Exercise is Medicine

Exercise illustration

The idea for this article came to me after seeing the Aspetar sports hospital in Qatar opened the Exercise is Medicine clinic recently.

Exercise is Medicine is a simple sentence but has significant relevance and holds huge importance.

Exercise has been irrefutably scientifically proven study after study, exercise can be as simple or as complicated as you like but either way it has been shown to be extremely powerful.

So powerful, that it has been proven to improve brain function, memory, mood, health, energy levels, longevity, weight, heart health, muscle, joint health and bone health.

Another reason for choosing this title is because exercise has been proven to be as effective if not more effective as medicine or surgery in a high proportion of illnesses or injuries we experience.

There appears to be a big push on presently to encourage health professionals to start prescribing exercise instead of, or at least in addition to prescribing medicine.

In addition to the positive effects of exercise, there is growing evidence of the extreme harm inactivity can lead to. In particular sitting (like we all do for such a large proportion of our time) which has been linked to many physical and health disorders.

As physiotherapists we encourage and prescribe exercise with all our clients, when we can assess the client and tailor a specific exercise programme for the person it has been shown to be more effective.

A simple personalized plan can take only a few minutes a day and can transform your health, body and mind. At Pinnacle health we also have physiotherapy lead clinical pilates and fitness classes on site to assist with getting sufficient exercise in.

So all that is left to ask is:     Why are we still sitting?????

Sean O’Meara