Do doctors understand the importance of MET and how to use it?

No, physicians will not understand medical exercise training (MET) but don't let this be a deterrent. Most physicians realize exercise is beneficial for their patients but as far as prescribing specifics with exercise, such as activities, frequency, duration and progression, they wont know how. But they aren't trainerd to know exercise. Physicians are trained to diagnose and treat disease. In learning to treat disease, they perform surgery, write prescriptions; read x-rays; and interpret diagnostic tests...exercise prescription is not part of the standard medical school curriculum. 

But their defense - which would you prefer? You go to the emergency room at 2 in the morning with a sick child. Would you want the physician to have the ability to interpret the diagnostic test(s) to determine your child's illness and the best course of treatment or do you want a physician that understands exercise...

In an earlier blog post we discussed the need to proviide more affordable medical exercise training options. Insurance reimbursment is an area many Medical Exercise Specialists are trying to understand. In this video Dr Mike will review the 5 criteria you must meed before you can begin to look at any possibility of reimbursement from the insurance carrier. The criteria are:

1. Physician's Referral
2. Major Trauma, Surgery or Long-Term Condition
3. Received Maximum Benefit from Physical Therapy, Chiropractic, etc
4. Residual Functional Deficits
5. Not Covered by Medicare, Medicaid or Govt Coverage

If the client meets ALL 5 criteria, then you may begin the process of submitting for reimbursement. In a later article we will discuss the steps needs for reimbursement.

Medical Exercise Jumpstarts Begins THURSDAY!!! The first Jumpstart session will review Clarity and Foundation. In this video Dr Mike talks about the key points of Jumpstart session 2…..”Marketing Plan”. Click Here to Register Now!!

Welcome to the Medical Exercise Training 101 Ebook Tips Series. These are practice development tips from our MET101 Ebook. This first tip reviews "What is Medical Exercise Training....How is it Different from Personal Training, Corrective Exercise and Physical Therapy?" 

Click Here to Get Your Copy of the MET101 Ebook

7 Steps to Starting Your MET Practice in Any Setting

So you want to work with diabetics, total joint replacements, arthritis, low back pain and other medical conditions? But you are wondering where to start, what to do and which medical professionals to approach? In this presentation, I will give you the "7 Steps to Starting Your Medical Exercise Training Practice in Any Setting". For the last 20 years, I have helped and educated fitness professionals and personal trainers around the world to "Bridge the Gap Between Health Care and Fitness". This presentation will summarize everything I've learned and shared with them.

Medical Exercise Training (MET) is the development of safe and effective exercise programming for clients with medical conditions. MET does not provide any aspects of medical treatment. This new and growing arena is one of the keys in solving our health care crisis. MET is a great option for managing chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, obesity,...

Medical exercise training and corrective exercise are growing rapidly. It’s important to make sure both concepts are used appropriately. Many clients may report pain and discomfort to their fitness professional. In many instances, the immediate response is to think of an exercise to manage the discomfort. Obviously, the personal trainer, corrective exercise specialist or medical exercise professional cannot diagnose. But there should be some process to determine if the client should seek medical care.

In the corrective execise realm the response may be to put the client through a screening to determine what exercise will manage the discomfort or the accompanying muscular imbalance. We need to start thinking beyond muscular and postural imbalances as the source of client pain and discomfort. In many cases, these non-muscular/postural sources of discomfort are not considered by the corrective exercise specialist or personal trainer.

In the METI – Medical Exercise...

Medical exercise professionals are doing a great job managing medical conditions with exercise but are we providing services to all the clients in need of medical exercise training (MET)? Many clients are not financially able to access MET services. In this blog post, Dr Mike discusses five ways to make MET services more affordable. The options are:

1. MET Group Training – this allows a more affordable option to deliver MET services. MET group training consists of a small group of exercise participants (<10) with similar medical conditions participating in a group exercise class. The class focuses on the exercise needs based on the medical condition as well as avoiding contraindicated activities in the conditioning programs. The group classes focus on a particular group of related medical conditions. This allows the exercise class to focus on the specific needs of the condition(s) and thereby improve function of the participants.
2. MET Online Training...

Medical Exercise Specialists want to connect with medical professionals to establish relationships and get referrals. MET started 25 years ago with the first Medical Exercise Specialist course. Since then Medical Exercise Specialists have approached physicians, physical therapists and chiropractors. Many of these medical professionals do refer their patients but many medical exercise professionals are commiting the "7 Mistakes Fitness Professionals Make When Approaching Medical Professionals”. This post will review these 7 mistakes.

1. Talking about your fitness certifications – many medical professionals have no idea of fitness certifications nor the organizations which offer them. Most medical professionals in physical therapy, orthopedics and sports medicine know of ACSM. But they have no idea of the certifications fitness organizations offer. In your presentation, if you focus on your fitness certifications, you might find the result does not include referrals.
2. ...

Clients are leaving physical or occupational therapy earlier and with greater limitations such as weakness, lack of endurance, etc. This is not the fault of the physical or occupational therapists, its the changes in insurance reimbursement for rehabilitation. As a result the medical exercise professional is seeing clients with greater ‘residual functional deficits”. These deficits limit client function and are the primary reason for the growth in medical exercise training since 1994 when we offered the first Medical Exercise Specialist workshop and certification.

The job of the Medical Exercise Specialist is shifting toward identifying and developing an exercise program to improve these “residual functional deficits”. These deficits may be in range of motion, strength, endurance, balance, power, etc. The function wheel below identifies the key components of function. Your job as the medical exercise professional is to deal with these deficits.

The...

So you want to build a medical exercise practice? You completed the Medical Exercise Specialist (MES) or Post Rehab Conditioning Specialist (PRCS) certification but now what? Which physician or physical therapist should you approach first? What should you say to physicians and therapists? What will medical professionals want for referring clients? How should you explain medical exercise training (MET)? Will doctors accept you as a Medical Exercise Specialist? How do you build credibility to obtain referrals?

Get the answers to these questions and more in Medical Exercise Jumpstart!!