More and more leading companies, cities and management organizations are investing in wellness programs for their employees. Recent news notes that 25 percent of all Fortune 500 companies offer executive physicals to their CEOs and key management personnel. Why? For a forward thinking and growing organization, it makes good sense to make every effort to protect top talent. Keeping them healthy pays long-term dividends. But what kinds of programs are best? Often, these “physicals” range from one- or two-day examination marathons to lavish accommodations at luxury spas. What’s the future, especially since wellness is now one of the cornerstones of health care reform?
One of the key groups that has closely analyzed the “best of the best” in wellness programming is the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, an independent panel of experts in prevention that closely scrutinize trends in wellness. They have recommended that the foundation of wellness should be focused on checking for unhealthy behaviors such as smoking, poor diet and lack of exercise, and to monitor important health factors such as weight, blood pressure and blood lipid levels. Layered on top of these foundational elements are appropriate age- and sex-related screenings such as bone densiometry for women and prostate exams for men.
One of the limitations of many executive programs is that they only provide you with assessment information. An actual “follow through” that addresses the fundamental unhealthy behaviors such as poor diet or lack of exercise is typically not part of the program. In other words, many of these programs tell you what your problem is and then shake your hand and tell you “good luck in taking care of this.” So the first thing you should always do in evaluating these programs is to make sure that a sound exercise program that is tailored to your health, your body type and your level of physical condition is part of the program. Furthermore, make sure that the nutrition program has a dietary intake and follow up associated with it. While the assessment is a great start, developing the knowledge and the skills to improve your health is really the only way healthy changes occur.
Physical therapists see many individuals who have tried to start fitness and wellness programs but dropped out. Most often the reason for quitting is because the program they have started doesn’t accommodate for their rotator cuff problem in their shoulder, their knee pain from an old football injury, hypertension, that chronic low-grade back pain or their slight balance difficulty. The expertise of the physical therapist, however, can help you develop a fitness and wellness program that works around such constraints, resulting in achieving a lifetime of long lasting health.
Seek out a wellness program that assesses your heart health and bone health, in addition to your overall health, and learn from your physical therapist how exercise can improve your health. Doing so will result in a high “return on investment” for you and your company. FBN
Written by Carl DeRosa, PT, Ph.D.
More information at dpt.com