Exercise Prescription for the Prevention and Treatment of Disease from FutureLearn

Over two weeks discover the benefits of exercise in both preventing and treating diseases and enhance your confidence in exercise prescription as a treatment. Learn with physiology and physiotherapy experts Throughout the course there will be an opportunity to engage with researchers, healthcare professionals and exercise prescription experts from the Discipline of Physiotherapy at Trinity College Dublin. Some of the topics we will cover include: Most FutureLearn courses run multiple times. Every run of a course has a set start date but you can join it and work through it after it starts. Find out more This course is designed for healthcare professionals who wish to broaden their understanding of exercise prescription and physical activity as a tool to prevent and treat disease. No previous experience or qualifications are required. You can use the hashtag #FLexercise to talk about this course on social media.

Topics Covered

Introduction to exercise prescription and physical activity
How does the body respond to physical exercise?
The evidence behind exercise prescription
Physical activity guidelines
Perceptions of exercise prescription
Measuring physical activity
Exercise for brain health and for the musculoskeletal system
Exercise for those with cardiovascular disease and with metabolic disease
Exercise for pulmonary disease and across the cancer continuum
Exercise across the lifespan

Reviews summary

Exercise prescription for healthcare professionals

According to learners, this course offers a solid foundation and practical knowledge on exercise prescription for various conditions. Many find the content relevant for healthcare professionals and appreciate the clear explanations provided. The course is often described as well-structured and engaging, though some mention it might be too basic for experienced practitioners. Overall, students find it a valuable introduction to incorporating exercise into patient care.

Kept learners interested throughout.

"The course was presented in a very interesting and easy to follow format and I found it very engaging throughout."

"Really enjoyed the pace and content, kept me engaged."

"Very informative and presented in an interesting way."

Well-explained concepts, easy to follow.

"The structure of this course is very clear and concise with information being clearly presented in videos."

"I really enjoyed the simple way of explaining very complicated concepts. This course is a MUST for all healthcare professionals."

"The explanations were clear and concise, and the examples provided were relevant and easy to understand."

"Content is well structured and easy to follow, providing a comprehensive overview."

Good introduction and overview of the topic.

"This course provided me with a good overview of the current evidence regarding exercise in prevention and treatment of disease relevant to my practice as a physician."

"It gives you a good and solid overview and basics about exercise and its benefits for several diseases. Would recommend it to everybody interested in this topic."

"A good introductory course for healthcare professionals needing to develop their knowledge and confidence."

"The course is very helpful, interesting and providing good information for anyone who wants to make good exercise prescription."

Course offers practical, relevant content.

"I found the course very useful to strengthen my current knowledge regarding exercise prescription, it is relevant to clinical practice."

"This course provided me with a good overview of the current evidence regarding exercise in prevention and treatment of disease relevant to my practice as a physician."

"This course has been very beneficial and relevant to my work in health promotion. I would recommend it for healthcare professionals."

"The information was helpful in gaining a better understanding of how to prescribe exercise as part of patient care plans."

May not offer depth for advanced learners.

"Although it gives a good overview about the topic, it is not very deep in it. If you already know basics it might be too easy for you."

"Good foundational knowledge refresher, but limited depth if you already have a background in exercise science."

"Found it a bit basic, good for beginners but not much new for those with experience."

Career center

Learners who complete Exercise Prescription for the Prevention and Treatment of Disease will develop knowledge and skills that may be useful to these careers: