Primary care physicians can help their patients by knocking down the obstacles that keep them from regularly exercising.
Exercise improves muscle strength in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. It also helps to reduce diabetes patients’ A1c levels. And it even improves physical function and health-related quality of life for people living with Parkinson’s disease and multiple sclerosis, writes Aaron E. Carroll, M.D., a professor of pediatrics at Indiana University School of Medicine, in a New York Times blog post, where he suggests exercise is the closest resource to a wonder drug doctors can offer their patients.
Despite the powerful health and cost-savings benefits of exercise, only one-third of patients receive physical activity counseling from their primary care providers, according to Mona AuYoun, Ph.D., research fellow with Veterans Affairs Health Services Research & Development and lead author of a recent study published in The American Journal of Medicine.
For primary care doctors, it can be as simple as having a conversation about the importance of physical activity, recommends AuYoun in the study.
Looking for more proof that exercise can help patients live healthier lives? It improves the symptoms of depression and chronic fatigue syndrome--and it even reduces fatigue for cancer patients during treatment, says Carroll. Primary care doctors already have trusted relationships with their patients. And that means recommending a bike ride or a brisk walk for 30 minutes can make all the difference, he says.
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