Why has “Prevention” suddenly become a concern?
Our country is in the midst of a health care crisis! Obesity, along with all the associated risk factors, has reached epidemic levels in the population. The incidence of surgery to deal with back problems has increased exponentially, as well as surgeries for other joint-related issues. Expenses for health coverage have gone through the roof, leaving employers no choice but to pass along at least a portion of health insurance costs to the employee.

Why has “Prevention” been left “out-of-the-loop” ? It is very likely that the reason for this is that we have left this part of health care up to the individual. Physical activities performed specifically to improve long-term health require thought and action before-the-fact. This particular type of self-initiated behavior is contrary to our human nature - which seems to be to take the easy way out. It is hard to convince people to pre-plan and prepare for events that only seem to have the potential to happen in some hazy future.

Data collection shows rising health care costs prove we do not know how to take care of ourselves. “Anything is better than nothing” attitudes need to be changed! How do we instill a sense of urgency in our population to view “Prevention” as a critical element in their personal health care plan?

The first necessary step is to saturate public awareness with an aggressive EDUCATION campaign promoting correct information. This education campaign must focus on PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY, and it must be based on the FACTS of exercise science. A public knowledgeable about the facts and armed with truthful information is a public possessing the tools to make savvy consumer choices.

Part of this campaign must alert our public to the fact that “Prevention” of illness and injury - or “well” care - is the beginning and end phase of the wellness cycle that incorporates “un-well” care (conditions treated by doctors and rehabilitation specialists). People whose lifestyles include the performance of model programs that optimize their health and are designed to stave off the onset of illness or injury are less likely to proceed along to the continuum of the health care cycle to the phase that treats the after effects of these problems (doctors and rehabilitation specialists). Also, it must be emphasized, once all requisite treatments for “un-well” care have reached their maximum effectiveness, “well” care must resume.

The next step must be for doctors, rehabilitation specialists, insurance providers, and exercise specialists to take a team approach in tackling a crisis of this magnitude. There must be awareness that a specific division of labor separates each expert’s specialty, and there must be open communication between all players on the team.

Doctors deal with the acute phase of illness and injury, Rehabilitation Specialists deal with repair and certain aspects of the recovery phase of illness and injury, and Exercise Specialists deal with the end phases of recovery from illness and injury along with the “work/life hardening” (this is “preparing to prevent”) phases of well-care. Throughout the cycle, Insurance administrators deal with the issues of supplying the most cost-effective care for the individual client. In order to expedite quality client care it is necessary for specialists to transmit information to one another about the procedures used in each phase of the treatment cycle.

Finally, when thinking about our health and wellness we must use our educational campaign and our interactions with our health care providers to guide our population in the correct direction. When thinking about health care we MUST shift the emphasis away from “treatment” (or “un-well care”) to “prevention” (or “well care”).

We are fast becoming a nation addicted to “quick fixes”, medication for every conceivable discomfort, and an “I’ll deal with it when it happens” mentality. We must re-teach and re-learn what we have lost sight of: when it comes to our health, personal responsibility and preparation are the qualities that will keep us from becoming a medical statistic somewhere in the future.

Phone: 804-543-9293
[Weight Loss] [Personal Exercise] [Metabolism Basics] [ Metabolism Profile ] [Trainers] [Contact] [Sitemap]