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Welcome to Disease Management
Here you'll learn the best ways exercise can help manage or prevent chronic conditions and diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, arthritis, joint pain, stroke and cancer.
The statistics are staggering. According to major, national, non-profit organizations:
- 21 million people, or 7% of the population, have diabetes, and over 54 million are pre-diabetic (American Diabetes Association)
Yet, did you know that downhill walking has been proven to have a more positive impact on circulating blood glucose levels than level or uphill walking?
- Heart disease is the #1 killer of women — one in four women die from heart disease (American Heart Association)
Did you know that exercising and reducing your body weight by just 5 to 10 percent will significantly reduce your risk of developing heart disease or having a stroke?
- Over 40% of African-Americans have high blood pressure
Did you know that exercising just three times per week for a minimum of 20 minutes can not only improve your blood pressure, but in many individuals eliminate high blood pressure?
- Many research studies indicate that moderate exercise actively increases the level of HDL (good cholesterol)
Did you know that slight uphill walking has a more positive impact on increasing the "good" cholesterol in your blood than level walking or walking on a slight downhill?
- As many as 90,000 cancer deaths each year could be prevented if Americans could only maintain a normal, healthy body weight (American Cancer Society)
Did you know that exercise significantly reduces a woman's risk of developing cancer? For example, breast cancer risk increases for women who are overweight due to the increased level of the hormone "estrogen" that exists inside of a woman's fat cells. The greater the number of fat cells the greater the level of circulating estrogen in the body, and therefore the greater breast cancer risk.
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- A single exercise session was proven to improve the function of blood vessels and blood lipid levels to a significant degree, and the benefits persisted the next day.
- Regular exercise helps keep arteries elastic, even in older people, resulting in increased blood flow and normal blood pressure. Sedentary people have a 35% greater risk of developing hypertension than athletes do.
- Keeping blood glucose, blood pressure and cholesterol in control can make a difference in reducing your risk for heart attack or stroke.
- Resting heart rate averages 60 to 80 beats per minute. Your resting heart rate typically decreases with age. In middle-aged, unconditioned, sedentary individuals the resting rate can exceed 100 beats per minute.
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Exercise for Life
As we age we strive to live a long and healthy life. Do you want to enjoy your favorite activities, keep up with your children and grandchildren, maintain your independence, sleep well and minimize your stress level? If so, the answer is not a magic pill you get over the counter. You can't rely on medical experts to fix "you" without your commitment to eating a healthy, balanced diet and getting regular physical activity. Many experts say the most important "magic pill" is in fact exercise.
Maybe you already have a routine exercise program, but are you maximizing your exercise to get the most benefits for your health? As you browse this section of our site you'll discover helpful ways to improve your exercise, such as:
- Understanding the latest research regarding exercise program discoveries that have the greatest impact on reducing disease risk and/or allow those challenged with a specific disease to more effectively manage their disease through the benefits of a medically-based exercise program.
- For example, we will teach you how to vary your workout intensity level, duration and frequency to help you receive greater benefits from your workouts. Most importantly, many individuals who are challenged with a disease such as cancer also need to learn how to pay attention to their energy levels and "vary" workouts according to current energy levels, mood, enthusiasm and medications/treatments. For example, understanding how to modify a workout on a day when energy is low is essential to maintaining the most regular program possible to gain the greatest benefits possible!
- Listening to your body's signals, such as your heart rate and how hard you are working (rate of physical exertion), to help you better manage your exercise to achieve optimal results. Learning when to take it easy and when to safely push a bit harder is essential to succeed and realize all of the tremendous benefits an exercise program can provide an individual fighting cancer, heart disease or any other challenging illness or injury.
Exercise is the Best Medicine
Exercise is the most forgotten prescription for everyone! In fact, exercise is the best prescription to manage most diseases and chronic conditions. Regular exercise has a positive effect on the general health of people fighting a specific or multiple diseases and/or chronic conditions, and can lessen the severity of emotional disorders by providing a sense of greater control over the disease, illness or injury.
Physicians frequently prescribe exercise in conjunction with prescription medicine. The downside of most doctor visits is that while you may be told to exercise, you may not be given any specifics about how to exercise. Your doctor may recommend you exercise for 30 minutes a day 3-5 days a week, but the discussion may end there, or you may have balance challenges that prevent you from beginning an outside walking program.
If you are challenged with a chronic disease or recovering from an injury, before beginning an exercise program it is imperative that you talk to your physician first. Find out if they recommend that you begin or continue exercising. Discuss the type of exercise they recommend and ask for an exercise prescription that has been designed just for you.
At LifeSpan Fitness we offer you proven, medically-appropriate exercise solutions designed by our own Exercise Physiologist and Director of Medical Programs. In the information provided here you'll learn about how to best utilize different types of exercise, the body signals to pay attention to as you exercise, and how to take your exercise prescription from your physician and gain the greatest benefit possible from your exercise program.
Use of this site constitutes your acceptance of our Terms of Use. Please read them.
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