Regular physical activity can improve your health and help prevent chronic diseases, like arthritis, asthma, heart disease, cancer and diabetes. There are 3 levels of disease prevention:

1. Primary Prevention. Trying to prevent yourself from getting a disease. That’s what this sheet is about.
2. Secondary Prevention. Trying to detect a disease early and prevent it from getting worse.
3. Tertiary Prevention. Trying to improve your quality of life and reduce the symptoms of a disease you already have.

Primary prevention.

At the primary prevention level, we try to avoid getting a disease by leading a healthy lifestyle. This can include physical activity, good nutrition, getting enough rest, reducing stress, having regular medical check-ups and trying to stay away environmental risks and harmful substances.

Here are some steps to take if you’d like to use physical activity as a form of primary prevention.

How to decide if physical activity is right for you.

• Call the Physical Activity Line and fill out a Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire (PAR-Q).

How to overcome barriers to physical activity.

• See the Barriers to being physically active and Overcoming barriers pages, on this site.

What types of activities to do.

There are 3 types of activities to keep your body healthy:

1. Activities for strong bones and muscles.
2. Activities for safe and healthy joints and muscles.
3. Activities for healthy and strong heart and lungs.

Adults should do 30 or more minutes of moderate activity 5-7 days per week. Children and youth should do 90 minutes of moderate activity on most days of the week. Remember, activity doesn’t have to be done all at once. It can be done 10-15 minutes at a time.

Regular physical activity can improve your health and help prevent chronic diseases, like arthritis, asthma, heart disease, cancer and diabetes. There are 3 levels of disease prevention:

1. Primary Prevention. Trying to prevent yourself from getting a disease.
2. Secondary Prevention. Trying to detect a disease early and prevent it from getting worse. That’s what this sheet is about.
3. Tertiary Prevention. Trying to improve your quality of life and reduce the symptoms of a disease you already have.

At the secondary prevention level, we try to detect a disease early, identify risks and try to prevent the disease and its symptoms from progressing. Some of the assessments used to identify risks include blood pressure tests, blood glucose tests, cholesterol tests, bone density tests, body mass index or waist-to-hip ratio calculations, and fitness assessments.

The Canadian Physical Activity, Fitness and Lifestyle Approach (CPAFLA) is a specialized assessment that points out ways to improve health-related physical fitness. Health-related fitness includes the parts of physical fitness that are related to your health condition. It focuses on how healthy, strong and safe your heart, bones, muscles, joints and lungs are.

Here are some steps to take if you’d like to use physical activity as a form of secondary prevention:

How to decide if physical activity is right for you.

• Call the Physical Activity Line and fill out a Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire (PAR-Q). If you answer yes to any of the PAR-Q questions, you should see your doctor for a PARmed-X exam.
• Have a fitness assessment and/ or lifestyle appraisal by a qualified exercise professional.
• If you have a family history of health problems, are overweight or obese, or haven’t been physically active for several years, you should talk to your doctor before becoming more active.

How to overcome barriers to physical activity.

• See the Barriers to being physically active and Overcoming barriers sheets, listed below.

What types of activities to do.

• There are 3 types of activities to keep your body healthy:
• Activities for strong bones and muscles.
• Activities for safe and healthy joints and muscles.
• Activities for healthy and strong heart and lungs.
• Adults should work toward doing 30 or more minutes of moderate activity 5-7 days per week. Children and youth should do 90 minutes of moderate activity on most days of the week. Remember, activity doesn’t have to be done all at once. It can be done 10-15 minutes at a time.

Regular physical activity can improve your  health and help prevent chronic diseases, like arthritis, asthma, heart disease, cancer and diabetes. There are 3 levels of disease prevention:

1. Primary Prevention. Trying to prevent yourself from getting a disease.

2. Secondary Prevention. Trying to detect a disease early and prevent it from getting worse.

3. Tertiary Prevention. Trying to improve your quality of life and reduce the symptoms of a disease you already have. That's what this sheet is about.

Tertiary prevention.

The tertiary prevention level focuses on people who are already affected by a disease. The goal is to improve quality of life by reducing disability, limiting or delaying complications, and restoring function. This is done by treating the disease and providing rehabilitation. Treatment can include several professionals including your doctor, medical specialist, qualified exercise professional, occupational therapist and physiotherapist.

How to decide if physical activity is right for you.

• Call the Physical Activity Line and fill out a Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire (PAR-Q). If you answer yes to any of the PAR-Q questions, you should see your doctor for a PARmed-X exam.

• Have a fitness assessment and/or lifestyle appraisal by a qualified exercise professional.

How to overcome barriers to physical activity.

Some of the barriers may be caused by your medical condition. Talk to your doctor or a qualified exercise professional about any concerns or barriers you have and how to overcome them. For general information, see the Barriers to being physically active and Overcoming barriers sheets, listed below.

What types of activities to do.

• There are 3 types of activities to keep your body healthy:
  • Activities for strong bones and muscles.
  • Activities for safe and healthy joints and muscles.
  • Activities for healthy and strong heart and lungs.

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Here are some precautions to keep in mind when you're doing activities that strengthen your heart and lungs, like biking, walking, running, hiking and swimming.

If you have poor balance or fall easily due to a condition like Parkinson's disease or because you're elderly:

• Pay attention to where you step when walking so you can avoid ankle or knee injuries that happen when you fall or twist.

• Walk indoors on icy days to avoid falling.

• Walk in an area that's flat and doesn't have any obstacles.

• If walking isn't possible, try water aerobics, swimming or stationary bicycling.

If you have diabetes:

• Wear good quality shoes that fit.

• Test your blood sugar before and after exercise. Don't exercise if it is too high or too low. Talk to your doctor about safe blood sugar levels before you are physically active.

If you have arthritis or have sore joints after doing an activity:

• If the discomfort lasts longer than two hours after an activity, try to go a little slower next time and don't work as hard.

• If a joint feels inflamed or hot, move it gently through its range of movement several times to help reduce stiffness and improve blood flow.

• If the arthritis is in your knees, it's not a good idea to run on cement. Try running on wood chip trails, grass or a treadmill instead.

If you have cancer or are recovering from cancer treatment:

• Don't force yourself to be active when you feel exhausted.

• Don't do strenuous activities right after treatment.

• Don't do high-impact activities like running and jumping if you have bone cancer. Try taking a short walk instead or doing gentle stretches.

• Some cancer medications may affect your balance. Check with your doctor if you have any questions.

To prevent injuries that can develop slowly after several months or years of an activity:

• Wear footwear designed for the activity and don't try to do too much when you're just starting out.

• Gradually increase the amount of time you're active and how much effort you're using.

• If you have questions about correct running techniques or your own running style, ask a physiotherapist or exercise professional.

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