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Why Fitness Professionals Should Join the MedFit Network

/19 August 2021/ All MFN blog/

It is safe to assume that not everyone a fitness professional works with is injury- or disease-free. As a fitness professional, it is your responsibility to ensure that you provide your clientele with safe and effective programming. The question you have to ask yourself is: are you truly qualified and up to date on the latest information to work with your current (and future) clientele? A second question to ask is: are you marketing yourself to those who need you most in this healthcare crisis? If you’re honest, you should at least say that perhaps you are not.

Well, this is where the MedFit Network (MFN) can help! The MFN is both a professional membership organization for fitness and allied healthcare professionals and a free online resource directory for the community to locate professionals with a background in prevention, treatment and rehabilitation in working with those with chronic disease or medical conditions.

As a fitness professional, here’s why you should join the MedFit Network.

1: Raising Fitness Professional Standards 

MFN is dedicated to making sure fitness professionals are highly educated and prepared to work with any medical issue. The name given for this person is a Medical Fitness Specialist (MFS). The MFS helps make the transition from medical management and/or physical therapy to a regular physical activity program following a surgery, an injury, a medical diagnosis or exacerbation of a pre-existing condition. They also possess the training and skills to work with medical conditions like obesity, diabetes, hypertension, neuromuscular disorders and heart disease. So, a medical fitness practitioner is not just a personal trainer but includes wellness- and health-related disciplines such as chiropractors, massage therapists, physical therapists, nutritionists, etc.

2: Continuing Education

The MedFit Education Foundation (MFEF) is the nonprofit partner of the MedFit Network. MFEF is dedicated to elevating the quality and amount of available education for the medical fitness professional and the entire fitness and wellness community through their learning website, MedFit Classroom. For example, there is a Multiple Sclerosis Fitness Specialist and Drug and Alcohol Recovery Fitness Specialist course that are both one-of-a-kind. Continuing education is required for all their specialty courses. This is typically not the case. It is usually continuing education only for your certification. All of their continuing education courses are approved by a medical advisory board of some of the brightest professionals in the nation. MFEF also facilitates weekly educational webinars that are included with your MFN membership. These webinars are presented weekly by industry experts on such topics as medical fitness and active aging.

The MFN is an organization filled with people from all walks of the wellness professional spectrum. For example, they have MDs, PTs, chiropractors, dieticians, fitness and massage therapists to name a few. As a result, opportunities to network are endless. Because of this, current members have developed their own educational courses and even started their own blogs. Also, members have been able to designate their facility as medical fitness facilities by working with a member who specializes in helping people achieve this status.

The MedFit Network is a unique organization dedicated to improving the standards of the fitness and allied healthcare professionals. The ability for the diseased community to go to a directory of qualified medical fitness professionals is something unheard of anywhere else. The three reasons given are just the tip of the iceberg as to why you should be a part of this movement, the MFN!

Click to learn more about joining the MedFit Network as a professional member.

Maurice Williams offers a rare combination of advanced academic training, personal experience as a competitive athlete, entrepreneur skills and 22 years of experience in personal fitness and training. He has a BS in Exercise/Sport Science from Elon College (Now Elon University) and an MS in Clinical Exercise Physiology from Ohio University. Maurice is also a long-time MedFit Network member.

sneakers-walking-in-woods

Gait! Everything You Need to Know

/18 August 2021/ All MFN blog/

Assessing and training clients is challenging but skilled observation can give you important clues about your clients’ condition and readiness—and they don’t need to say a thing! Many trainers, and even therapists and doctors, are missing one of the most valuable assessment tools and training modalities they have at their disposal: the client’s gait.

Stroke-Neuroplasticity

Sensory Input Drives Motor Output – “You gotta feel it to move it!”

/5 August 2021/ All MFN blog/

In our previous article, we showed you this picture to help understand neuroplasticity and how neurons that wire together, fire together. In this blog we’ll use the same picture to understand how sensory input to the brain affects motor output.

The sensory area (purple) is on the front “slice” of the parietal lobe. The neurons here will be activated by sensory input such as touch, vibration, threat, pressure, temperature and joint position. Lying just in front of the sensory area is the motor area (blue), which is the back “slice” of the frontal lobe. The neurons here are activated through volitional movement.

In both the sensory and motor areas of the brain, you can see in the illustration that specific areas are dedicated to specific body parts. And those areas are represented in the same areas for sensory and motor (e.g., where the hand is located in the sensory area is in the same place in motor area along the “slice”).

Why sensory input matters for stroke survivors

The bottom line is that for you to move an area well, your brain must be able feel, or “sense”, the area well. This is why issues like peripheral neuropathy in the feet so greatly affect the ability to balance and walk. Having good sensory input from an area of the body is a prerequisite for good motor control when we try to move an area.

One of the most prominent dysfunctions after stroke is a reduced ability to move one side of the body. This can occur at many different levels, from total paralysis to reduced coordination of fine motor skills. Common examples include limb spasticity, usually in flexion (e.g., a clenched fist held close into the chest), or what is termed “drop foot”, an inability to dorsiflex (lift) the foot, which severely interferes with a safe, functional gait pattern. This happens because the stroke damaged areas in the motor cortex associated with the affected body part.

The good news is that by increased sensory input to the affected area, we can begin to improve motor output. You have likely seen this already if you have ever used things like percussion guns or kinesiology tape. The many new “toys” we see in the fitness industry these days are simply sensory input devices, providing the sensory area with more and novel input, which then allows the motor area to “fire” better and provide better movement (i.e., improved range of motion, more strength, etc.).

A 2017 study found that “kinesio tape application to the tibialis anterior has significant effects on motor recovery of the lower extremity, spasticity, ambulation capacity, HRQoL (health-related quality of life) and gait compared to the control group and baseline.” (1)

The concept of sensory input affecting motor output and how to harness it is not only for stroke recovery, but also for general fitness, performance, and pain clients!

Begin learning a neuro-centric approach to medical fitness and how to work with stroke survivors with our Stroke Recovery Fitness Specialist online course, available through the MedFit Classroom.

Pat Marques is a Z-Health Master Trainer and NSCA-CPT specializing in training the nervous system to improve performance and get out of pain.  After retiring from the Active Duty Army, Pat pursued his education and certifications in exercise science, initially working with wounded, ill, and injured soldiers. During this time that Pat discovered the power of using a neurological approach to training to get out of pain and improve fitness and performance. He currently provides exercise therapy, movement reeducation, and strength and conditioning for all levels of clients at NeuroAthlete, from chronic pain sufferers to Olympic-level and professional athletes.

References

  1. Belma Fusun Koseoglu, Asuman Dogan, Hilmi Umut Tatli, Didem Sezgin Ozcan,Cemile Sevgi Polat (2017). Can kinesio tape be used as an ankle training method in the rehabilitation of the stroke patients? Complimentary Strategies in Clinical Practice, Vol. 27.
KOMPAN_ActiveAgersBalanceStation-640

Active Aging Fitness

/3 August 2021/ All MFN blog/

The future will see an increased proportion of elderly people throughout all modern societies. It is estimated by the WHO (World Health Organization) that in the year 2050 there will be equally as many elderly people in the world as there are children (1).  Not only will there be more elderly people but the perception of being old will also continue to change. Previously, age was seen as a natural weakness process and reduction in lifestyle options.

fitness-savings

Medical Insurance and Medical Fitness or Exercise Therapy Coaching

/1 August 2021/ All MFN blog/

Can you accept insurance for medical fitness/exercise therapy? Can your clients use their FSA & HSA (medical savings account) for your services? The answer to both questions is yes, however, it’s not an easy yes. The only way for your clients to do these two things is if you are billing for qualified medical expenses.

What are qualified medical expenses? Qualified medical expenses are expenses that mitigate, treat, or prevent disease per IRS.gov Publication 502. The IRS narrows the expenses that are deductible even more by limiting the qualified expenses to supplies (example: KT Tape) or an action being billed that will alleviate or prevent disability or illness. The catch for medical fitness/exercise therapy is that general health and well-being are not qualified medical expenses.

So, how can your client use their insurance or medical savings accounts for your services? The client needs their doctor to provide them with a prescription that identifies your services as medically necessary. The doctor saying you really need to lose weight is not a prescription.

What expenses or activities are covered per the IRS Publication 502? One example is a weight loss program for a client with a medical need for weight-loss. The weight-loss program becomes medically necessary when the doctor has diagnosed the client with obesity, heart disease, or some other disease and has determined that your weight-loss program or something similar will help the client improve or alleviate the disease or condition. What isn’t covered as a qualified medical expense are the dues for your club, the weight-loss program for a client without the prescription from the doctor, or the sessions to maintain good health after you fixed the problem your client had a prescription. The key is that a doctor or medical professional has diagnosed a disease and given the client a prescription for your services.

Accepting FSA & HSA is as simple as contacting your credit card processor and making sure you are set up correctly in their system. Most of the time this is as easy as answering a few questions about what you do. Making the decision to accept medical insurance at your facility is a much more extensive process, one that will require you to have a NPI (National Provider Identifier) number and a lot of extra time for the processing, filing, and record-keeping that goes along with dealing with medical insurance companies.

In short, if your client has a medical necessity for your services and their doctor has given them a prescription, then your client can use their FSA or HSA for their sessions. They also may be able to submit their receipts back to their insurance company for reimbursement. If your client doesn’t have a medical savings account or an insurance company that will reimburse them for their expenses, they can collect the receipts for the services, that qualify as medically necessary, and submit them with their taxes to their tax preparer. There are minimum limits that clients must reach before they can start using their medical expenses as itemized deductions. Their tax professional can help them with this.

To learn more about exactly what is and isn’t considered a qualified medical expense refer to the IRS Publication 502: irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p502.pdf

Heather Nusbaum is a Certified Management Accountant, Exercise Physiologist, Licensed Massage Therapist, MELT Instructor, and Master Trainer with NASM & ISSA. In 2013, Heather created Paws for Fitness a program to incorporate canines in the workout process. Over the years, this program has become a therapeutic modality within the training protocols of her business Nutree Fitness.

How did Heather go from Accounting and Business to Exercise Physiology? At a young age Heather was diagnosed with ‘Dysfunctional Knees’, this was a label that was attached to describe being in pain 24/7. This pain continued for the next 15+ years. After gaining weight due to age and inactivity, she realized that something had to give in her early 30’s. On her own she picked up and modified a box program and within 1 year had completely removed all the knee pain she’d suffered for the last 15+ years. Over the next few years it became apparent that she could help other people do what she had accomplished by accident, improving their quality of life and moving toward a pain free existence.

Senior-and-Trainer

MS and Circuit Training

/29 July 2021/ All MFN blog/

I was recently told that a very high percentage of people with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) DO NOT exercise. As a fitness professional with MS, that blew me away. I wish I could find the actual percentage but I don’t think that’s a statistic high on the priority list for any studies! But with all the time I spend in the MS community educating about fitness, I tend to believe that this is a fact, as I hear so many say they don’t exercise because they don’t know how. This is where I have found my niche to fill the gap.

According to Multiple Sclerosis News Today, “The first study on the benefits that exercise can provide to people with MS was published by University of Utah researchers in 1996. The participants improved their cardiovascular, bladder and bowel function, increased their strength, experienced less fatigue, developed a more positive attitude, and suffered fewer bouts of depression”.

With information and proof like this, why don’t more people with MS get into the gym, exercise at home or do some form of fitness program? My answer is lack of knowledge and fear. When you don’t know where to start, don’t understand how to find an exercise program that fits you, or you are not educated on the benefits of exercise for MS, you become immobilized and therefore do nothing. I believe this is the main reason why the percentage of MSers who aren’t exercising is so high.

This is where becoming a MS Fitness Specialist makes a ton of sense. Providing a proper workout plan for those with MS is not just a great thing to do, but a much-needed service.

There is a very good selection of workouts that can benefit people with MS, and one of these programs is circuit training. This type of workout gets your heart rate up and strengthens your muscles at the same time. You will never get bored in a circuit training program.

With little rest between each exercise, you rapidly go from one exercise machine to another to work different muscle groups. Depending on the intensity of the workout, you may use 8 or 12 different machines performing a different exercise and muscle group each stop.

I have my clients do 10-12 reps at each machine, using a time under tension (TUT) pace, lasting between 120–144 seconds, before moving on to the next stop.

To keep things exciting and motivating, you can change it up a bit by switching the exercises you do for each body part. A circuit training workout can be done at the gym with equipment, at home with dumbbells and resistance bands, or on an outdoor fitness trail by alternating push-ups and squats with fast-paced walking, jogging or biking.

You will need 20-30 minutes to take a MS client through the workout. The great thing about circuit training is it is easy to adjust the level of intensity by the rest time spent, the pace you perform each movement (TUT), and the speed in which you go through the circuit. A program like this works all areas of your body so you get an effective full-body workout in a short amount of time, as long as you select an exercise for each muscle group: core, arms, chest, back, shoulders and legs. The cardiovascular aspect of the program is taken care of in the time spent at rest. The less rest between sets and exercises, the more your heart rate will be elevated and the more heart-healthy cardio benefits you will receive.

There are many benefits in a circuit training routine as it is aerobic, low-impact and strength training all wrapped up in one program. You get the benefits of muscle building and toning along with a cardio workout. So, if you’re looking for a full-body workout for a MS client that can be don in 30 minutes or less, circuit training checks off all the boxes. The exercise options are endless as well with the variety of machines, resistance bands, free weights and bodyweight movements that can be incorporated into this style of program. Circuit training is an excellent workout choice for MS once you completely understand how to do it at a level that is safe yet challenging for the client you put through this program.

I want to see the percentage of people exercising with MS to overshadow the percentage that do not. You have a tremendous opportunity to be a solution to avoid in the fitness industry by becoming a MS FitnessSpecialist and working with a community that needs you.

David Lyons, BS, CPT, is the founder of the MS Bodybuilding Challenge and co-founder of the MS Fitness Challenge with wife Kendra. He has dedicated his life to helping people with MS understand and be educated on the importance of fitness in their lives. He is an author and sought after motivational speaker, dedicated to helping others by sharing the lessons gained from his life experience.  His most recent book, Everyday Health & Fitness with Multiple Sclerosis was a #1 New Release on Amazon at its release. He is the 2013 recipient of the Health Advocate of the Year Award; in 2015, he received the first ever Health Advocate Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Lifetime Fitness Inspiration Award in Feb 2016. In 2017, David received the Special Recognition Award from the National Fitness Hall of Fame.

trainer-and-client-exercise-fitness-machine

Healing is a Skill

/28 July 2021/ All MFN blog/

One aspect of training and conditioning the human body the right way, that I find particularly fascinating, is the anabolic effect that occurs, and the healing response that it creates. Anabolic, or anabolism, refers to the metabolic process of building up tissue structure in the body. You can easily remember that anabolism refers to building up when you think about anabolic steroids – the performance-enhancing drugs that bodybuilders, baseball players, and others have used to gain bulk. However, we are not talking about artificial anabolism through taking anabolic steroids here; we are talking about the body’s natural and healthy anabolism. Many times, this anabolic effect gets discussed among athletes and strength coaches in terms of getting bigger, faster, and stronger, or amongst fitness enthusiasts in terms of shedding fat, looking lean and ripped, and feeling great. However, when we think about anabolic response from an injury standpoint, one of the best parts of an elevated anabolic effect is the tissue growth and healing response it stimulates.

To further discuss anabolism in the body, we must understand that metabolic processes are controlled by our body’s hormones. Hormones regulate many of the major physiologic processes in our bodies. These processes include metabolism, appetite, strength, lean muscle mass, body fat percentage, body composition, tissue integrity, heart rate, blood pressure, energy and fatigue, mood, sex drive, emotions, and stress. Many factors affect hormone levels, including nutrition, sleep, physical activity, and physical, emotional, and mental stress. We cannot control all of these factors, but we are able to control some of them.

One major factor influencing hormone regulation that we as humans are (for the most part) in control of is physical activity, aka exercise. The type of exercise is important. The intensity and the duration of exercise are the two main factors to consider when thinking about how hormones will be influenced by exercise. This is why I say training the body the “right way” will produce an anabolic effect. We will get back to exactly what the “right way” is in terms of hormone regulation in the next section. For now, let’s finish discussing how these hormones are promoting a healing effect in the body.

Basically, exercise is really a form of trauma to the body. Correct exercise training is a controlled, mild form of trauma done in a very specific way to produce a very specific result. So one main, and very cool, thing that happens when you consistently train your body the right way is that you are actually teaching your body how to recover from damage. You are training your body to recover from trauma. You are literally teaching your body how to heal in a more efficient manner. The way I see it, healing is a skill. You can train yourself to be better at that skill!

Dr. Donnie Richardson, DC, CCSP, DACBSP, CSCS, is a Sports Medicine Specialist and Strength and Conditioning Specialist. Dr. Donnie has worked for the Many United States National Teams since 2008, serving as both a team doctor and sports performance coach, traveling both nationally and traveling internationally all over the world with our countries top athletes. Dr. Donnie also owns and operates his own private practice in Los Angeles, Universal Sports Performance, offering services ranging from sports medicine, injury diagnosis, physical rehabilitation, physiotherapy, injury prevention, sports performance training, personal fitness training, nutrition and diet programming, among other health care services.

fitness-exercise-at-home

Exercise is great, but it shouldn’t injure you!

/26 July 2021/ All MFN blog/

“Many people trying online routines during the coronavirus pandemic are finding it’s not so easy to do them right.” A recent article in the Wall Street Journal, titled “New Home Workouts Come With New Aches and Pains”, has pointed out an unfortunate side effect of folks exercising at home during the pandemic shelter-in-place order.

They are getting injured.

Social media has been saturated with home-based exercise programs as the fitness industry works hard to get, and keep, individuals exercising during this intense, but temporary, period of partial social isolation and staying at home.

We wish we could tell you that under any and all conditions you should always be pursuing exercise because it is always good for you…

It’s not!

“This is chess, not checkers” —Alonzo Harris: Denzel Washington’s Character in the movie, Training Day

Of course, we commend everyone who has made the wise choice to begin and sustain a regular routine of physical exercise.

Exercise is simple, right?

It looks so easy when the trainer and therapists are doing it on the video.

There is a name for the exercise, there is a way it is supposed to be done, you do it, and it helps you!

Right?

Apparently not.

Physical exercise is certainly presented like checkers: a relatively simple and easy game that doesn’t require a lot of skill and deep thinking… some quick fun for the family.

But physical exercise is really more like chess. Chess is a complex game that requires deeper thinking, patience, and skill. So is physical exercise.

Why?

Because the human body is really complicated!

Because exercise places stress on your body.

There are hundreds of muscles, joints, tendons, ligaments, nerves, bones, and on and on.

These structures and tissues have varying properties and tolerances for handling stress.

Some are better at it than others. If you haven’t exposed some of them to the demands of the physical stress of exercise in awhile, or you have had surgeries, previous injuries, or diseases that negatively affect some of your body’s tissues then they just might not be ready.

Instead of being a great thing to do to promote health and wellness, physical exercise becomes a process that degrades it.

But there is a solution.

1 Take honest stock of your own body. Ask yourself some questions:

  • How long has it been since I really exercised and moved the way that an exercise is “supposed” to be done?
  • Have I had injuries or surgeries that could have compromised parts of my system

2. Put the ego aside. Expediency is the wrong mindset for exercise. Physical exercise is a long game.

3. Start slowly and do not assume that because an exercise looks easy it will be.

4. Pay attention to body signals. You’re the expert on your bodily experience. Trust that. If it doesn’t feel right to you stop or modify.

5. Take on the perspective of what is the least amount of exercise I need to do to reach my goal, not the most. Overdosing exercise is the problem.

6. Seek professional guidance and support from a qualified healthcare professional and trainer.

  • Get a thorough pre-exercise assessment to identify any areas of your body that need to be shored up prior to engaging in unrestricted physical exercise.

7. Take Dr. Nicholas DiNubile’s Advice: “The managed dose of exercise that will do the most for you – without harming you – needs to be measured out for you alone.” (1)

If you have been injured while exercising, see your physician to make sure nothing really serious has happened that will require medical attention. When the doctor gets done, and there is no serious problem, seek out an Exercise Professional from the MedFit Network to discuss how we can help measure out the right dose of exercise – just for you – so you can exercise safely and effectively for life.

Co-written by Charlie Rowe and Greg Mack.

Charlie Rowe, CMSS joined Physicians Fitness in the fall of 2007 after spending 9 years as the Senior Personal Trainer at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, New York. He has also worked within an outpatient Physical Therapy Clinic coordinating care with the Physical Therapist since joining Physicians Fitness. Charlie has earned the Cooper Clinic’s Certified Personal Trainer, the NSCA’s Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist, the American College of Sports Medicine Certified Health Fitness Specialist, Resistance Training Specialist Master Level, and American Council on Exercise Certified Orthopedic Exercise Specialist Certifications. 

Greg Mack is a gold-certified ACE Medical Exercise Specialist and an ACE Certified Personal Trainer. He is the founder and CEO of the corporation Fitness Opportunities. Inc. dba as Physicians Fitness and Exercise Professional Education. He is also a founding partner in the Muscle System Consortia. Greg has operated out of chiropractic clinics, outpatient physical therapy clinics, a community hospital, large gyms, and health clubs, as well operating private studios. His experience in working in such diverse venues enhanced his awareness of the wide gulf that exists between the medical community and fitness facilities, particularly for those individuals trying to recover from, and manage, a diagnosed disease. 

References

(1) DiNubile, MD, Nicholas A. Framework: Your 7-Step program for healthy muscles, bones, and joints, 2005, Page xix.