We’re using our phones more than ever, for things like daily reminders, emails, navigation and as a ‘mobile wallet’ to make purchases. But what about using your phone to track and organise important health and fitness information?
There are thousands of health and fitness apps that you could download or that are already pre-installed on your phone to track and organise a range of health and fitness information.
It can bring together all health-related data from your phone, associated apps and Smartwatches to one convenient place.
The possibilities are endless! Your phone can track trends in a range of body measurements, activity levels, nutrition intake, heart rate, blood pressure, breathing patterns, sleep performance and much more. Some common health and fitness that you may have come across include:
This health & fitness information may be used to track long-term trends in health and fitness, monitor recovery, assist in goal setting and developing a training plan, and to identify any variations to trends that may prompt an assessment from a medical and health professional.
Careful interpretation of all this wonderful information needs to be considered, and it is recommended to consult a health professional with expertise and knowledge in the use of apps to gain a good understanding of the data to determine what is most important for you, and how this information could be used to improve your health and fitness.
It is important to understand that these apps don’t know enough about a person, and that one size does not fit all. The use and relevance of this information should be individual specific. These apps don’t replace any medical and health assessment, and mostly have not been tested for their accuracy to a level that is sufficient to make significant health decisions, nor are they regulated in Australia in a way that can guarantee their safe use without the input of a health professional.
Our Physiotherapists use a program called ‘Physitrack’ to help with managing the treatment of many conditions. This programme allows the physiotherapist to send information regarding your condition, questionnaires to measure your improvement and can be used for prescribing an exercise program based on your specific management needs.
Your Physitrack program can be accessed on your phone or other electronic device such as an iPad using the app called ‘PhysiApp’. It has built-in reminders and clear instructions using either videos or images to teach the exercise correctly. The app allows our Physiotherapists to measure your compliance, response to exercise in terms of symptoms such as pain experienced during its performance, and to track trends and progression to management.
What to know more? Our team at Move for Better Health and iNform Health and Fitness Solutions can provide further information to help you incorporate these readily available health and fitness apps to your daily and exercise routine to assist in tracking and monitoring your training and management programs and goals.
