Pre-exercise screening: role of the primary care physician

Elizabeth A. Joy, Linda S. Pescatello

Participation in regular physical activity is associated with a multitude of benefits including a reduction in chronic disease and premature mortality, and improved quality of life. All segments of society need to collaborate with one another in an effort to promote active lives. The Israeli "Gymnasium Law" requires pre-exercise evaluation prior to exercise participation in a health club. Recently that law was modified to allow for participant pre-screening with the Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire for Everyone (PAR-Q+). This change reflects the evidence that the risk of catastrophic events (e.g. heart attack) during moderate intensity physical activity is low, and the likelihood of detecting heart disease in asymptomatic adults is low. This change will likely reduce the number of individuals who require physician evaluation. The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) recently updated their recommendations for pre-exercise evaluation. The ACSM guidelines have replaced risk factor assessment, with an algorithm that first stratifies based on current physical activity level, then by the presence of chronic disease, and/or signs and symptoms of chronic disease, and last by desired exercise intensity. The goal of these efforts is to reduce barriers to regular physical activity, by eliminating unnecessary medical evaluations. All adults should be encouraged to be physically active.