Clinical Exercise vs Clinical Exercise: What's the difference?
It’s a common question we get asked as physios: what’s the difference between a Clinical Exercise class in a gym (which may have upward of 30 participants) and a Clinical Exercise session (which has between 1-4 participants).
What is Clinical Exercise?
Many gyms now offer Clinical Exercise classes which focus on improving core strength, balance and flexibility. Clinical Exercise focuses on rehabilitation and injury prevention and uses a combination of specialised equipment including reformers and trapeze tables complimented by floor-based exercises depending on your needs.
The differences between clinical and fitness Clinical Exercise
Assessment
For those seeking rehabilitation, it is the cause of the problem that needs to be addressed, not just the symptoms.
Before participating in a Clinical Exercise session, your physio will do a thorough assessment. This assessment will uncover the physical factors (movement patterns, weakness, flexibility, balance, etc.), lifestyle factors (office work, lifting technique, etc.) and psychological factors (stress, coping strategies, etc.) causing your injury or concern.
Read more: Back In Motion’s Free Initial Assessment
Read more: Clinical Exercise at Back In Motion
Personalised program
One size doesn’t fit all. A 20-year-old athlete working to rehabilitate a knee injury has very different needs, injury causes and rehab goals to a post-natal mother with neck pain from breastfeeding. They will need to complete different programs to address their particular injuries or concerns and long-term wellbeing goals. Smaller class sizes allow for individually-tailored programs.
Read more: Clinical Exercise for lower back pain
Changing the way you move
To paraphrase an old saying: the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.
Although some things require persistence, when it comes to exercises, technique is just as important as the exercise itself. Your brain has a pre-programmed sequence of muscle activation and the good news is that if you have great technique, you can maintain these movement patterns easily by repetition in your day-to-day life.
Unfortunately, it is very common for us to see clients present with persistent pain due to how they move especially when they are fatigued or under load.
We often see clients who have gone to a large group fitness Clinical Exercise class and felt no improvement (or feel their injury/concern is worse) and concluded that Clinical Exercise wasn’t going to help them.
Consistent progression
The smaller class sizes utlised in Clinical Exercise allow your physio to vary each participant’s exercise program week to week depending on how quickly they are progressing and how they are feeling.
We are also able to re-test key exercises as a measure of progress.
Education
While not exclusive to Clinical Exercise, the individualised approach taken in Clinical Exercise allows us to educate our clients on their specific injuries. We believe the better informed our clients are, the better decisions they can make for their long-term health.
Although each case is unique and will require a slightly different treatment plan, your initial assessment with your physio will give you will have an understanding of the root cause of your problem and the best way to maximise results and reduce your risk of re-injury.
Book your Free Initial Clinical Exercise Assessment now at your nearest Back In Motion practice.
Further reading: Clinical Exercise and Clinical Exercise
Author
Ash Moran, Physiotherapist at Back In Motion Aspendale Gardens
Ash is passionate about physiotherapy and the results it achieves with his clients. He started at Back in Motion after he graduated with Honours from Melbourne University. Ash specialises in Clinical Exercise and uses this to help a wide range of physical ailments from spinal and postural-related issues to the elite athlete looking to improve efficiency and injury prevention. He also uses dry needling and a range of hands-on manual therapy techniques. Although Ash doesn't play anymore he has been the physio for the Dingley Senior FC for the past two years. He maintains his own physical fitness with loads of outdoor activities (usually surfing and running), gym and Clinical Exercise classes.