Hi smgcmg,
The following is the result of my research for the leading injuries or
illnesses for which physicians prescribe exercise, and the most common
form of exercise prescribed.
The leading conditions most commonly treated with some form of exercise:
*Osteoporosis
*Diabetes
*Obesity
*Hypertension
*Osteoarthritis
*Musculoskeletal Injuries
*Sprains/Strains
*Chronic Ischemic Heart Disease
*Depression
*Rheumatoid Arthritis
Source:
The Physician and Sportsmedicine: Factsheet
http://www.physsportsmed.com/ad_svcs/factsheet.pdf
?Exercise is becoming more widely used to prevent and treat the
diseases that are most prevalent in the United States: coronary artery
disease, stroke, hypertension, diabetes, arthritis, osteoporosis,
dyslipidemia, obesity, depression, cancer, and chronic obstructive
pulmonary disease. However, physicians need more training in how to
make best use of this powerful therapy. Physicians can successfully
encourage activity by giving patients a written exercise prescription
along with printed advice on how to design a safe, enjoyable routine.?
Below are the leading illnesses where some form of exercise is being
prescribed. I have also included the benefits of exercise for these
illnesses.
Coronary artery disease
?Exercise combined with diet therapy can reverse established heart
disease. Furthermore, exercise improves heart function, reduces
several coronary risk factors (hypertension, high cholesterol, low
high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, and obesity), enhances
psychosocial well-being after a heart attack and in general, and
improves survival.?
(?)
?In summary, exercise is an effective strategy for preventing heart
disease, and it is a beneficial, low-cost, pleasure-giving treatment
without the side effects of drugs or the risks, pain, and expense of
surgery.?
===========================================
Cerebrovascular disease
?Vigorous exercise in early adulthood confers considerable protection
from strokes in later life. This effect is independent of other risk
factors. Furthermore, exercise is essential for restoring function
following a stroke--again, a benefit not shared by drugs or surgery.?
===========================================
Hypertension
?Substantial evidence shows that exercise is an effective treatment
for mild and moderate high blood pressure and is a useful adjunct for
the treatment of severe hypertension. Many patients who adhere to a
regular, specifically prescribed aerobic exercise program can reduce
their blood pressure without taking drugs. Thus, they avoid the
potentially toxic effects and considerable expense of long-term drug
therapy. Drug and exercise compliance are reported to be similar. Post
exercise blood pressure reduction in normal and hypertensive patients
disappears 2 weeks after exercise stops.
The degree of blood pressure reduction depends on the type, duration,
and intensity of the exercise, as well an individual's genetics.
Therefore, the prescription must be carefully individualized. Among
nonpharmacologic means for lowering blood pressure, physical activity
provides better patient compliance and quicker results than weight
reduction or alcohol and salt restriction.?
===========================================
Diabetes
?Exercise can prevent or delay the serious complications of diabetes,
namely, the vascular disease of the brain, heart, kidney, eyes, and
legs that commonly occurs in diabetics who are under age 40. The same
benefits of exercise are seen in those who develop the disease in
later life.
Exercise improves the abnormal blood lipid pattern and reduces the
high blood pressure common in people who have diabetes. In addition,
exercise increases insulin effectiveness and the metabolism of sugar,
thereby reducing the insulin requirement, which in turn reduces the
risk of vascular disease. (High blood insulin has been implicated in
the pathogenesis of arteriosclerosis.)?
??An exercise regimen, properly taught and followed, helps accomplish
this goal and allows diabetic patients to lead healthy, active lives.?
===========================================
Arthritis
?In patients who have rheumatoid or degenerative arthritis, exercise
improves endurance, strengthens muscles, and increases joint
flexibility and range of motion. These, of course, are benefits that
drugs or surgery cannot achieve.?
===========================================
Osteoporosis
?Osteoporosis affects 20 to 24 million postmenopausal American women
and an unknown number of men over the age of 80. It results in
musculoskeletal weakness, loss of height, bone fractures (primarily
spine and hip), and painful disability.?
(?)
?Research indicates that regular exercise can prevent and control the disease.?
===========================================
Dyslipidemia
?Abnormalities of blood fats (high total cholesterol and triglycerides
and low HDL cholesterol) are major risk factors for vascular disease
of the heart, brain, kidney, eyes, and legs. Regular exercise reduces
total cholesterol and triglyceride levels and raises HDL cholesterol.?
===========================================
Obesity
??The magnitude of the problem in the United States is perhaps greater
than in any other country. Estimates of the number of overweight
Americans range from 50 million to 200 million. The average American
is said to have 20 to 30 lb of excess body fat. Daily, lifelong
exercise is an essential strategy for achieving and maintaining
optimal weight. Diet, though essential, cannot be relied on alone for
successful weight loss and maintenance.?
===========================================
Depression
?Depression, the most common mental disorder, affects approximately 5%
(about 12 million) of Americans at any given time. Psychologists have
observed that walking or running has both physiologic and
psychological benefits for people who are depressed. These forms of
exercise reduce depression and anxiety, increase feelings of
well-being, improve tolerance to everyday stress, and improve the
self-image of depressed patients. It is difficult to sustain depressed
feelings while one is physically exerting. Furthermore, exercise
stimulates the release of the "feel good" hormones (endorphins)??
===========================================
Cancer
?There is evidence that physical activity reduces the risk for cancer
of the colon and the breast.?
===========================================
COPD
?Recent data suggest that adding an exercise component to the
rehabilitation program for patients who have Chronic Obstructive
Pulmonary Disease results in physiologic as well as psychological
benefits, even for those with severe air flow obstruction.?
Source of Research:
The Physician and Sportsmedicine: Exercise is Medicine
http://www.physsportsmed.com/issues/1996/02_96/elrick.htm
===========================================
===========================================
Walking is the most common form of exercise prescribed for illnesses
and some injuries.
?Walking is the most commonly performed mode of activity for those
with diabetes and is the most convenient low-impact mode of physical
activity.?
http://connection.lww.com/products/mcardle/documents/appendixf.pdf.
?Walking is the easiest and most accessible form of physical activity.
Brisk walking has clear positive effects on cardiovascular disease.?
http://www.sportdevelopment.org.uk/downloads/target_gps/health/ilamhealthandsport.pdf.
?To burn fat one should remain somewhere around 70% of the target
heart rate while exercising. Of all the workouts to do, walking is the
most popular and oft-prescribed exercise by experts in the field
simply because it requires, aside from feet and the ground, no
equipment.?
http://www.modeweekly.com/2001/01.05.24/01.05.24_mind-body-spirit.htm
?Walking is a key indicator of improvement in pulmonary rehabilitation
programs and similar regimens aimed at reducing the consequences of
physical inactivity .Walking is also a core activity, fundamental to
maintenance of an active and vigorous life in the face of normal
aging, as well as the debilitating effects of chronic pulmonary
disease.?
http://www.vard.org/jour/03/40/5/sup/Steele.htm
??The bulk of your exercise program will focus on aerobic activities
that are moderately strenuous--for example, walking, running, cycling,
or swimming. The objective is to get the lowest possible heart rate at
rest (40 to 50 beats per minute) and to get 120 to 150 beats per
minute during exercise. To spice up your weekly routine, your doctor
will advise you to vary your program to include nonaerobic activities
such as golf, bowling, gardening, or strength training.
It is important to perform stretching exercises before and after any
physical activity; their purpose is to prevent muscle strains, and
when performed regularly, they also increase flexibility, strength,
and circulation.?
The Physician and Sportsmedicine: Exercise--The Best Prescription
http://www.physsportsmed.com/issues/1996/02_96/elrickpa.htm
===========================================
===========================================
Some interesting reading:
The Physician and Sportsmedicine: Choosing Exercise for Better Health
http://www.physsportsmed.com/issues/1996/07_96/wooten.htm
Psychology Department, University of Waikato: Enhancing wellbeing
through sport and recreation
http://psychology.waikato.ac.nz/people/nev/F02-thomas_d.html
Annals of Internal Medicine: Encouraging Patients To Become More Physically Active
http://www.annals.org/cgi/content/full/127/5/395#R15-10
The Physician and Sportsmedicine: Exercise--The Best Prescription
http://www.physsportsmed.com/issues/1996/02_96/elrickpa.htm
Sport Development: Leisure and Health
http://www.sportdevelopment.org.uk/downloads/target_gps/health/ilamhealthandsport.pdf.
CASM/ACMS: Oct 2000 Newsletter
http://www.casm-acms.org/Newsletter/Newsletter%20Frames/Oct00text.htm
Personal Fitness Professional: A New Twist on Mental Health
http://www.fit-pro.com/editorial2.asp?ID=214
R.R. Danielson: Dr Dnotes
Google?s cache of http://danielson.laurentian.ca/drdnotes/epsych03.htm
http://216.239.59.104/search?q=cache:x3Ml3sTOKIMJ:danielson.laurentian.ca/drdnotes/epsych03.htm+%22walking+is%22+%22prescribed+exercise%22&hl=en&ie=UTF-8
Search criteria:
injuries OR illness ?top 10? ?prescribe exercise?
injuries OR illness ?prescribe exercise?
injury OR illness ?most common? ?prescribed exercise?
injury OR illness ?prescribe exercise? OR ?prescribed exercise?
?* is the most? ?prescribed exercise?
?walking is the? ?prescribed exercise?
I hope the information provided is helpful. If you have any questions
regarding my answer please don't hesitate to ask before rating it.
Best regards,
rainbow-ga |
