Year
2024Credit points
10Campus offering
Prerequisites
PHTY103 Foundations of Physiotherapy Practice 2 AND PHTY208 Pathophysiology for Physiotherapy
Teaching organisation
150 hours of focused learning.Unit rationale, description and aim
Physiotherapists manage people with varied physical and medical conditions across the lifespan and safe exercise prescription is a treatment intervention utilised for maintenance, rehabilitation and to improve physical capacity, independence and quality of life. In this unit, students will build on their knowledge and skills from earlier units of study of the physiological responses to deconditioning and training, on muscle function and the cardiorespiratory system, and the principles of exercise testing and prescription.
Students will extend their knowledge of energy systems, muscle and cardiorespiratory physiology and develop their skills of assessment, prescription, monitoring, evaluation, progression and documentation of both resistance and aerobic exercise training. Through a social derterinants lens (both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people) that will develop understanding of the implications on health professsional practice, students will develop person-centred exercise programs, including self-management and adherence strategies to promote positive lifestyle changes and quality of life. The aim of this unit is to expand students' knowledge of, and skill in, exercise testing and prescription of resistance and aerobic exercise for healthy people and those with chronic conditions which will underpin future units of study.
Learning outcomes
To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.
Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.
Explore the graduate capabilities.
| Learning Outcome Number | Learning Outcome Description | Relevant Graduate Capabilities |
|---|---|---|
| LO1 | Describe the role of energy systems, muscle and cardiorespiratory physiology in determining performance of physical activity | GC1, GC2, GC9 |
| LO2 | Discuss the physiological responses to immobilisation, inactivity and exercise training | GC1, GC2, GC9 |
| LO3 | Assess, prescribe, implement, monitor, evaluate, progress and document a resistance exercise program for a healthy person and a person with chronic conditions, which is evidence-based and person-centred | GC1, GC2, GC4, GC5, GC6, GC7, GC8, GC9, GC10, GC11, GC12 |
| LO4 | Assess, prescribe, implement, monitor, evaluate, progress and document an aerobic exercise program for a healthy person and a person with chronic conditions, which is evidence-based and person-centred | GC1, GC2, GC4, GC5, GC6, GC7, GC8, GC9, GC10, GC11, GC12 |
| LO5 | Devise strategies for diagnosing and treating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander clients from the perspective of the social determinants of health (Entry to Practice) ( Health Curriculum Framework 16.3) | GC1, GC2, GC4, GC5, GC6, GC7, GC8, GC9, GC11, GC12 |
Content
Topics will include:
Physical Activity
- Australian Physical Activity Guidelines across the lifespan
- Social determinants of health including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health.
- Quantifying physical activity
- Application and implications to physiotherapy practice
- Stage of change assessment and specific strategies to achieve goals
- Self-management strategies
Energy systems
- Fuel for physical activity
- Metabolism and energy systems
- Energy transfer during exercise
Muscle physiology
- Exercise modes and assessment of skeletal muscle performance
The following concepts have been covered in PHTY103, it is assumed that you will review this content prior to commencing PHTY203:
- Activation and force generation
- Relationship between skeletal muscle structure and function
- Atrophy and hypertrophy
- Muscle force and moments of force
- Muscle models (series and parallel elasticity)
- Muscle stiffness
Physiological responses to bed rest, immobilisation and inactivity
Resistance exercise training
- Acute physiological responses to resistance exercise training
- Long term physiological adaptations to resistance exercise training
- Principles of resistance exercise training
- Implementation of exercise training
- Program design
- Progression of training programs
- Across the lifespan
- Application of resistance training in physiotherapy practice
- Strategies to manage clients from social determinants health perspective
- Recommendations for the use of resistance exercise training in the management of chronic conditions
Aerobic exercise training
- Acute physiological responses to aerobic exercise training
- Long term physiological adaptations to aerobic exercise training
- Assessment of aerobic capacity
- Principles of aerobic exercise training
- Implementation of exercise training
- Program design
- Progression of training programs
- Across the lifespan
- Application of aerobic exercise training in physiotherapy practice
- Strategies to manage clients from social determinants of health perspective.
- Recommendations for the use of aerobic exercise training in the management of chronic conditions .
Learning and teaching strategy and rationale
This unit involves 150 hours of learning with a combination of face-to-face, online and other directed independent learning activities. The theoretical knowledge underpinning assessment and intervention will be delivered via lectures and online modules. Practical classes provide students with the opportunity to develop their communication, practical and clinical reasoning skills through the use of authentic learning activities. Students will be expected to take responsibility for their learning and to participate actively within group activities, demonstrating respect for the individual as an independent learner
Assessment strategy and rationale
The assessment tasks align with the presentation of the content in this unit of study and students should learn while, as well from, undertaking these tasks. This unit takes an authentic assessment approach allowing students to demonstrate their learning and competency on their peers and through application to clinically relevant scenarios. Assessment tasks 1 and 3 (exercise assessment and prescription assignment and case study oral viva) require students to assimilate and apply theoretical knowledge to demonstrate their emerging professional competence in the areas of assessment, prescription, implementation, monitoring, progression and documentation of aerobic and resistance training programs for healthy people and those with chronic conditions. Assessment task 2 (written examination) requires students to demonstrate acquired theoretical knowledge from across the semester and assimilate and apply this knowledge to clinically relevant case scenarios.
Overview of assessments
| Brief Description of Kind and Purpose of Assessment Tasks | Weighting | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|
Assessment task 1: Exercise assessment and prescription assignment Requires students to demonstrate the application of their knowledge and understanding of, and clinical skills in, assessment, prescription and progression of resistance training on a peer and documentation of a training program. | 20% | LO1, LO3 |
Assessment task 2: Written Examination Requires students to demonstrate their acquisition and application of knowledge of the theoretical content covered over the semester including the application of this knowledge to case scenarios. It provides futher opportunity to achieve the learning outcomes assessed in assessment task 1. | 40% | LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4, LO5 |
Assessment task 3: Case study oral viva Requires students to illustrate and defend a resistance and aerobic management plan created for healthy people and those with chronic conditions. It provides further opportunity to achieve the learning outcomes assessed in assessment tasks 1 and 2. | 40% | LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4, LO5 |
Representative texts and references
Brown, S.P., Miller, W.C., & Eason, J. (2006). Exercise physiology: Basis of human movement in health & disease. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Brukner, P., Clarsen, B., Cook, J., Crossley, K., Hutchinson, M, McCrory, P, Bahr, R., & Khan, K. (2017). Brukner & Khan’s clinical sports medicine (5th ed.). Volume 1: Injuries. Sydney: McGraw-Hill.
Cameron, M., Selig, S., & Hemphill, D. (2011). Clinical exercise: A case based approach. Churchill Livingstone.
Enoka, R.M. (2015). Neuromechanics of human movement (5th ed.). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
Fleck, S.J. & Kraemer, W.J. (2014). Designing resistance training programs (4th ed.). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
Haff, G., & Triplett, N. (2016). Essentials of strength training and conditioning (4th ed.). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
Liguori, G and American College of Sports Medicine. (2021). ACSM’s guidelines for exercise testing and prescription (11th ed.). Philadelphia Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
McArdle, W. D., Katch, F.I., & Katch, V.L. (2015). Exercise physiology: Nutrition, energy, and human performance (8th ed.). Baltimore: Lippincott Williams and Wilkins.