1. Doctors don’t understand exercise and will not refer clients for medical fitness services. Correct, physicians do not have a significant amount of knowledge in regard to the development of specific exercise programs for their patients. Many physicians do not know how to refer clients for medical fitness services after their discharge from rehab services. In many instances, physicians are unaware of the impact of exercise on the functional capacity of their clients. It’s up to you, the fitness professional, to make the case for exercise as one of the keys to long-term management of most medical conditions. Once you make your case, physicians will begin to refer clients.

2. My fitness certifications should let the medical professionals know who I am so they can begin to refer clients. Your physician has many letters behind his or her name; do you know what all the letters mean? I am asking because medical professionals will probably not know the major fitness organizations or what their certifications are. Medical professionals assume that you are qualified to manage the medically based client. Fitness certifications mean nothing to the medical professionals. Your fitness certifications will not give you credibility with the medical professional, only the improvement in your clients’ condition will do that.

3. Insurance carriers will not pay for post rehab fitness programming. A survey was done a few years ago of our medical exercise specialists and post rehab conditioning specialists and 61% were found to have received some form of insurance reimbursement for post rehab services. Pre-authorization for post rehab services before the training begins is the key to obtaining insurance reimbursement. You must present a signed referral from the physician to have any chance for reimbursement.

4. I need to correct every muscular imbalance or postural imbalance before performing a thorough assessment on my post rehab client. What you see is not what you get with posture and muscular imbalances. This is why you must perform a thorough assessment of flexibility, strength and function and complete a medical history on the client. You need to all of this information before correcting any muscular or postural imbalances.

5. 1. I can effectively manage the medical based client without communicating with medical professionals. You must be able to contact and communicate effectively with doctors, therapists, chiropractors and insurance carriers. You must be able to communicate via phone with the doctor, send effective written communication in the form of progress reports and assessment reports to the therapist, chiropractor, physician and the insurance carrier. In the medical community every treatment, every examination, every diagnosis, every test requires some type of a written report. Effective communication is vitally important in the management of the medical fitness client.

6. I do the same thing as the physical therapist and chiropractor. Does a physical therapist do the same thing that a physician does? No, but in some instances you find there is an overlap skills when managing a client. Physical therapists don’t do the same thing a personal trainer does. This doesn’t belittle the personal trainer, it simple says the personal trainer is the fitness expert and the therapist is the rehab expert. Be the fitness expert, not the medical expert.

7. Large, well-equipped fitness facilities are the ideal place to provide post rehab fitness. A client’s home or a small fitness studio is the setting for most post-rehab training. These facilities are effective in delivering appropriate and safe post rehab programming. By using balls, bands, dumbbells, thera-tubing, stretching straps and even manual resistance you can be extremely effective in managing the post rehab client and assuring function improvement.

8. It is not necessary to market post rehab services to the medical community. As previously stated, medical professionals do not have a complete understanding of post rehab exercise. It is important for you to make your case and market post rehab services. Sometimes “marketing” is looked upon as a dirty word. Most of us feel uncomfortable selling our services. You are not selling your services; you are simply letting people know of a service that can significantly impact lives. Make sure you list the conditions that benefit from post rehab fitness specifically and clearly outline your scope of practice.

9. Post rehab fitness is all about training muscle. When managing clients with musculoskeletal, neurological and cardiovascular disorders, it is not just about training muscles. It is about using exercise to manage the underlying pathology. That means it’s not just about muscle, it’s about managing the connective tissue with exercise, whether that means increasing flexibility, increasing strength, increasing durability or increasing endurance. So it’s not just about training muscle, it’s about training the entire client. Remember, in post rehab – connective tissue is king.

10. Fitness journals and fitness based workshops is where all of my knowledge should come from. Managing medically based clients will require that you take courses offered in the medical community. You must attend medical conferences and read medical journals and periodicals. The fitness journals research is current, but may not be as thorough as the research presented in the medical journals. Always look for research that supplies you with the complete picture on the management of the post rehab client.

11. I am only a personal trainer; medical professionals won’t listen to me. This is the biggest misconception in post rehab fitness. The reason medical professionals won’t listen to the fitness professional is many personal trainers do not present themselves professionally. Understand you’re the exercise expert. Convey that to the medical professional in a professional manner. Make sure you use correct medical terminology, make sure that you are up on anatomy, physiology and pathology before you contact the medical professional and dress appropriately for your first meeting. If you’re not, you will be dismissed as just a personal trainer. As a post rehab professional you hold the key to long term management of most medical conditions…..exercise!!!

Post rehab fitness is the new leading edge for the fitness industry today. Please keep going to get 101 Post Rehab Tips. You can apply these tips instantly to better manage your post rehab clients and build a more lucrative practice.

Learn more about Post Rehab Fitness Programs. Stop by where you can find out all about post rehab fitness training and what it can do for you.

As I travel North America teaching our Medical Exercise Specialist workshops, I have noticed the highly successful Post Rehab Professionals (PRP’s) demonstrate eight habits that guarantee their success. We will discuss each of these 8 habits and explain the impact each has on a post rehab practice. Successful PRP’s are able to develop safe and effective post rehab programs for a wide range of medical conditions, establish long-term referral relationships with medical professionals, and receive insurance reimbursement for post rehab services. If you embrace these habits, I guarantee you too will grow a profitable and successful post rehab practice.

PRPs define their scope of practice and role in a clear and concise statement in their brochures, marketing materials and presentations. Defining your scope of practice and clearly outlining your menu of services allows you to position yourself as the expert in the rehab spectrum, rather than relying on someone else who lacks a true understanding of your background and education. This could result in an inaccurate definition that will negatively impact the destiny of your practice. Providing a definition of post rehab fitness will further reinforce your scope of practice and prevent any misunderstanding or misconceptions regarding your role as a PRP.

PRP’s speak at local medical clinics, professional organizations or local support groups to educate these groups about the services he or she offers. These presentations include information on the PRP’s scope of service, the role of the PRP in the rehab exercise arena, the types of individuals PRP’s work with as well as the benefits of post rehab programming. A simple demonstration of a few easy to perform exercises is usually included in the presentation. This exercise demonstration gives the PRP a chance to show the ease and simplicity of many of their exercises. Having this experience and trying out the exercise can often turn members of the audience into clients. The goal of every successful PRP’s is to make at least one presentation per month to a group.

PRP’s document and share their findings of the fitness assessments they perform and client progress to the appropriate medical professional or insurance carrier. This ability to accurately report any issues and progress is a necessary skill each PRP should develop. If you are not able to inform the appropriate individuals about your findings and progress in a clear concise manner this could result in the loss of future referrals as well as being turned down for any insurance reimbursement. Appropriate post rehab forms and reporting guidelines are available to buy at www.postrehab.com and www.postrehabtoday.com.

Successful post rehab professionals always follow-up by telephone for all written or verbal inquiries with the appropriate medical professionals and insurance carriers. These calls should be made within 72 hours – the sooner the better. In doing this, you can make sure the medical professional or insurance carrier received your documentation and they can inform you if more detailed information is necessary. Written communication limits the subtle details a medical professional or insurance carrier often needs to help make an informed decision on the patient’s care and management. A timely follow-up call enhances PRP’s professional image.

Successful PRP’s must be sure to assess and re-assess the post rehab client in order to set a baseline for the program and to determine the client’s progress. The PRP must determine the appropriate assessment procedures to utilize in order to gain a clear view of the client’s ROM/flexibility, strength, endurance, balance and functional capacity. The assessment procedure must give the PRP a clear look at their client’s ability without precipitating an exacerbation of the client’s symptoms.

The PRP must progress the client to reach the goals established at the outset of the program. The PRP must progress the client without triggering an exacerbation of the client’s condition. The ability to progress the client requires a combination of understanding the client’s condition, knowledge of the progression guidelines and the ability to perform post rehab assessment techniques.

The PRP must motivate, encourage and support the post rehab client to achieve the program goals. Knowing when and how to motivate the client without setting up the client for failure is a trait every PRP must develop. Pain and discomfort may cause the post rehab client to become discouraged and depressed. Expertise in exercise prescription alone is not the key to post rehab success. The post rehab client, in most situations, needs more encouragement, support than the traditional fitness client.

Post rehab professionals always educate their clients so they have a better understanding of their own conditions. A well educated client will show much better success rates then the client who doesn’t fully understand how to manage their condition. Good post rehab professionals also regularly educate themselves as well as their staff members. They attend medical workshops and seminars, and on their own regularly educate themselves on new conditions and issues they run into daily with their clients. Post rehab professional utilize this new information to further develop their practice. Successful post rehab professionals are always open to learning.

Post rehab is a swiftly growing fitness idea. The post rehab professional who can practice the eight habits outlined above will see more medical and personal referrals, an increased reputation resulting in increased practice revenue. Having good habits promote great success. For more post rehab practice building ideas, please visit our website at www.postrehab.com http://www.postrehabtoday.com or email me at DrMike@postrehab.com.

Looking to find the best valued information on becoming a post rehab and medical rehab professional?, then visit www.postrehab.com to find the best advice on post rehab, resources, certifications and more.

At the beginning of the year I woke up one morning with the worst heartburn that I’ve ever had in my life. There have been times that I use to get heartburn on occasions, but nothing as bad as this. I took some antacids which usually help the problem, but this time nothing was working.

Before I arrived to work, I went to the pharmacy and picked up some more antacids. But no matter what I tried nothing was working. The heartburn was so bad that day that I literally had tears rolling down my face. I was also beginning to lose my voice. No matter what I did nothing was helping me. I went to bed early that night in hopes that when I woke up the pain would be gone.

The next day I woke up and the pain was still there. I started to get a bit concerned and wasn’t sure if there was anything I could do. I set up an appointment with my doctor but he wasn’t able to see me for a week. Now I had to wait more than a week with this nagging pain. One morning I woke up and had blood in my stool. My doctor saw me immediately and suggested that I saw a specialist.

Once I saw the specialist he set an appointment for me to have an endoscopy. When I had the procedure done they noticed that I had the early signs of an ulcer in my esophagus. They prescribed me some medication which helped me for awhile.

Within a couple months, the prescription stopped working and I was once again in pain. No matter what I did I was constantly having the same pain. I had eight days straight of heartburn. That day something went seriously wrong. I began to have a permanent discomfort in my throat that was constantly nagging me even if I didn’t have heartburn that day. If I leaned back on the couch, I would have discomfort. No matter what I did, I couldn’t get the pain to go away.

I called my friends that were into alternative medicine and they suggested for me to come over to their house to discuss the problem. They showed me how to get rid of my heartburn and ulcer for good. The next day I began taking their advice and the problem began to go away by itself.

Heal ulcers naturally with my Peptic Ulcer Diet, & get my free Peptic Ulcer Diet report.