Prescribing Exercise Gains Momentum

Here’s the second blog post from the Sports Backers executive director Jon Lugbill. Enjoy!

This past weekend I was invited to speak at a medical training session for area nurses and physicians. The “Rhythm in Richmond 6” event was hosted by the Virginia Cardiovascular Specialists at the Jefferson Hotel.  I was a little nervous because my medical knowledge is very minimal, and my speaking style is at best folksy. I kept wondering if the remarks I had prepared would be appropriate. My talk was going to be focused on the role medical professionals can play in making our community more active.

When I first walked into the ballroom at the Jefferson, site of our annual scholarship dinner, I felt more at ease. I recognized some familiar faces, and Vicky Green, one of our marathon training team coaches came over and said hello. When Dr. David Gilligan came over, a physician with Virginia Cardiovascular Specialists, he instantly started showing me his pedometer and began telling me about their practice’s efforts to improve their own physical activity through a step challenge. I started to realize these experts in cardiovascular health were not going to ask me medical questions or expect me to remember which part of the heart receives blood from veins and which parts pump blood to the lungs and arteries. I was there to provide insight into the importance of having them promote exercise and explain how their patients could benefit from this encouragement.

Because of my angst about talking about the medical benefits of physical activity to an audience full of experts in the field, I turned to YouTube and played the video “23 and ½ Hours” by Dr. Mike Evans. This video gives an overview of the medical research that explains how regular exercise can fight chronic diseases like heart disease, diabetes, depression, dementia, and arthritis. The audience chuckled at some of the drawings, and they seemed to enjoy the film.

I then turned to the work the Sports Backers are doing to promote physical activity in the community. I highlighted our efforts to get the under-served population moving, build more bike and walking infrastructure, and inspire and motivate local schools, companies, churches, and community organizations to embrace an active lifestyle. In the background, pictures from our events and programs rolled on a big screen. I then turned to the audience for their feedback.

Each person in the audience had a clicker so we could take live polls. They overwhelmingly supported the idea of prescribing exercise, with 88 percent saying they already use this best practice. Best of all, nearly 80 percent of those present wanted to help be advisors to our effort to have the medical community promote physical activity.

Studies show that when medical professionals prescribe exercise with specifics about duration, frequency, and intensity, then nearly 68 percent of all patients follow through on this advice. If patients are merely advised that they should exercise more, almost none of them change their inactive lifestyle. Despite being worried about my lack of medical experience, the response was incredibly positive from the audience. I learned that the medical community is supportive of our movement, and we have an opportunity to have these influential community members help us promote physical activity and the accompanying health benefits.