Anyone who has been through a Medically Supervised Exercise Program will likely tell you that they achieved great success while they were in the program. Physical Therapy and Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation are two common examples of these programs. Patients are ofter referred to them after sustaining a serious injury, undergoing surgery or addressing a chronic condition where their functional capacity is severely diminished. The most common issue with these programs is patient compliance with home exercise and continuation of exercise plans once program is completed.

As a health practitioner, it’s extremely frustrating to see your patient’s make large improvements in their health and then see their gains erased due to lack of compliance with their continuing exercise plans. This ofter happens because people need reinforcement to encourage them to continue. Often people benefit greatly from the community and social aspect of Physical Therapy and Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation. An easy solution to ensure continued success after completion of either of these programs is to encourage patients to join a group fitness class comprised of individuals who have gone through similar experiences. Some local hospitals and community centers offer programs that are specifically designed for people with these types of health issues. Health practitioners should be aware of these programs and encourage their patients to join them several weeks before their treatment has concluded to ensure a smooth transition to exercising on their own.

For more tech savvy patients, health practitioners should encourage continuing exercise plans through apps and web-based programs that have robust social communities. Strava is an example of a running and cycling based app that has an excellent social sharing platform. Recreational athletes have the ability to follow, challenge and encourage one another which directly leads to increased compliance. Ability Fix is another great example of an application that encourages social interaction and sharing for aquatic exercisers. They also offer a robust video library where you can learn aquatic exercises specifically tailored to each users ability and fitness level. Modern day health practitioners have a responsibility to leverage these types of technologies to encourage their patients to continue with their exercise programs.

If you're a patient in a Medical Exercise Program be sure that you inquire about local recourses prior to ending treatment. Also don’t be afraid to ask about apps, websites and other technology based solutions that encourage a variety of exercises. Remember, you worked hard to achieve all of your health improvements and you need to leverage every resource you can to keep them.

About Ability Fix

Regardless of your current physical ability level, Ability Fix offers customized water aerobics classes to help you reach your goals. The award-winning app is the ultimate companion for your water aerobics regimen and guides you through a series of aquatic exercises to help improve your balance, strength, flexibility, and cardio. Whether you’re seeking a low-impact way to help improve your mobility or need a high-intensity cardio burn, Ability Fix is for you. The app works with a variety of devices, including laptops, tablets, smartphones, and smart TVs. Optional waterproof Bluetooth headphones allow you to listen to instructions for the exercises. With 50 water aerobics exercises and three Ai Chi routines launching at the start of 2020, Ability Fix is ready to help you create the ideal water aerobics routine for your needs. 

For more information about Ability Fix, visit www.abilityfix.com