The Benefits of Physical Therapy for Seniors
October is Physical Therapy Month. We know the power that physical therapy has for all kinds of patients, especially seniors. Seniors face a decline of overall health as part of the aging process, and also from various medical conditions. Fortunately, you can help your loved ones by talking to them about physical therapy. Physical therapy provides a measure of relief from pain, supplemental treatment of several common health conditions affecting seniors, and a reduced risk of falling. We'll look at the benefits of physical therapy, and then we'll discuss the importance of physical therapy for both you and your loved one.
Easing swelling and pain
One the primary reasons for seeing a physical therapist is to ease painful or swollen parts of the body. Physical therapists have a variety of treatments at their disposal. They may have your loved one do exercises that target a particular part of the body. They may take a more hands-on approach of manual therapy. They may use cold or heat therapy. It's likely that they will use some combination of these and other treatments, all with the goal of relaxing and/or strengthening the muscles, making your loved one more flexible, and easing his or her pain.
Treating conditions that affect seniors
There are myriad health conditions that affect older people. Physical therapy can be an effective way to treat some of the most common ones. By targeting different aspects of one's body, such as balance, strength, range of motion, coordination, etc., physical therapy can help treat the following conditions:
- Arthritis
- Osteoporosis
- Stroke
- Parkinson's disease
- Alzheimer's
- Incontinence
- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
- And others
Preventing falls
Physical therapy is also important when treating physical injury. In seniors, a major cause of serious physical injury (sometimes fatal injury) is falling. According to the American Academy of Family Physicians (citing other research):
Between 30 and 40 percent of community-dwelling adults older than 65 years fall each year, and the rates are higher for nursing home residents. Falls are associated with increased morbidity, mortality, and nursing home placement.
Falling is a very real and dangerous problem facing older people. Care givers should help their patients and loved ones understand the dangers of falling and how it can impact them. Fortunately, physical therapy can help prevent falls in the first place. This is because physical therapy makes your loved one stronger, more flexible, more coordinated, and improves your his or her balance. Each of these boosts helps to decrease the risk of a serious fall.
Physical therapy at home
It's a good idea to talk to a physical therapist about exercises that your loved one can do at home. These will most likely be focused on strengthening the muscles and increasing range of motion. We've discussed the danger of falls to seniors and how physical therapy can help. Doing PT at home is an effective way to prevent falls and increase quality of life.
As a care giver, you know the physical strain that can be associated with caring for a patient or loved one. You can help keep your own body strong and in good shape by talking to a physical therapist about how to accomplish routine care tasks (such as helping a loved one transfer) while keeping your own body mechanics in line. The last thing you want is to be in a situation where you are injured and are unable to provide care for your loved one. Physical therapy can help you, too!
Living independently
By easing pain, treating many health conditions that affect seniors, and preventing falls, it only makes sense that physical therapy can make your loved one more independent. We're not saying physical therapy is the magic cure for everything (if only there was such a magic cure). But we are saying that adding physical therapy to the health care mix is a great way to solve pesky issues, prevent others, and improve your loved one's overall health. And that means improving his or her ability to live life to the fullest.
© Copyright 2012 The Wright Stuff, Inc. Articles may only be redistributed in its unedited form. Written permission from The Wright Stuff, Inc. must be obtained to reprint or cite the information contained within this article.
