MOOC Explores Why Exercise is the Best Medicine

Posted on: 11 April 2016

‘Bed rest’ used to be the prescription for many patients recuperating from illness but not any more. These days exercise has evolved into a tool for preventing and treating disease.

Now a new MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) from Trinity College Dublin, geared towards healthcare professionals, will explore the evidence behind exercise prescription, delivered via a free two-week online course.

Entitled ‘Exercise Prescription for the Prevention and Treatment of Disease’, Trinity’s latest MOOC, run in partnership with FutureLearn, begins next Monday, April 18.

The course details how physiological adaptations to exercise can translate to improved health outcomes, and will help enhance confidence in exercise prescription as a treatment.

Assistant Professor of Physiotherapy Dr Cuisle Forde commented: “Not that long ago bed rest was prescribed to patients with cardiovascular and respiratory disease, and exercise was considered by many health professionals as something to be avoided. Today, exercise is an integral part of patient treatment.”

The course will address the role of exercise in the treatment of a variety of clinical populations including people with cardiovascular disease, mental health problems, paediatric conditions and cancer. 

Available to anyone with internet access across multiple devices including desktops, tablets and smartphones, throughout the course there will be an opportunity to engage with researchers, healthcare professionals and exercise prescription experts from the discipline of Physiotherapy and the Department of Physiology at Trinity College Dublin.

Head of Physiology Dr Aine Kelly added: "One of the best things about this course is that it is accessible to healthcare professionals who feel they need to increase their working knowledge and awareness of the latest research in exercise prescription for patient populations."

To register for this free online course, which starts on April 18, visit: https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/exercise-prescription/1/

Trinity College School of Medicine is an international leader in postgraduate education with a strong research focus. This course will give learners a taster of the Online Postgraduate Certificate in Clinical Exercise. Applications are now open for this course, with details available here http://www.medicine.tcd.ie/physiotherapy/postgraduate/online/

For more information on online education, including postgraduate courses, at Trinity College Dublin click here https://www.tcd.ie/OnlineEducation/