How exercise prescriptions could change the NHS

Sports medicine graduates will be in high demand to combat inactivity epidemic

We know exercise is good for us, yet human beings may now be on the verge of dangerous levels of inactivity. Historically we’ve always been active, from our hunter gatherer past to manual labour in the industrial age - until cars, computers and labour-saving devices took much of the physicality out of work. Now, according to analysis of national health statistics by the British Heart Foundation, 39% of adults in the UK fail to achieve recommended levels of physical activity or exercise. But recent research shows how crucial activity is to our health. To spread the word about the health benefits of exercise, a new master’s course is due to start this year at Loughborough University – to complement an existing range of sports and exercise medicine master’s degrees around the country.

“We’re targeting the full allied health professional range,” says Dr Dale Esliger, programme leader of the MSc in exercise as medicine, which launches this October. Based in the National Centre for Sport and Exercise Medicine – an Olympic legacy facility – this course differs slightly from current sports medicine master’s. Students won’t be attending elite athletes beside the pitch, but rather looking at “prescribing” exercise to the wider population, investigating the value of techniques such as mindfulness, and researching how to deploy digital tools to motivate people to exercise more. As a nation, we’re behind the likes of Australia in formalising exercise advice within the health service, says Esliger. “In the future we hope to see more exercise professionals within the NHS,” he says. “If we want clinicians to write exercise rather than drug prescriptions, we need to give them the knowledge to do that.”

Regular exercise could save between £1,750 and £6,900 in healthcare costs per person

Continue reading... March 19, 2018 at 11:28PM