Exercise is Medicine

Physical activity can help prevent and manage chronic diseases such as heart disease, depression and diabetes, but it is not a one size fits all measure. We need to tailor the intervention to the patient, as we would a drug. Check out Exercise is Medicine Canada’s prescription pad – a way to provide a personalized prescription to each of your patients and increase compliance.

Rob Bertelink, Cardiac Rehab Supervisor at the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute Rumsey Centre and registered Kinesiologist discusses the evidence behind cardiac rehab, at home exercise hacks, how to prescribe HIIT training safely and how to decide which patients need an exercise treadmill test.

Whether you review the Canadian Physical Activity Guidelines with your patient or the World Health Organization Guidelines on Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour, the key message is any amount of physical activity is better than none and more is better!

Remind patients that all physical activity counts, including work, sports, leisure, transport and activities of daily living!

To learn more, click on the resources discussed in this episode:

1.     Exercise is Medicine Canada Exercise Prescription Tools https://www.exerciseismedicine.org/canada/support_page.php/eimc-exercise-prescription-and-referral-tool/

2.     Physical Activity Prescription: a modifiable risk factor for the prevention and management of chronic disease https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/50/18/1109

3.     Practical Approaches to Prescribing Physical Activity https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26897182/

4.     Fitness as a Clinical Vital Sign: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27881567/

5.     Advice on exercise from a Family Physician can help sedentary patient become active https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9713663/

6.     Health e-Univeristy: Cardiac College & Diabetes College (available in multiple languages) https://www.healtheuniversity.ca/EN/Pages/default.aspx