According to Buttler, if all the benefits of exercise could be put into one pill, it would be the world’s most prescribed drug. (Butler, 2012)
Scientific evidence supports the many benefits of exercise. It is difficult to think of a pathology where exercise does not help in one way or another, whether in prevention, treatment or reduction of symptoms.
The RAE defines “medicine” as: “Set of knowledge and techniques applied to the prediction, prevention, diagnosis and treatment of human diseases and, if necessary, to the rehabilitation of the sequelae that may occur”.
The World Health Organization defines health as “physical, mental and social well-being, not simply the absence of disease and illness.” Regular and controlled exercise can reduce and prevent the appearance of different pathologies and diseases, it is free and easily accessible for most. It also has other positive impacts on our life, maintaining a healthy weight and psychological impact on our levels of confidence and self-esteem. Therefore, exercise is considered to be a medicine that can improve people’s quality of life.
Like medications, regular exercise produces relatively predictable and specific changes in our physiology. These adaptations take place both centrally and peripherally and include structural, hormonal, and biochemical changes. Different types of exercise will lead to different results.
Exercise has been scientifically proven to be effective in preventing and / or treating a wide variety of medical conditions, from cardiovascular disease and diabetes to arthritis, back pain, and even certain mental health disorders and cancers. (Lavie te al, 2012)
The review by Pederser and Salten (2015) is very interesting, where they evidenced the benefits of exercise in 26 chronic diseases:
1. Psychiatric (depression, anxiety, stress, schizophrenia).
2. Neurological (dementia, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis).
3. Metabolic (obesity, hyperlipidemia, metabolic syndrome, polycystic ovary syndrome, type 2 diabetes, type 1 diabetes).
4. Cardiovascular (hypertension, coronary artery disease, heart failure, stroke, and intermittent claudication).
5. Pulmonary (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, cystic fibrosis).
6. Musculoskeletal disorders (osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, bad back, rheumatoid arthritis).
7. Cancer
Also, like different medications, exercise can also have some side effects. That is why it is important to know and minimize them, especially by selecting the most appropriate physical activities for each person. In this way we will be able to obtain the best results with the minimum risk. To achieve this, a good prior assessment and a proper training progression are important. Exercise professionals will prescribe in the safest and most effective way.
It is important to consult your doctor if exercise is appropriate for you, taking into account your physical, anatomical, neurological, cardiac, metabolic condition or any other pathology.
Almost everyone, including pregnant women, the elderly, and people with chronic, degenerative, or disabled conditions, can benefit from regular, highly designed, and controlled exercise. You are never too young or too old to start. We can always find that activity that allows us to enjoy a healthy sports practice. (Pedersen & Salten, 2015)
At DiR, we have spent more than 40 years with the vision of transforming exercise into a true medicine and constantly evolving to help achieve the best results, from the variety of activities and services (DiR Clubs), outdoor locations (DiR OUTDOOR) and even digital offers (DiR at Home / Live sessions) to keep you fit anytime, anywhere.
CLUBS: https://www.dir.cat
OUTDOOR/VIRTUAL/STREAMING: https: // directed.
Jordi Notario
Director DIR OUTDOOR