Motivation
Regular physical activity plays an important role in preventing or managing many common chronic medical conditions, including heart disease, depression, and diabetes. There is also evidence of improved surgical outcomes when patients undergo a prehabilitation exercise program. Physical activity solutions are an important part of improving population health; however, healthcare providers lack an easy-to-use tool to recommend personalized exercise at scale.
Approach
We built the ExerciseRx® digital health platform to support physical activity and exercise for participants in IRB-approved research studies. The ExerciseRx platform consists of a participant-facing app and a provider dashboard. ExerciseRx was developed in partnership with The Sports Institute, the UW Ubiquitous Computing Ubicomp Lab in the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering, and UW Human Centered Design and Engineering (HCDE) faculty.
The ExerciseRx platform promotes sustainable behavior change around physical activity and home-based exercise, and was built with the belief that physical activity is a vital component of physical and mental wellness, and our efforts are aligned with the American College of Sports Medicine’s Exercise is Medicine initiative and the Physical Activity Alliance.
Where We Are
- The ExerciseRx platform is available to healthcare providers and study participants enrolled in IRB-approved research. It is available on the Apple app store and Google play store.
- We are collaborating with hospitals across multiple medical specialties including at University of Washington Medical Center, Seattle Children’s Hospital, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, UW Multiple Sclerosis Rehabilitation & Wellness Center, and Hospital for Special Surgery in New York.
- Additional resources: Privacy Policy, End User License Agreement Android, and End User License Agreement iOS.
Want to stay up-to-date with our latest ExerciseRx grants and activities? Sign up for our email list. To learn more about the ExerciseRx platform and ways you can partner or collaborate in this work,, please contact us at ExerciseRx@uw.edu.
Research grants and philanthropy only cover a portion of the costs associated with the ExerciseRx platform; donations to The Sports Institute at UW Medicine Fund support the team that makes this research tool available to patients and providers.
Partners
Publications
, . Lifestyle medicine innovations: Physical activity assessment in patient care and implementation of a digital health platform to support healthier movement. PM&R. 2026; 1–10. doi:10.1002/pmrj.70185
Ehde DM, Simmons SB, Alschuler KN, Herring TE, Humbert AT, Robles SR, Ioseliani O, Landis K, Kavanagh LB, Lin CY. Increasing Physical Activity via Provider Support and Engagement Using a Digital Health Platform in Adults With Multiple Sclerosis: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial. JMIR Res Protoc. 2025 Nov 21;14:e72213. https://doi.org/10.2196/72213
Zhu A, Sher J, Li R, Ioseliani O, Cantor L, Brewer EG, Landis K, Bridges D, Munson SA, Hunter H, Lin C, Psutka SP. What motivates bladder cancer patients to be active? A qualitative study assessing attitudes towards physical activity and digital health technologies. Urol Oncol. 2025 Sep;43(9):522.e1-522.e8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.urolonc.2025.05.002
Sher J, Lewis CW, Lin CY. Using Wearable Technologies to Monitor Physical Activity and Exercise in Patients: A Narrative Review. Curr Sports Med Rep. 2024 Aug 1;23(8):284-289. https://doi.org/10.1249/JSR.0000000000001187
Hunter H, Bennington-McKay N, Sher J, Psutka S, Lin CY. Emerging Role of Mobile Applications and Wearable Devices for Prehabilitation in Urologic Oncology. European Urology Focus. 2023, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.euf.2023.10.010.
Montagnino J, Hou G, Lim S, Ciol M, Lin CY. Physical Activity Vital Sign in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis. PM&R Journal. 2023 Mar 17. https://doi.org/10.1002/pmrj.12971
Lin CY, Ball T, McDonald VF, Gentile N, Humbert AT. Associations Between Physical Activity Vital Sign and Healthcare Utilization in a Healthcare System, 2018-2020. Journal of Physical Activity & Health. 2022 Dec 8;1-7. https://doi.org/10.1123/jpah.2022-0266
Sederberg M, Tarkhan A, Ray LS, Lee ES, Lin CY. Physical Activity in Adults with an Amputation as Assessed with a Self-Reported Exercise Vital Sign. PM&R. 2020 Jan 27. https://doi.org/10.1002/pmrj.12333
Conference Presentations
Lin CY, Li R. Innovate to Rehabilitate: Applying Digital Health and AI when Monitoring Physical Activity and Low Back Pain. 2025 AAPMR Annual Assembly. Salt Lake City, UT. October 22-25, 2025.
Leibow C, Li R, Grenard D, Ioseliani O, Reibold C, Li T, Cantor L, Bridges D, Landis K, Munson SA, Lin CY. ExerciseRx-CP: At-Home Sensor-Driven Platform for Exercise in Adolescents with Cerebral Palsy. In APTA Pediatrics Annual Conference.Providence, RI. November 2024. Poster presentation.
Sher J, Hunter H, Cantor L, Landis K, Brewer E, Bridges D, Iosellani O, Li R, Munson SA, Psutka SP, Lin CY. Experience of Patients with Bladder CancerUsing the ExerciseRx App: Qualitative Usability Feedback for Home-Based Rehabilitation Exercises. 2024 AAPMR Annual Assembly. San Diego,CA. November 6-10, 2024.
Psutka SP, Hunter H, Li R, Ioseliani O, Cantor L, Brewer E, Jannat S, Landis K, Bridges D, Munson S, Lin CY. The “Get Moving Trial”: A phase I/II RCT of home-based (P)rehabilitation ((P)REHAB) with ExerciseRx in muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC)—Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial. 2024 American Urological Association Meeting, San Antonio TX. May 3-6, 2024. Podium presentation, Clinical Trials in Progress Session.
Hunter H, Lin CY, Li R, Ioseliani O, Cantor L, Brewer E, Jannat S, Landis K, Bridges D, Munson SA, Psutka SP. The “Get Moving Trial”: A phase I/II RCT of home-based (P)rehabilitation ((P)REHAB) with ExerciseRx in muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC)—Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial. 2024 ASCO Genitourinary Cancers Symposium. San Francisco, CA. January 25-27, 2024. Poster presentation.
McCue J, Grenard D, Li T, Reibold C, Leibow C, Lin CY. Experience of Adolescents with Cerebral Palsy with the ExerciseRx App: Qualitative FeedbackRegarding App Usability for Home Based Exercises. 2024 Western Medical Research Conference. January 18-20, 2024, Carmel, CA. Poster Presentation
Mozafari S, Raji R, Moroney A, Munson SA, Lin CY. Patient Experience in Using ExerciseRx App: Electronic Health Records Embedded Platform to SupportPhysical Activity in Patients. American Federation for Medical Research, Western Medical Research Conference. January 19-21, 2023. Carmel, CA. Poster &Oral Presentation.
El-Sayed AI, Li R, Ruth R, Lavitt L, Essman M, Patel SN, Lin CY. Accuracy Of Home Exercise Detection Using Novel Sonar Mobile Application Technology.American College of Sports Medicine. San Diego, CA. May 31-June 4, 2022. Poster presentation.