equal in strength so you would be less likely to distort your posture.

3 - The only weights I use (with VERY specific uses) are dumbbells (5lb and 35lb) and leg weights (10lb). Everything else I do is body mass specific interval training and/ or isometrics with stance training.

My regimine has increased as I had to overcome a couple work related injuries that limit any running for cardio. The HIIT and isometrics with proper breathing has increased my cardio vascular endurance to where a sporadic jog of a few miles doesn't gas me and I have subsequently increased my leg strength and balance to start to overcome my 4yr old injury.

I wish you well in your challenge and where you have the will to persevere, you will undoubtedly succeed.