Hello and welcome to Today’s Health and Fitness. I am Dave Johnston, Accredited Exercise Physiologist. Here are 8 things that you need to know about Exercise Physiology that will help to make your decision about seeing an Exercise Physiologist easier. 1. If you have a medical condition: lower back pain; knee pain; or Type 2 Diabetes. We can help you to relieve pain, mobilise and strengthen the injured/sore area and train the rest of your body at the same time –reducing compensation and increasing your overall function. 2. If you want to increase fitness, lose weight or increase sports performance, we can help you to do all these things in a structured, scientific manner. And the good news is that AEP’s are registered with Medicare, Department of Veterans Affairs and are recognized by most private health funds. 3. If you’ve been considering seeing a Personal Trainer: if you take your health and wellbeing seriously, you must understand that most PT’s do not have the qualifications to safely help you with health, rehabilitation or sports specific training. AEP’s study biomechanics and will assess you to see how your body functions. Many PT’s do not assess – period! we work on a person to person basis with the interest of your health and safety foremost. Many PT’s will train you with a ‘no pain, no gain’ mentality, causing excessive muscle soreness and possibly injury in the process. 4. Make sure that the person that you work with is experienced and uses evidence based treatment. Ensure that they participate in professional development with industry leaders. I have over 20 years experience in the industry, across a broad variety of roles. I have trained with world leaders such as Prof Stuart McGill. 5. One size fits all works for beanies, not for exercise! Make sure that you are treated as an individual and that you get the most appropriate exercise for you at the time, including an explanation of why you are doing the exercise. Exercise prescription is both an art and a science. Being prescribed the wrong exercise, or not being coached how to do the exercise properly will at the least, be a waste of your valuable time and at worst, will result in further injury. 6. Exercise on its own will not necessarily give you the best results. A holistic approach to rehabilitation, health and sports performance is required to give you optimum results. This requires attention to nutrition, mindset and manual therapy where required. We have access to cutting edge nutritional programmes; therapists to work with your mindset; and experienced chiropractors and massage therapists to assist with body maintenance. 7. There is no quick fix! Good things take time and your body is no different! To achieve the functional balance of mobility, stability and strength that you need to rehabilitate/increase health/increase sports performance may take a number of months or even years. Depending on how out of balance you are to start with. 8. Make sure the person who you see has some life experience behind them –it will make you feel comfortable to know that you may have some things in common! In addition to over 20 years in the industry, I have had a number of injuries including disc herniation’s, Traumatic Brain Injury (twice) and stress fractures (to name a few…). I was diagnosed with osteoarthritis at the age of 23, this has resolved and reversed! I have represented New Zealand and the South Pacific as an athlete. I have served as a member of the reserve forces. I’m over 45 and know about the effects of age! I have travelled widely and worked in three countries. If you are serious about improving your health, wellbeing or overall performance, I am confident that I have the services to assist you to achieve this goal!