Last week, Port Vale FC Academy held their annual Health Screening session, where members of the U18s squad performed a series of both physical and mental health checks on members of the academy staff as part of their BTEC/SEP education programmes.
There were six different stations, with the staff members making their way around the room until all the tests had been completed.
The six tests were:
- Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire
- Resting Heart Rate
- Blood Pressure
- Body Mass Index
- Warwick-Edinburgh Wellbeing Scale (WEMWBS)
- Sit and Reach Test
Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire
A PAR-Q (Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire) is a simple health screening tool that is used to determine if there are any potential health risks for an individual before they start a new training regime/lifestyle change. The type of questions involved in a PAR-Q are fairly straightforward, such as questions about someone’s drinking/smoking habits, their activity levels and medical history.
Resting Heart Rate
This test is pretty self-explanatory. It simply measures a person’s heart rate at complete rest. This test can be used to determine someone’s level of cardiovascular fitness.
Blood Pressure
Blood pressure is the term used to describe the strength with which your blood pushes on the sides of your arteries as it’s pumped around your body.
Body Mass Index (BMI)
The BMI test is a measure that uses your height and weight to work out if your weight is healthy. The BMI calculation divides an adults weight in kilograms by their height in metres squared.
Warwick-Edinburgh Wellbeing Scale
The Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (WEMWBS) was developed to enable the monitoring of mental wellbeing in the general population and the evaluation of projects, programmes and policies which aim to improve mental wellbeing. The WEMWBS is a 14-item scale of positively worded statements covering feeling and functioning aspects of mental wellbeing. The 14-statements have five response categories from ‘none of the time’ to ‘all of the time’.
Sit and Reach Test
The Sit and reach test is one of the linear flexibility tests which helps to measure the extensibility of the hamstrings and lower back.
After the session, second-year apprentice, Eli Fisher, said: “I’m interested in strength and conditioning, so it was a good experience to apply what we learned in unit b health and well-being and incorporate this in a practical setting with staff at the club’s academy, carrying out different health screening tests such as blood pressure, parq/mental health questionnaires and body fat analysis.”
BTEC Tutor, Robert Hare, added: “Knowledge is of no value unless you put it into practice. On Friday the scholars did just this. The fitness and wellbeing testing day on the 19th January encouraged scholars to become fitness professionals for the day and administer a mixture of testing for both physical and mental fitness. This ranged from blood pressure checks, to body fat analysis and stress questionnaires. They were then able to develop hands on practical experience in offering feedback and recommendations to clients to help improve their overall health & well-being.”
