Practice patterns, counseling and promotion of physical activity by sports medicine physicians
Abstract
Objectives This study examined sports medicine physicians with an established interest in physical activity to investigate attitudes surrounding exercise, physical activity and patient-counseling behavior. The degree to which physicians' personal knowledge of physical activity and related resources, involvement with common activities, and perceived barriers were assessed.Design An internet survey was designed in four domains: (1) counseling behavior, (2) tools and resources, (3) appropriateness of common physical activities for patients and (4) barriers.Methods The survey was sent to 3570 members of two electronic mailing lists - Institute of Lifestyle Medicine, Boston, MA and The American College of Sports Medicine. Surveys were emailed during 2011-2012 and analyzed in 2013-2014. Each survey contained 39 questions.Results The response rate of the surveys was 16%. Of 412 physicians, 74% regularly recommended physical activity, 66% talked about exercise with patients, and 49% included as a vital sign. Only 26% of physicians provided a written exercise prescription. ACSM's Exercise is Medicine® (37%) was the most popular resource. Walking, followed by aerobic activity, strength training and cycling were the most recommended forms of activity and were associated with physicians' personal experiences. The most potent inhibitor was time.Conclusions Physicians with an interest in exercise and physical activity recognize the importance of recommending and counseling patients on exercise and physical activity. Physician counseling was associated with personal familiarity with physical activity. Increasing knowledge and experience with exercise, physical activity and counseling behavior is an important component to encourage physical activity assessment and promotion by sports medicine physicians.
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The American Sports Medicine Association recommends 60-80% HRmax intensity to treat depression.
“The American Sports Medicine Association recommends 60–80% HRmax intensity to treat depression [110].”
From Systematic review and meta-analysis of the effects of exercise on depression in adolescents (2022) · cites this paper as [110]
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- Authors
- Pojednic, R. M., Polak, R., Arnstein, F., Kennedy, M. A., Bantham, A., & Phillips, E. M.
- Affiliations
- Harvard University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Pojednic, Rachele M.
- Venue
- Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2017-02
- Volume
- 20
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 123-127
- ISSN
- 1440-2440 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2471459902
- Cited by
- 35
- References
- 27
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 6 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 5 · 2017: 1
- FWCI
- 2.96
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of science and medicine in sport (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Physical Activity and Health
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Clinical practice guidelines implementation
- Social Sciences › Life-span and Life-course Studies › Sports and Physical Education Studies
- Keywords
- physical activity promotion, sports physicians, barriers to exercise, barriers to physical activity, walking, aerobic exercise, resistance training, cycling, physical activity resources, lifestyle medicine
- MeSH terms
- Counseling, Humans, Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice, Physician-Patient Relations, Practice Patterns, Physicians', Surveys and Questionnaires, Sports Medicine, Exercise
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