In Reply

Letters to the Editor regarding the article Exercise Training for Patients With Peripheral Arterial Occlusive Disease—Efficacy and Adherence by Dr. med. vet. Maja Ingwersen, Dr. med. Ina Kunstmann, Carolin Oswald, PD Dr. med. Norman Best, Prof. Dr. med. Burkhard Weisser, and Prof. Dr. med. Ulf Teichgräber in issue 51–52/2023

We thank our correspondents for their mentions of standardized exercise program of the German Disabled Sports Association and the Oberhausen-based training course on sports therapy for patients with vascular disorders. Further to the suggestions and offerings of the German Vascular League and the German Society for Angiology—including the option to prescribe rehabilitation exercise—a blank “prescription for exercise” can be downloaded from the portal of the German Medical Association (1, 2). This is an initiative of the German Medical Association, the German Society for Sports Medicine and Prevention, and the German Olympic Sports Federation to promote preventive and curative physical activity. With this form, patients can be given individual and concrete recommendations for exercise in written form. This creates a particular obligation. Furthermore, the German Medical Association and the German Olympic Sports Federation have developed the quality certification mark “Sport pro Gesundheit [exercise for health]” for the exercise offerings of sports clubs. The prerequisite for certifying are mandatory quality criteria and qualified exercise leadership. Relevant training courses can be found in the search portal of “Sport pro Gesundheit” (https://service-sportprogesundheit.de/) (3).

DOI: 10.3238/arztebl.m2024.0010

On behalf of the authors

Prof. Dr. med. Ulf Teichgräber, Dr. med. vet. Maja Ingwersen

Institut für Diagnostische und Interventionelle Radiologie

Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena

Universitätsklinikum Jena

Conflict of interest statement

The authors of all letters to the editor declare that no conflict of interest exists.

References

1. www.bundesaerztekammer.de/themen/aerzte/public-health/gesundheitsfoerderung/bewegung-und-praevention (last accessed on 16 January 2024).

2. Löllgen H, Zupet P, Wismach J, et al.: Körperliche Aktivität und gesundes Leben: Das Rezept für Bewegung. Herzmedizin 2/2017 .

3. www.bewegungslandkarte.de (last accessed on 16 January 2024).

4. Ingwersen M, Kunstmann I, Oswald C, Best N, Weisser B, Teichgräber U: Exercise training for patients with peripheral arterial occlusive disease—efficacy and adherence. Dtsch Arztebl Int 2023; 120: 879–85