Dr Martin Russell
Dr Martin Russell
Frankly even EPs have a hard time explaining what they do.
They are not a physiotherapist, occupational therapist, medical doctor, or physical trainer.
The most specific answer is that an EP is someone who has done the EP degree.
The more practical answer is that EP is about developing, delivering, and monitoring a gradual physical rehabilitation program.
This is not about doing “Personal Bests” or treating a specific injury.
It’s more about keeping active and building up your overall physical capacity.
Because it’s been shown to help!
RTWSA originally trialled using EP services for psychological claims back when it changed from WorkCover. They found that it improved claim outcomes so much, that they have continued to support EP services ever since.
(See https://www.rtwsa.com/media/documents/FAQ-Psych-Claims.pdf)
It’s not entirely clear.
What is clear is that a worker with anxiety, depression, PTSD symptoms, burnout or workplace trauma may become inactive, isolated, deconditioned, sleep-disrupted, fearful of leaving home, or unsure how to rebuild routine.
An EP can help with graded activity, physical conditioning, routine, confidence and functional recovery.
I often say that an exercise program can be a better anti-depressant than antidepressants – which would be a pretty outrageous claim, if it wasn’t backed up by research.
In fact an Adelaide guy wrote a great summary of the literature in 2023 – “Effectiveness of physical activity interventions for improving depression, anxiety and distress: an overview of systematic reviews“.
Even better, with an EP the exercise also includes some social interaction, distraction from work issues, a reason to get up and about, and, if you want it, even a bit of outdoor air and sunshine!
No.
In a psychological injury claim, EP is not being used because the injury is “really physical”.
No.
Exercise physiology is not counselling, psychology or psychiatry. It should not replace the GP, psychologist or psychiatrist.
You can talk to your EP, but you certainly do not have to talk about anything to do with work, about what happened, or even the claim.
Usually, yes — or at least it is safer to check first.
Sometimes you can ask the EP to check for you, but most of the time you can check with your claims agent.
RTWSA states that it pays for reasonable and necessary health and return-to-work services for people injured at work, to help recovery and return to work.
For claims managed by EML or Gallagher Bassett they usually agree to approve it as part of their standard support processes eg for up to 12 sessions.
For claims with employers who are self-insured they set up their own processes, so they are less likely to automatically approve EP sessions.
Every claim is different, so make sure that your claims agent approves this for your situation.
If the claims agent or self-insurer support it, they will pay for it.
Usually they will pay for it on a “non-recoverable” basis. This means that if the claim is rejected, they will not ask you to pay these costs back.
When EP services are approved on a “recoverable” basis, then if the claim is rejected, they will ask you to pay them back for this.
Obviously this is an important difference, so make sure the claims agent lets you know in writing which it is in your case.
No, certainly not.
Personally, I would always recommend including some type of physical activity as part of taking care of yourself, particularly if you are not at work.
You can always do your own exercise program, even a simple one like going for a walk each day.
Remember that psychological issues might make even simple things harder for you than you expect.
Usually this would be your treating doctor.
But your claims agent can refer directly.
In fact, anyone can suggest EP sessions to your claims agent, even you, and they can authorize this without a doctor referral.
In psychological injury claims, the best EP work is not just exercise prescription. It is psychologically-informed functional rehabilitation.
For psychological claims, the EP needs to understand:
Not all EPs do.
It depends on you.
A mobile EP may suit you if you can’t travel far, are avoidant, housebound, anxious about gyms, or needing help rebuilding activity in your own environment.
A clinic-based EP may suit you if you are ready for structured sessions, equipment-based conditioning, or a more conventional rehabilitation setting.
Most people will start with a mobile EP, and some will then progress to a gym/clinic later on.
The EP should usually help develop a graded functional plan, not just give generic exercises.
Examples:
Ask the EP provider:
Just like you can choose your own GP and counsellor, you can choose your own EP.
Your claims manager may suggest providers. It’s still up to you.
You can even change the Exercise Physiologist after you’ve started, either to someone else in the same group, or to a different provider altogether.
If the claim is rejected, the claims agent will not fund any more EP sessions.
You will not have to pay any money back if the claims agent confirmed the costs were “non-recoverable”.
If you want to continue with the EP, you can either pay privately, or you may be able to get some support with Medicare rebates via your own GP.