Why is preventative healthcare so important?

Let’s start by defining what is preventative healthcare. Preventative healthcare is living a healthier lifestyle today, instead of when it is too late. The premise behind this is that living healthier right now will limit your risk of developing chronic conditions in the future.

What is a chronic condition?

A chronic condition is a long-lasting condition with persistent effects. These chronic conditions can decrease one’s overall quality of life. The Australian Government keeps statistics of the 10 most common chronic conditions suffered by Australian’s today.

These 10 chronic conditions are:

• Arthritis
• Asthma
• Back pain
• Cancer
• Cardiovascular Disease
• Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
• Diabetes
• Chronic Kidney Disease
• Mental Health Conditions
• Osteoporosis

The facts may shock you in relation to the above, but:

Nearly 9 out of 10 deaths were associated with having of the above chronic conditions

As you can see, the above chronic conditions have detrimental outcomes on one’s health, especially if not managed correctly. However, the best way to not deal with these health implications is to utilise preventative health care.

This means living healthier today, not later when your health has already declined.

What are some ways one can live healthier today?

Simple! These are just a few tips you can adhere by to help lower your risk of developing any of the above chronic conditions.

• Abiding by the Australian Healthy Eating Standards
• Exercising at minimum 150 minutes per week, with a goal to reach 300 minutes per week
• Incorporating weight training into your lifestyle at least twice a week
• Limiting bad lifestyle choices such as tobacco and alcohol consumption
• Practising proper sleep hygiene

By just abiding by the 5 tips above, your overall risk of chronic disease lessens dramatically, as well as your overall mortality risk (risk of death).

However, if you currently suffer from a chronic condition not all hope is lost. Through a prescription of exercise (yes that’s right you, heard me, exercise is medicine) it is most definitely possible to manage your current health status and even improve it. Some people who suffer from a chronic condition feel lost and hopeless within the health care system with no real guidance of what they can do to improve their own health.

Seeing an Exercise Physiologist is the best way to get on top of your health today and live healthier and happier. An Exercise Physiologist is a Health Professional who specialises in prescribing exercise as medication for a myriad of conditions, even chronic ones. An Exercise Physiologist takes into account your current overall status and gives targeted exercise and dosages of exercise proven by research which will improve your overall quality of life.

If you are stuck and don’t know what to do about your health, book an initial assessment with our Exercise Physiologist here at UniquePhysio and allow them to jump start your health journey.