What Conditions Can an Exercise Referral Practitioner Work With?
One of the most common questions before enrolling on an exercise referral course is exactly which conditions you'll be trained to work with. Here's the range covered by the Level 3 qualification.
Conditions typically covered
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Hypertension, hypercholesterolaemia and coronary heart disease
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Type 1 and type 2 diabetes
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Obesity
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Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma
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Osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, osteopenia and osteoporosis
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Low back pain and joint replacement recovery
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Depression, stress and generalised anxiety disorder
Why this range needs specific training
Working safely with these populations requires an understanding of medical considerations that sits outside a general gym instructing or personal training qualification, from recognising contraindications to adapting programming around medication effects and condition-specific risk.
What you won't be qualified to do
Exercise referral training qualifies you to assess, design and deliver exercise programmes within a defined scope, it does not qualify you to diagnose or treat medical conditions. You'll always be working alongside, not instead of, a patient's medical care.