The Promotion of Pre- and Post-Transplant Physical Exercise in the Emilia-Romagna Region: The Network of the Program "Transplantation, Physical Activity, and Sport"

Introduction Following the positive experience of the national project "A transplant...and now it’s time for Sport", the Transplant Reference Center of the Emilia-Romagna Region has pursued the promotion of pre- and post-transplant physical exercise by developing a network. Methods The path involved the Transplant Centers and Operative Units (UU.OO) who wanted to target transplant and waiting list patients, clinically stable, to perform personalized exercise through a program (supervised or not) prescribed by a specialist in sports medicine. With the collaboration of the Collective Prevention and Public Health Service the network was established, consisting of the Sports Medicine Centers and the Gyms that promote health (PS-AMA). To implement the network, training courses for all the professionals involved (doctors, nurses, exercise specialists) and operational meetings in the Transplant Centers-Nephrology Units with Patients’ Associations have been organized. Results To date there are 14 transplant centers and UU.OO, 9 sports medicine centers and 45 PS-AMA involved in this network. Seven training courses were organized with the participation of 193 health professionals. From January 2016, there have been 65 transplanted patients and 5 patients on waiting list who practice prescribed exercise. Of these, 45 carry out supervised exercise in PS-AMA, 25 perform autonomous exercise. Each patient is monitored every 6 months. None problems related to the exercise performance were recorded. Conclusions The development of a network of professionals and associations is the key element to raise awareness on physical activity among transplanted and waiting for transplant patients, reducing the pathologies associated with a sedentary lifestyle