Implementing a Physical Activity Consultation Clinic during a Global Pandemic.

Ten percent of all premature deaths and 117 billion dollars in annual health care costs are attributable to physical inactivity in America. The positive impact exercise can have on overall health is irrefutable. While it is the responsibility of health care providers to assess and counsel for exercise, there are logistical, structural, and educational barriers preventing this counseling. A physical activity consultation clinic led by primary care sports medicine physicians would allow for focused exercise counseling by appropriately trained providers to motivated patients. While previously there have been many institutional and logistical barriers to establishing such a clinic, the COVID-19 pandemic has created a window of opportunity for doing so within a large academic medical center. This article reviews the importance of exercise on overall health, outlines the barriers for establishing a clinical experience dedicated to counseling for physical activity, and details how overcoming those barriers was facilitated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Copyright © 2021 by the American College of Sports Medicine.

Citation

Jessica F Butts, Kathryn H Schmitz, Cayce Onks, Matthew Silvis. Implementing a Physical Activity Consultation Clinic during a Global Pandemic. Current sports medicine reports. 2021 Aug 01;20(8):389-394

Mesh Tags

PMID: 34357884

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