Physical Activity Risk in Long-Term Conditions

Physical therapists and physical therapist assistants who work with adults living with chronic conditions in outpatient, home health, inpatient rehabilitation, skilled nursing, or community wellness settings, and who field questions about whether it is safe to move more.

Physical therapists and physical therapist assistants

Intended audience

Physical Therapy

Level

Introductory

Delivery format

Online, asynchronous, self-paced course: interactive reading with audio or video, and a scored post-test.

Based on

This course reports on a single source: a multidisciplinary expert consensus statement on the medical risks of physical activity for adults living with one or more long-term conditions, developed as a collaboration between the Faculty of Sport and Exercise Medicine and the Physical Activity for Health Research Centre at the University of Edinburgh, funded by Sport England through National Lottery money, and published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

Source: Consensus statement on the risks of physical activity for people living with long-term conditions. Developed using the Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation tool through a four-stage process: preparation (patient, public, and practitioner input), a rapid evidence review, a steering group workshop, and a three-stage modified online Delphi study. Results are published open access and are also presented in an interactive format on the Moving Medicine initiative website.

Scope note

Every claim and number in this course traces back to that consensus statement. Where the statement itself issues recommendations for healthcare professionals, this course reports them as the statement’s recommendations. Nothing here is offered as independent clinical advice, and the consensus authors note their own list of conditions is not exhaustive.

After completing this course, you will be able to:

1. State what the consensus panel concluded about the balance of benefits and risks of physical activity for adults living with one or more long-term conditions.
2. Distinguish routine preparticipation medical clearance from the medical guidance the consensus statement says should be driven by an individual's specific concerns about active symptoms.
3. Name the symptom changes the consensus statement lists as reasons to stop activity and seek medical review.

1. Start Here: how this course works and what the source is
2. Podcast: Risk, Reassurance, and the Long-Term Conditions Consensus (about nine minutes)
3. What the Consensus Set Out to Settle About Physical Activity Risk
4. How the Panel Built and Tested the Statements
5. The Five Impact Statements and the Eight Symptom-Based Statements
6. Where the Evidence Runs Thin
7. Clearance, Guidance, and the Conversation in Clinic
8. Key Takeaways
9. Post-test and course evaluation

Quinn Millington, PT, DPT, ECS is the instructor of record: the licensed clinician who reviewed this course and signed off on it. The name and credentials print on the certificate.

Disclosures. This course was developed by The ConEd Solution, which has a financial interest in its sale. No outside funding or sponsorship was received. The instructor of record has no affiliation with the authors of the source publication or their institutions.

This course awards 0.5 contact hours (30 min). How you earn them:

1. Complete the course. Every lesson, in order.
2. Pass the post-test. Score 80% or higher. Retakes are allowed.
3. Complete the evaluation. A short form rating each learning objective and the course.
4. Download your certificate. It is issued on completion and stays available in My Account.

The episode time is its measured length. Reading, post-test and evaluation times are estimates.

This course is designed to satisfy the quality requirements state boards set for continuing education. Requirements vary by state, and confirming that a course fits your renewal is up to you. Each state’s own acceptance statement is in the credit panel on this page.

1. This course reports on a single source: a multidisciplinary expert consensus statement on the medical risks of physical activity for adults living with one or more long-term conditions, developed as a collaboration between the Faculty of Sport and Exercise Medicine and the Physical Activity for Health Research Centre at the University of Edinburgh, funded by Sport England through National Lottery money, and published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.
2. Source: Consensus statement on the risks of physical activity for people living with long-term conditions. Developed using the Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation tool through a four-stage process: preparation (patient, public, and practitioner input), a rapid evidence review, a steering group workshop, and a three-stage modified online Delphi study. Results are published open access and are also presented in an interactive format on the Moving Medicine initiative website.
3. Scope note
4. Every claim and number in this course traces back to that consensus statement. Where the statement itself issues recommendations for healthcare professionals, this course reports them as the statement's recommendations. Nothing here is offered as independent clinical advice, and the consensus authors note their own list of conditions is not exhaustive.