Do You Have a DVA Gold Card? Exercise Physiology is For You!

For many veterans, exercise can be helpful to maintain independence, improve quality of life and community participation. Did you know that if you have a DVA gold card the department has deemed Exercise Physiology as clinically necessary for all conditions?

 

Longevity Exercise Physiology Drummoyne, Edgecliff, Marrickville, Castle Hill, Randwick, Pymble, Kingsgrove, Neutral Bay and Coburg would like to talk to you about how you can use your DVA gold card to access Exercise Physiology treatment.

 

At Longevity Exercise Physiology, our practitioners have worked with many veterans to help them achieve their health goals. Depending on what you need, exercise can be used to promote healthy ageing, maintain function, improve ease with activities of daily living, rehabilitate injuries and improve mood and mental wellbeing.

 

How can I use my DVA gold card for exercise physiology?

 

Before coming to us at Longevity Exercise Physiology, you will need to get a referral from your GP. This referral usually lasts for one treatment cycle, or 12 sessions. So, when those sessions end, you will need to get a new referral. Your sessions are fully covered by DVA, meaning you won’t need to pay any gap fees or gym memberships.

 

 

Your sessions will be 30 minutes long, and they are individualised and supervised by your Exercise Physiologist. Our sessions are typically gym-based, however, our Exercise Physiologists also offer home visits, outdoor sessions and telehealth sessions, if you find the gym environment triggering, overwhelming or difficult to get to.

 

Who have we worked with?

 

Our practitioners have helped many veterans improve function and wellbeing and achieve their goals through exercise. Conditions we have worked with include:

 

• Osteoporosis/osteoarthritis
• Chronic pain, including chronic low back pain
• Weight loss and weight management
• Diabetes
• Cardiovascular disease
• Mental health conditions, including PTSD, depression and anxiety
• Injury rehabilitation and recovery
• Falls prevention
• Paraplegia
• Healthy ageing
• And many more!

 

As mentioned before, if you have a DVA gold card, regardless of your condition, you can see an Exercise Physiologist to help you achieve your health goals.

 

 

Peter* is one of our clients with a DVA gold card who has experienced many benefits from his Exercise Physiology treatment.

 

Peter originally came to us referred by his GP on the DVA Gold Card program. His main motivation for training was to get back to doing what he loved most – playing tennis. Due to his ongoing injuries and pain, including shoulder tendinosis, arthritis in both knees and ongoing back pain, he was unable to play without feeling pain during and after matches. It was severely impacting him physically and mentally, and as a result, his wellbeing and quality of life was significantly reduced.

 

“…After working with one of our Exercise Physiologists consistently, Peter* is now back to doing what he loves most – playing tennis, and he is managing to do it mostly pain free!”

 

After a couple of weeks of consistently training at Longevity Exercise Physiology, Peter* managed to get back to playing pain free! The excitement and happiness was felt through the entire clinic when he came in for his next exercise session beaming at how well he played, and he had even won his game! Peter* now continues to play tennis weekly, beating competitors much younger than him. He is running pain free around the court and serving shots with great power.

 

We put Peter’s* success down to consistency and gradual improvements we made, as well as being patient and trusting the process. He continues to train with us at Longevity Exercise Physiology to manage his injuries which do occasionally experience flare ups, but we manage these with specific exercises and strategies. Well done Peter*!

 

If you are unsure about how to access Exercise Physiology with your DVA gold card, have a chat to one of our Exercise Physiologists! If you, or anyone you know have a DVA gold card, and are interested in Exercise Physiology to help you achieve your health goals, give Longevity Exercise Physiology a call on 1300 964 002 today!

 

*Name has been changed for privacy.