PHYSICAL

WELLNESS:
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER OBJECTIVES
• Identify and briefly discuss each component of physical wellness.
• Compare disease and physical wellness.
• Discuss pharmaceutical and drug abuse and wellness.
• List the reasons why physical therapists should possess an operational knowledge of
physical wellness and its components.
• Identify the relationships among persons who are classified in an APTA Preferred
Practice Pattern, medical conditions, and medical wellness.
• Determine the incidences of major medical conditions, smoking, and alcohol use.
• Discuss the relationship between pharmaceutical and drug abuse and wellness, and
the provision of physical therapy.
• Determine the incidence of an inadequate nutritional and fitness wellness.
CHAPTER OBJECTIVES
• Identify why it is important for physical therapists to screen the nutritional,
fitness, and body composition wellness of their patients/clients.
• Describe ways in which physical wellness is linked to physical, mental, and
social health.
• Discuss how physical wellness can affect the ability to engage and progress
in physical therapy.
• Discuss the expansion of physical therapy in fitness wellness.
• Discuss how physical therapists serve as wellness experts and role models.
• Discuss the entry-level physical therapy accreditation requirements related
to fitness/ fitness wellness.
INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
Physical wellness consists of numerous
components including:
medical wellness
pharmaceutical and drug wellness
nutritional wellness
aerobic capacity wellness
muscular fitness wellness
flexibility wellness
body composition wellness
When can we say that a person has a good Physical Wellness?
When can we say that a person does not have a good Physical
Wellness?
“If a patient/client strives to be and is knowledgeable about a
component of physical wellness, is committed to a lifestyle that
promotes it, and sufficiently participates in activities that
promote it, then she or he possesses a satisfactory level of that
component of physical wellness.”

“In contrast, if a patient/client is not knowledgeable about a

component of physical wellness, and/or is not committed to a
lifestyle that promotes it, and/or does not engage in activities
that promote it, then she or he has an unsatisfactory level of
that component of physical wellness.”
“If a patient/client strives to be and is
knowledgeable about a component of physical
wellness, is committed to a lifestyle that promotes
it, and sufficiently participates in activities that
promote it, then she or he possesses a satisfactory
level of that component of physical wellness.”
 COMPONENTS OF PHYSICAL
WELLNESS: Medical Wellness
• The medical wellness of a patient or
client is determined by her or his
knowledge about it, her or his
commitment to it, and her or his
related behaviors.
• Knowledge about medical wellness.
COMPONENTS OF PHYSICAL
WELLNESS: Medical Wellness
• Behaviors related to medical wellness
include:
• preventative care, including periodic medical
and dental examinations and periodic
gynecological examinations for women and
periodic prostrate exams for men
• medical self-care—that is, obtaining
appropriate restorative and palliative care
for diseases, illnesses, and conditions.
• “Medical wellness is not related to
whether a person has a disease”
 COMPONENTS OF PHYSICAL
WELLNESS: Pharmaceuticals, Drugs, and
Drug Wellness
• Pharmaceuticals - both prescription medications
and over-the-counter (OTC) medications
• Drugs - can be either illicit or street drugs (e.g.,
marijuana and cocaine) or legalized drugs (alcohol,
tobacco, and caffeinated beverages).
• Pharmaceutical abuse- occurs when intake exceeds
the prescribed or recommended dosage or if
pharmaceuticals are used for nonmedical reasons,
thus increasing the likelihood of dependence
• Illicit drug abuse- occurs whenever a street drug is
used.
 COMPONENTS OF PHYSICAL
WELLNESS: Pharmaceuticals, Drugs, and
Drug Wellness
• Alcohol abuse occurs when a
person’s intake exceeds
recommended guidelines of an
average of no more than one drink
per day for women and no more
than one to two drinks per day for
men (with one drink equal to 12
ounces of beer, 5 ounces of wine, or
11 ⁄2 ounces of spirits or hard liquor)
 COMPONENTS OF PHYSICAL
WELLNESS: Pharmaceuticals, Drugs, and
Drug Wellness
“cannot restrict their alcohol
intake, women of childbearing
age who may become
pregnant, pregnant and
lactating women, children and
adolescents, individuals taking
medications that can interact
with alcohol, and those with
specific medical conditions”
COMPONENTS OF PHYSICAL
WELLNESS: Pharmaceuticals, Drugs, and
Drug Wellness
• Drug wellness is determined by a patient’s/client’s
knowledge about it, commitment to it, and related
behaviors. In terms of the behavioral component,
satisfactory pharmaceutical and drug wellness includes
abstinence from illicit drugs and tobacco products, not
abusing prescription or OTC medications, and abstaining
from or not abusing alcohol and caffeinated beverages.
 COMPONENTS OF PHYSICAL
WELLNESS: Nutrition and Nutrition
Wellness
• Nutrition consists of the
consumption status of
calories, vitamins, and
minerals such as sodium
and iron, and substrates,
including fats (e.g., healthy
and unhealthy),
carbohydrates (e.g., fiber
and simple sugars), and
protein. Nutrition also
includes the consumption
of alcohol and caffeine.
 COMPONENTS OF PHYSICAL
WELLNESS: Nutrition and Nutrition
Wellness
• Nutritional wellness is
determined by a
patient’s/client’s knowledge
about nutritional wellness,
commitment to nutritional
wellness, and nutrition-related
behaviors.
COMPONENTS OF PHYSICAL WELLNESS:
Aerobic Capacity and Aerobic Capacity Wellness
• Aerobic capacity, also known as cardiovascular endurance,
describes the functional status of the cardiopulmonary
system.
• An individual’s aerobic capacity is determined by her or his
maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max) or the “maximum
volume of oxygen that the body can consume during intense,
whole-body exercise, while breathing air at sea level”
COMPONENTS OF PHYSICAL WELLNESS:
Aerobic Capacity and Aerobic Capacity Wellness
• Aerobic capacity wellness is
determined by a
patient’s/client’s knowledge
about it, commitment to it,
and related behaviors.
• Aerobic capacity wellness is
not necessarily related to
aerobic capacity or VO2max.
 COMPONENTS OF PHYSICAL WELLNESS:
Muscular Fitness and Muscular Fitness Wellness
• Muscular fitness is one’s level of
strength, either generally to a muscle
region or specifically to an individual
muscle.
• Muscular fitness wellness is
determined by the patient’s/client’s
knowledge about it, commitment to
it, and related behaviors. Muscular
fitness is not necessarily related to
muscular fitness wellness.
COMPONENTS OF PHYSICAL WELLNESS:
Muscular Fitness and Muscular Fitness Wellness
several types of muscular
fitness:
• muscular strength- “the muscle
force exerted by a muscle or a
group of muscles to overcome
a resistance under a specific
set of circumstances”
• determined by the ability to
move a heavy weight a limited
number of times
 COMPONENTS OF PHYSICAL WELLNESS:
Muscular Fitness and Muscular Fitness Wellness
several types of muscular
fitness:
• muscular endurance- “the
ability to sustain forces
repeatedly or to generate
forces over a period of time”
• determined by the ability to
repeatedly move a lighter
weight
COMPONENTS OF PHYSICAL WELLNESS:
Muscular Fitness and Muscular Fitness Wellness
several types of muscular
fitness:
• muscular power - “the work
produced per unit of time or
the product of strength and
speed”
• Muscular power is determined
by the ability to move the
heaviest weight possible
COMPONENTS OF PHYSICAL WELLNESS:
Muscular Fitness and Muscular Fitness Wellness
several types of
muscular fitness:
• Muscular power is
determined by the
ability to move the
heaviest weight
possible
 COMPONENTS OF PHYSICAL WELLNESS:
Muscular Fitness and Muscular Fitness Wellness
several types of muscular fitness:
• Elastic strength- determined by the
muscle’s ability to exert forces quickly and
to overcome resistance with a high speed
of muscle action
• Elastic strength is determined by the ability of
the muscles to overcome a resistance with a
fast contraction and thereby enable the
patient/client to compete in a sport (e.g., a
basketball game) without injuring the joints
or muscles.
 COMPONENTS OF PHYSICAL WELLNESS:
Flexibility and Flexibility Wellness
• Flexibility is defined as the ability to move a
joint or series of joints through their full
range of motion, pain free and unrestricted.
• Flexibility is affected by the joint surfaces,
capsule, ligaments, muscle length, and soft
tissue
• Flexibility wellness is determined by the
patient’s/client’s knowledge about it,
commitment to it, and related behaviors.
• Flexibility wellness is not necessarily related
to flexibility.
COMPONENTS OF PHYSICAL WELLNESS:
Body Composition and Body Composition Wellness
• Body composition can be
defined as the percentage of
body fat versus the percentage
of lean body mass.
• Lean body mass is all tissue
that is not fat—that is, skeletal
muscle, smooth muscle, and
the skeletal system.
COMPONENTS OF PHYSICAL WELLNESS:
Body Composition and Body Composition Wellness

• Body composition wellness is determined by the patient’s/client’s

knowledge about it, commitment to it, and related behaviors.
• Body composition wellness is not necessarily related to body
composition or percentage of body fat. For example, a woman may
know a lot about body composition and body composition wellness,
be committed to living a lifestyle that promotes a healthy body
composition, eat healthfully, and exercise regularly but still be overfat
due to hypothyroidism.
Why Physical Therapists Should Possess an
Operational Knowledge of Physical
Wellness?
Physical therapists should possess an operational knowledge of physical
wellness for numerous reasons:
• (1) physical therapy patients/clients present with physical diagnoses and
comorbidities, and these conditions are linked to physical wellness;
• (2) physical therapy patients/clients present with impaired physical wellness,
including drug wellness and nutritional, fitness, and/or body composition
wellness;
• (3) components of physical wellness affect each other;
• (4) enhanced nutritional and fitness wellness decreases the risk of certain
diseases, and decreased nutritional and fitness wellness increases the risk of
certain diseases;
Why Physical Therapists Should Possess an
Operational Knowledge of Physical
Wellness?
Physical therapists should possess an operational knowledge of physical
wellness for numerous reasons:
• (5) drug wellness is linked to health
• (6) enhanced fitness wellness favorably affects mental health
• (7) enhanced nutritional wellness favorably affects mental health
• (8) impaired drug wellness is associated with poor mental health
• (9) enhanced fitness wellness improves the mental and social health
of those with a chronic disease
Why Physical Therapists Should Possess an
Operational Knowledge of Physical
Wellness?
Physical therapists should possess an operational knowledge of physical
wellness for numerous reasons:
• (10) physical wellness can enhance, impede, or even contraindicate
physical therapy;
• (11) physical therapy practice is expanding into the fitness wellness
arena (APTA, 2006b)
• (12) physical therapists are viewed as wellness experts and models
• (13) physical wellness is an accreditation requirement for all (U.S.)
entry-level physical therapy programs
CASE STUDY:

You are an outpatient physical therapist, and Jerush is a patient under

your care for restorative physical therapy secondary to golfers’ elbow
sustained after a weekend of golfing at Baguio Country Club. During
one session, Jerush confides that he’ll be attending his 15th high school
reunion in 2 weeks and he really wants to look good. He explains that
his friend, Shayze, wore a plastic suit in a sauna, lost almost 5 pounds in
just a few hours, and looked a lot thinner. Jerush asks for your opinion.