Study Shows Health Benefits from Membership at a Medical Fitness Facility
The Medical Fitness Association is pleased to share that a recent study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine concludes that “membership at a medical fitness facility was associated with a reduced risk of all-cause mortality and hospitalizations.”
Physical inactivity is a known risk factor for mortality. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, only about half of the population in the United States achieves the recommended level of physical activity. The economic burden of physical inactivity is approximately 27 billion dollars per year.
The study was conducted over a ten-year period from 2005 to 2015 with two certified medical fitness facilities, The Wellness Institute and Reh-Fit Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba, to look at the link between membership at a medical fitness facility and health outcomes. Both facilities are certified by the Medical Fitness Association.
The medical fitness model is designed to improve health status by providing evidence-based, medically integrated programming to promote health. Unlike traditional fitness facilities, this model incorporates medical oversight; clinical integration with a health system; a higher level of staff education and training; health assessments; and health education.
Researchers were permitted to access over 500,000 deidentified provincial health records to use as the control group. The intervention group included over 19,000 members of The Wellness Institute and Reh-Fit Centre medical fitness facilities combined.
The study showed that:
• Medical fitness facility members had a 60 percent lower risk of all-cause mortality during the first 651 days and 48 percent lower after 651 days.
• Membership was also associated with a 13 percent lower risk of hospitalizations.
• Medical fitness members who attended more frequently (3 or more visits per week), the hospitalization rate was even lower.
“We are pleased to see the validation of what we have seen in the growing medical fitness industry,” said David Flench, CEO of the Medical Fitness Association. He added that certified medical fitness facilities provide a safe environment for older adults and those facing chronic diseases, while still serving the overall community for their health and wellness needs. “Medical fitness is defining the future of the fitness industry,” said Flench. “Over the past few years, we have seen an influx of commercial fitness facilities that are incorporating medical oversight and a broader offering of health and wellness services. As we now know, the benefit to members is significant.”
###
About the Study
This study was supported by Seven Oaks General Hospital Foundation, Chronic Disease Innovation Centre, Manitoba Centre for Health Policy, University of Manitoba, Research Manitoba and the Heart and Stroke Foundation.
Click here to view the article.
Click here to download the infographic.
Vapor Fresh teams up with the Medical Fitness Association as an Industry Partner
Vapor Fresh and the Medical Fitness Association team up to bring citric acid disinfecting gym wipes to the medical fitness community
ARLINGTON, VA., May 10, 2021 – Vapor Fresh, a leading manufacturer of stronger, safer, greener cleaning products specifically designed for the sports & fitness industry, has teamed up with the Medical Fitness Association as an Industry Partner to help bring citric acid disinfecting chemistry to medical fitness facilities across the United States.
“By providing medical fitness facilities an alternative to harsh quat-based disinfectants, we can help them provide a safer environment for their patients and members,” said Stephen Steinberg, Founder of Vapor Fresh. “We’re so excited to partner with the Medical Fitness Association, whose prominence and reputation in the industry will help drive the next stages of growth for Vapor Fresh.”
Due to the increased intensity and frequency of cleaning procedures from the COVID-19 pandemic, overexposure to quaternary ammonium compounds – or “quats” – has become a concern among experts. Due to the well documented reports of quat-induced asthma attacks and lung irritation from exposure to quats, this is a particular concern within the gym and fitness community.
Vapor Fresh® Disinfecting Gym Wipes use citric acid to disinfect instead of quats. Citric acid is an approved active ingredient on the EPA’s Safer Chemical Ingredients List and these wipes carry the lowest EPA toxicity rating where they are not even required to have a warning label. Even with this citric acid chemistry, Vapor Fresh® Disinfecting Gym Wipes are still EPA registered to disinfect 99.9% of germs and are on the EPA List N Disinfectant for Coronavirus.
“The Medical Fitness Association is proud to partner with Vapor Fresh through our Industry Partner program,” said David Flench, FACHE, FMFA, Interim CEO, Medical Fitness Association. “Our program allows us to share industry products with our medical fitness membership. In this time when disinfecting has become so heightened at fitness facilities, it’s important to have vendors like Vapor Fresh that are offering an effective product without the harsh chemicals.”
###
Vapor Fresh has been manufacturing stronger, safer, greener cleaning products for the sports & fitness industry since 2008. Along with their disinfecting gym wipes, they also manufacture botanically-based cleaning sprays for sports pads and fitness equipment, laundry detergents for active households that wash a lot of athleisure and sports jerseys, and 100% natural foot & shoe powders.
Contact:
Vapor Fresh Media Relations Dept.
hello@rawathletics.com
888-619-0729
# # #
Click here to learn more about Vapor Fresh.
American Kinesiotherapy Commemorates 75th Anniversary of “Improvement Through Movement.”
Washington, D.C. — April 2021: Kinesiotherapy, one of the oldest therapeutic disciplines, announces the celebration of its 75th anniversary year as a profession.
Founded in 1946 on the battlefield of WWII, Kinesiotherapy (formerly Corrective Therapy) was created by U.S. Surgeon General Major Norman T. Kirk and Dr. Howard Rusk, early pioneers in the emerging field of rehabilitation medicine. With the increased survival of troops suffering from illness or injury, there was a great demand to return soldiers to active duty. Corrective physical reconditioning units were established to enhance this process.
The American Kinesiotherapy Association (AKTA), formerly the Association of Physical and Mental Rehabilitation, was created to support the rehabilitative services of Registered Kinesiotherapists (RKT) while promoting the health and wellness of all populations including Veterans and individuals with functional limitations.
“Kinesiotherapy is unlike any other medical fitness or therapeutic discipline because it encompasses the whole body” said Kendall Noble, president-elect of the AKTA. “RKT’s are educated and trained on behavior change in addition to physical rehabilitation.” Kinesiotherapists continue where traditional therapy ends – taking the client from injury or illness to whole-health.”
In recognition of 75 years of the profession of Kinesiotherapy, the AKTA is highlighting a few of the specialties that encompasses the best of their modalities. These include:
- Adaptive Sports including working with amputees and Para-Olympic athletes
- Aquatics
- Cardiac/Pulmonary Rehabilitation
- Driver Training Rehabilitation
- Orthopedics
- Neurology
The foundation of Kinesiotherapy is in the administration of musculoskeletal, neurological, ergonomic, biomechanical, psychosocial and task specific functional tests, culminating in behavioral and physical modifications.
Dr. Timothy Silver, former Chief of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at McGuire Veterans Affairs Hospital in Richmond, Virginia said, “Having an exercise physiology background makes kinesiotherapists (RKT) well suited for additional sub-specialization in many areas. We have RKTs who provide cardiac and pulmonary rehab, aquatic therapy, driver training, and functional capacity evaluations. The versatile nature of kinesiotherapists makes them well suited for interdisciplinary patient care.”
The American Kinesiotherapy Association is a nonprofit, member based organization committed to the support of all Registered Kinesiotherapists across the country. To learn more visit www.akta.org.
Contact:
Kathy Camp
AKTA Executive Director
ExecutiveDirector@akta.org
News from the Academy for Brain Health & Performance
Check out the new “Brain Fitness Cross-Training Guide” now available for free download. Plus, registration is now open for the “Lifestyle Medicine for the Brain” online course.
Brain Health Matters Podcast – Enhancing Brain Capacity
Check out the latest podcast from MFA Strategic Partner, the Academy for Brain Health and Performance.
This month’s podcast features Dr. Evian Gordon, as he shares a framework of how the brain works as a system, as well as a practical step in making your brain’s capacity more effective, no matter your age.
Dr. Evian Gordon is an integrative neuroscientist and medical doctor as well as the Founder, Executive Chairman and Chief Medical Officer of Total Brain.
Fully Integrated: Beacon Health and Fitness
Check out the February 2020 edition of Club Solutions Magazine for the cover article about MFA member Beacon Health & Fitness. According to the article, “Medical fitness is profoundly changing the relationship between fitness and healthcare.” Read about how Alan Loyd, FACHE, FMFA, has transformed Beacon Health System’s fitness facilities from a loss leader to a profitable, self-sustaining operation.
Note: Alan Loyd was the 2019 recipient of the Hank Boerner Pioneer Award…now you can see why!
CLICK HERE to read the article.
MFA Names Amanda Konigsberg as New Northeast Region Chair
Medical Fitness Association Names Amanda Konigsberg as Northeast Region Chair
January 27, 2020 – Pinehurst, NC: The Medical Fitness Association is pleased to announce that Amanda Konigsberg, who works with Active Wellness, has been appointed as its Northeast Region Chair. In this role, Konigsberg will oversee the NE Region Advisory Board that consists of the several State Captains in the Region. She is responsible for communicating activities and events impacting member facilities and planning the annual Regional Conference.
According to Robert D. Boone, FACHE, FMFA, President and CEO of the Medical Fitness Association, “The Region Chairs are the backbone of the Association. By working through our State Captains to communicate in a personal manner with our members state by state, the Association can be more responsive to their needs and requests and provide a more personalized service. In addition, we are able to reach out to potential members with people who are known within each state. This is a critical role within our organization.”
By creating a two way communication with the medical fitness industry, the Association is able to remain strategically agile in its response to the rapidly changing healthcare landscape. The Region Chairs are vital to the success of this effort.
The Medical Fitness Association is a professional association representing medically integrated fitness centers in the United States and Canada. It offers continuing education; industry benchmark data; clinical and business outcomes; seven annual regional and specialty conferences; two professional facility director certifications and the only comprehensive medical fitness facility certification program in existence. Working with its strategic partners, the Association promotes wellness, nutrition, prevention and the utilization of exercise as an adjunct treatment in the management of chronic diseases as well as development of lifelong lifestyle management programs to help people maintain an optimum quality of life. By positioning its centers as extensions of physician’s offices, medically integrated fitness centers serve as a primary tool in supporting healthcare systems’ community-based population health strategies.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: contact Amanda Konigsberg at amanda.konigsberg@activewellness.com
Brain Health Matters Podcast – Sleep Matters
Check out the latest podcast from the Academy for Brain Health and Performance. This month’s podcast features Dr. Elizabeth Frates sharing an overview of the field of lifestyle medicine and how key factors, like nutrition and physical activity, can have an impact on brain health.
Elizabeth Frates, MD is a trained physiatrist, health and wellness coach, and Director of Medical Student Education at the Institute for Lifestyle Medicine.
What You Gain with Medical Fitness Credentials
One of the newest programs developed by Nebraska Methodist College (NMC) is a Master of Science in Wellness and Health Promotion Management (WHPM) with a concentration in Medical Fitness Management. This is the first course of its kind in the country. The curriculum was built with input from practitioners in the field, including the Medical Fitness Association (MFA). NMC is one of the four initial charter student chapters of the MFA.
Check out this blog, on the Nebraska Methodist College website, by MFA President & CEO, Bob Boone!
