We talk with Dr. Timothy Lightfoot and Randy Dick, both fellows of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) about exercise physiology concepts in performing arts medicine. Dr. Lightfoot, an exercise physiologist, talks about his innovative research at Texas A & M on physical exertion during performance, as well as the "Exercise is Medicine" campaign started by the ACSM and how it applies to performers. We also look at the barriers that prevent performing artists from achieving health and wellness.

More about the ACSM at http://www.acsm.org.

For more information about Athletes and the Arts, go to http://www.athletesandthearts.com

Dr. Lightfoot is the Debbie and Mike Hilliard Endowed Professor of Kinesiology and the Director of the Sydney and JL Huffines Institute for Sports Medicine and Human Performance at Texas A&M University. He is a Fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine and an ACSM Certified Exercise Physiologist.

Randy Dick is a Fellow in the American College of Sports Medicine. He worked for twenty years with the NCAA managing its sports medicine and injury prevention programs, including the development and application of two generations of the NCAA Injury Surveillance System and has authored more than 40 peer-reviewed publications and multiple book chapters on a variety of sports medicine and performing arts issues. Randy leads Athletes and the Arts, an initiative that works to integrate sports medicine principles and wellness into the performing arts, as a current project.