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.