What is an Adult Pre-Exercise Screening System?

Personal trainers, fitness instructors and fitness business owners are all too aware of the risks involved in prescribing exercise and the need for a consistent standard of professional practice in the Australian health and fitness industry.

Pre-exercise screening is used to identify people who may have medical conditions that put them at a higher risk of an adverse event during physical activity/exercise. It’s a filter or ‘safety net’ to help determine if the potential benefits of exercise outweigh the risks for an individual.

The health benefits of exercise far outweigh the risks across the population. Nevertheless, pre-exercise screening is an important safety net to ensure that individuals who may have a medical condition that puts them at a higher risk of an adverse event during exercise can be identified and managed accordingly.

Pre-exercise screening tools provide:

Reduced risk of incidents

Accurate client knowledge will support appropriate exercise prescription and can significantly reduce the likelihood of a serious injury or incident occurring as a result of your professional advice.

Evidence of your duty of care

The Australian professional standards and codes of practice set down by SMA, ESSA, EIM and Fitness Australia recommend that client screening is undertaken as an essential component of exercise prescription.

The inclusion of client screening is therefore a significant consideration during legal cases concerning personal injury sustained through an exercise session or programme.

Pre-exercise Screening System for Young People

In collaboration, Fitness Australia, Sports Medicine Australia (SMA), and Exercise and Sports Science Australia (ESSA) have developed a Pre-Exercise Screening System for Young People (PSS-YP) which includes screening tools for both parents and young people, as well as a User Guide.

The Pre-Exercise Screening System for Young People minimises the risk of injuries associated with participating in exercise and physical activity. As the younger generation becomes more active in fitness facilities and outdoor exercise programs, this will be a vital tool for businesses, exercise professionals and consumers. It will play an important role in delivering high-quality, safe, and age-relevant exercise programs while simultaneously raising the credibility of the fitness industry.

The pre-exercise screening system is designed specifically for young people which creates a consistent standard of professional practice in the Australian health and fitness industry. This is a variation of the Adult Pre-Exercise Screening System, as this does not adequately assess the distinct potential risks for children/young people.

Source: Fitness Australia.