Exercise-based rehabilitation

Exercise-based rehabilitation

Exercise-based rehabilitation involves movement and movement instruction, sometimes with limited manual therapy, to enhance physical capacity or movement in patients who have sustained an injury, undergone recent surgery, have a chronic illness or injury, have experienced loss of normal functional ability or those who need help with recovery and want to improve their general health and wellbeing.

What is exercise-based rehabilitation?

Exercise-based rehabilitation programs aim to restore patient functionality to pre-injury capacity, manage issues post-surgery, or adjust patients to life with a chronic illness or injury.

Osteopaths may provide exercise-based interventions in private practice, other healthcare settings or within communities, and programs may be developed either for individuals or groups.

Exercise-based rehabilitation assessment

An exercise-based rehabilitation assessment may include the following clinical components:

Identification of your lifestyle, functional goals and requirements in partnership with you
Movement-based assessment using physical tests. This involves an assessment of your body and how it moves to identify your strengths or imbalances that may impact your ability to perform daily activities, live your preferred lifestyle, or meet your functional goals
Assessment of resting blood pressure and heart rate, body composition, strength, control, balance, cardiorespiratory fitness, muscular fitness and ability to perform specific functional tasks
Identification of factors that may have contributed to any loss of your normal function through a discussion of your history

An exercise program designed to suit you

Your osteopath will involve you in developing an exercise program that meets your assessed needs to help build your physical and mental resilience. It means you will:

Be involved in selecting an exercise setting or settings that meet your individual requirements
Be engaged in selecting exercise techniques from a range of appropriate exercises designed by your osteopath
Receive advice about how to apply prescribed exercises using the correct technique to avoid aggravating or causing further injury

After you start an exercise program, your osteopath will review how well your clinical exercise program meets your needs. They will reassess changes to your function before, during and after an exercise program has been applied. Adjustments to your exercise program may be recommended.

A multidisciplinary approach

Osteopaths understand treatment options that may work in combination with exercise-based programs. They have links with other health practitioners, as well as with wellbeing program providers. They regularly give referrals to and work with medical practitioners, psychologists, exercise physiologists and other health professionals, as well as fitness programs such as personal training, cross-fit, yoga and pilates.

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