| Trainers Who Want to Be Just What the Doctor Ordered |
|
|
|
|
Page 2 of 2 Trainers Who Want to Be Just What the Doctor Ordered He said he also requests monthly updates on patients from trainers, so he is alerted if one has a setback. The most diligent trainers can be useful to doctors because they can be a first-alert system for developing problems. Jan Griscom, a personal trainer for 25 years who works at the Chelsea Piers sports center in Manhattan, recalled one client who had extreme back pain when he did abdominal crunches. An internist at first detected nothing, said Ms. Griscom, who said her goal is to “create a team between the person, their body, their doctor and me.” But when his pain persisted, Ms. Griscom urged him to go back, realizing that the degree of his suffering was not normal. She said his internist found an abdominal aneurysm, a potentially life-threatening condition. In another case, she said, a young woman who was months away from marrying kept complaining of dizziness and nausea, even when she wasn’t exerting herself that hard. Ms. Griscom, who has a master’s in biomechanics, advised her to seek medical help, and after blood work, she was found to have diabetes. Some trainers are afraid to send their clients to a doctor, fearing they will lose their business. Others — the more dangerous kind — take it on themselves to diagnose their clients’ injuries. That problem is so pervasive that one type of continuing-education certification available to trainers — medical exercise specialist — teaches them to assess when a potential client’s needs are beyond their expertise. Nearly 8,000 people worldwide have been certified by the academy of fitness and rehabilitation professionals, up from 37 in 1994. But once an injured client has been treated by a medical professional, there is often a role for the trainer, especially for certain kinds of back and neck problems. “There’s some underlying weakness or predisposition to being injured like that again,” said Graham Melstrand, the vice president for operations at the American Council on Exercise, known as ACE, which certifies trainers. If a physician or a physical therapist creates a strengthening program with a trainer that addresses the root of the problem, then maybe the patient will not be hurt again, he added. Anthony Carey, the owner of Function First, a studio in San Diego, feels so strongly about the importance of a holistic approach to his clients’ training that he has developed an organized way to reach out to doctors. For clients who give him permission, he sends letters to their doctors requesting crucial health information. Enclosed is a glossy brochure that describes his methods as an exercise physiologist, with a prescription form that the doctor can fill in. “The bottom line is, we want to know any contraindications and any things we should be aware of that could potentially put this client at risk,” Mr. Carey said. He also mails doctors details of his recommended exercise regimen. Yet of the 75 or so doctors he contacts every year, only a handful get back to him. Those who respond receive progress reports on their patients, about every two weeks in some cases, and about every month or two in others. If something is worrisome, Mr. Carey said, he’ll pick up the phone. Working as a team benefits everyone, Mr. Carey said. “We have input directly from the doctor, without it being lost in translation with the patient,” he said. “The patient feels much more taken care of, because we’ve all made an effort. The doctor is at ease with the exercise program the person is undertaking.” Some doctors are starting to recognize these benefits — as long as the trainer is, like Mr. Carey, reputable and qualified. Confidentiality is an issue, too; patients must sign waivers to allow their doctors to share their private medical profiles with anyone else. Dr. Bradford Stiles, a primary-care doctor who specializes in sports medicine in San Diego, and who works with Mr. Carey, said he welcomes frequent updates on his patients. “If the trainer or physical therapist is not seeing improvement, and they alert me, we get them back sooner to do more testing,” Dr. Stiles said. “That line of communication is very important.” One growing trend is medically integrated training centers, with a physician on site to supervise trainers. In 2005, 855 hospitals in the United States owned medical fitness centers, where doctors and well-educated trainers create exercise regimens together, up from 715 in 2004, according to the Medical Fitness Association, a trade group. “It’s the best of both worlds,” said Zoe Guirlinger, an owner of a fitness center called Ultimate U Total Health near Columbus, Ohio, which has a doctor, physical therapists, personal trainers and dietitians in house. But patients must also play a role. And many are not doing enough to protect their own health, trainers and doctors said. Kathy Ekdahl, a personal trainer in the Boston area, who receives referrals from four physicians, said that a few weeks ago she got a call from a woman with osteoporosis. The caller was referred to her for strength training two years ago, but she had waited until now to act. “Humans are pathetic,” Ms. Ekdahl said. “We wait until the absolute last moment to get healthy.” |
| < Previous | Next > |
|---|