Personal Fitness Professional - August 2008 - (Page 10)

• Follow national consensus guidelines for exercise prescription for medical disorders • Coach • Refer clients to an appropriate medical professional The best way to stay within the scope of practice is to listen, support and refer. Great trainers don’t know it all; they just know when issues are outside of their knowledge. The most appropriate course of action is to refer the client to a specialized health professional. In the process of intervening with a potentially unhealthy client, the ﬁtness professional must take care not to discriminate against the person. Eating disorders are classiﬁed as a disability, and clients with these disorders are allowed the same rights and usage of the club as any other members. A way to avoid being discriminatory is to utilize waivers and consent forms, which should be required for every member. Guidelines should be in place, stating that clients with a body mass index lower than a certain amount must be cleared by a physician before they can begin working out. This is the same screening tool that would require a client with high blood pressure or a heart condition to seek a doctor’s approval before beginning an exercise program. Every client must sign the participation waiver. This does not absolve the trainer of negligence — the waiver is designed to protect the trainer in an event of unforeseen injury to the client. If you are concerned that your client has an eating disorder, proceed with common sense. Deciding not to train the client until they are cleared by a doctor is a safe course of action to take. To further protect yourself, document your suspicions. This is especially necessary if the client has any outward signs, such as a racing pulse, abnormally high or low blood pressure or unexplained muscle fatigue. Also, document when you spoke to the client about your concerns. If possible, get an agreement that they may have a problem and will seek help. The risk of a client or their family attempting to sue a ﬁtness professional for wanting to help is low. The line is crossed when a trainer is knowingly negligent. should trainers handle eating disorders? “While we excel at teaching our clients how to exercise and eat properly, if a 90-pound woman looks in the mirror and sees a fat girl, there’s something going on in their minds that’s beyond our scope. ” “I feel that there are many situations when we are the perfect person to step in and help people with eating disorders. ” “We are not dieticians or psychologists — we are personal trainers, and diestary issues are outside our scope of practice. ” 10 read all the comments on our blog online! AUGUST2008 · WWW.FIT-PRO.COM http://WWW.FIT-PRO.COM

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Personal Fitness Professional - August 2008

Personal Fitness Professional - August 2008 Contents Letter from the Editor It's a Weighty Issue Current Controversies Streamline with Digital Neuro-Linguistic Programming Continuing Education Mark Your Calendar Act Like You Know About Marketing Blog For Fun and Profit Exercise Spotlight Product Profile New on the Market Spotlight: Krystal Davis

Personal Fitness Professional - August 2008

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