Neurological Conditions and the NDIS

Here at Longevity Drummoyne, Edgecliff, Marrickville, Castle Hill, Kingsgrove, Randwick, Pymble, Neutral Bay, Coburg – Melbourne, and Barrie, Ontario – Canada, we work with a range of individuals that are affected by numerous neurological conditions. These clients are a fundamental part of what we do and how we help everyone. Exercise physiology can help a range of neurological conditions such as autism, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, learning disabilities, cerebral palsy, ADD, Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, acute spinal cord injuries and more.

How can Longevity Help? 

The way we work with these individuals is client goal oriented. For some, it may be building full body strength to maintain independence, it may be an avenue to working on mental health and building stronger community relationships, and for other participants it may be for slowing the rate of decline in certain conditions, maintaining quality of life through improved activities of daily living. Whatever the reasons may be, an exercise physiologist at Longevity is an expert on how exercise can help improve their condition.

What can Exercise Do? 

Exercise has been shown to improve neurological conditions in a number of ways. These include improving the balance of an individual with Parkinson’s disease, increasing muscle mass for an individual with multiple sclerosis to help improve independence with movements, reduce the risk of falls for individuals with dementia, improve aerobic fitness for those with autism, and help lose weight for all conditions. It can also help improve mental health by increasing dopamine and serotonin release. It is recommended that all individuals need to be exercising for a minimum of 150 minutes aerobically a week, and at least two resistance training session on top of that. For individuals on the NDIS it may be a goal to reach these physical activity guidelines, and for some they may need to exceed them, but whatever the case may be, an exercise physiologist can help improve your capacity, reduce your health risks and safely improve you physical fitness.

What Categories does Exercise Physiology fall under on the NDIS

For participants on the NDIS, there are two categories of funding whereby exercise physiology is accepted. These include; “Improve health and well being” and “Daily living skills”. Once an individual decides that they would like to book in with an EP, they have numerous options on what happens. They may want to come into one of our locations at Drummoyne, Edgecliff, Marrickville, Castle Hill, Randwick, Pymble, Neutral Bay, Coburg – Melbourne, and Barrie, Ontario – Canada, while others may have limited access and would like to utilise our home visit services.

During your initial consultation our exercise physiologists will sit down with you to see how they can help you, then determine the best strategy to see improvement in your health. From this point, they will go through your funding with you, and determine what categories you are eligible to use for our services.

If you have any further questions on how to use your NDIS funding, or any family or friends that may be eligible, please contact us on 1300 964 002 and we would be happy to answer any questions you may have.

Written By James Calacoci