Prevention Practice
A Holistic Perspective for Physical Therapy
,HEALTH
• The World Health Organization defines health as:
“A state of complete physical, mental, and
social well-being, and not merely the absence
of disease or infirmity.”
,Optimal health is defined as the conscious
pursuit of the highest qualities of the physical,
environmental, mental, emotional, spiritual,
and social aspects of the human experience.
Lifestyle changes promoting optimal health can
be facilitated through a combination of efforts
that
(1)Enhance self-awareness and knowledge of
healthy habits,
(2)Change behaviors that interfere with good
health, and
(3)Create environments that support good
health practices. The importance of
supportive environments for producing
lasting change cannot be overemphasized.
, WELLNESS
Wellness is often used synonymously with
health; however, wellness is a more
comprehensive construct.
According to the National Wellness Institute,
“Wellness is an active process of becoming
aware of and making choices toward a
more successful existence.”
In other words, wellness is an active, lifelong
process of becoming aware of choices and
making decisions toward a more balanced and
fulfilling life.
Wellness involves choices about one’s life and
the priorities that determine one’s lifestyle.
Wellness integrates mental, social,
occupational, emotional, spiritual, and physical
dimensions of one’s life and reflects how one
feels about life, as well as one’s ability to
A Holistic Perspective for Physical Therapy
,HEALTH
• The World Health Organization defines health as:
“A state of complete physical, mental, and
social well-being, and not merely the absence
of disease or infirmity.”
,Optimal health is defined as the conscious
pursuit of the highest qualities of the physical,
environmental, mental, emotional, spiritual,
and social aspects of the human experience.
Lifestyle changes promoting optimal health can
be facilitated through a combination of efforts
that
(1)Enhance self-awareness and knowledge of
healthy habits,
(2)Change behaviors that interfere with good
health, and
(3)Create environments that support good
health practices. The importance of
supportive environments for producing
lasting change cannot be overemphasized.
, WELLNESS
Wellness is often used synonymously with
health; however, wellness is a more
comprehensive construct.
According to the National Wellness Institute,
“Wellness is an active process of becoming
aware of and making choices toward a
more successful existence.”
In other words, wellness is an active, lifelong
process of becoming aware of choices and
making decisions toward a more balanced and
fulfilling life.
Wellness involves choices about one’s life and
the priorities that determine one’s lifestyle.
Wellness integrates mental, social,
occupational, emotional, spiritual, and physical
dimensions of one’s life and reflects how one
feels about life, as well as one’s ability to
