How Geriatric Physical Therapy Can Help The Elderly
As we age our ability to move around and carry out the tasks of daily living diminishes. Geriatric physical therapy aims to slow this process, alleviate pain, and maintain a decent quality of life. Rehab therapies for elderly and frail people can keep them mobile, healthy, and independent for longer. Let’s check out how and why seniors benefit from individualized physical therapy.
Why Geriatric Physical Therapy Is Good For Seniors
Many elderly people develop arthritis, including rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis. These diseases inhibit mobility and can lead to pain and frustration. Physical therapists design a treatment and rehab program that can both alleviate pain and improve mobility. And it’s not just about mobility, as such therapy also has mental health and overall wellbeing benefits.
Other common ailments such as mild strokes and diabetes can also be kept in check by geriatric physical therapy. A crucial ingredient of elderly care for such people is emotional support from friends, family, nursing staff and physiotherapists.
Physical therapy helps with mobility
Many elderly people have difficulty climbing stairs or need support when going to the bathroom or getting dressed. Mobility is essential for our independence as we grow older, and that’s where physical therapy comes in. By gradually strengthening muscles and bones, geriatric physical therapy can make a huge difference to quality of life.
Exercise, if done safely under the watchful eye of a physical therapist, improves heart and lung function, too. Keeping mobile and taking small steps in the right direction can also be great for self-confidence and self-esteem.
A physical therapist will educate you on how to safely remain mobile. He/she will encourage and support you and provide loving care to ensure the best possible outcomes. Keeping moving and talking, with plenty of smiles and laughs along the way, is all part of geriatric physical therapy.
It helps for pain
One thing that can get in the way of progress is pain. That’s why everything should be done to ensure it is reduced as much as possible. That can be achieved through medication, but also through geriatric physical therapy. It’s amazing that regular and gentle exercising of joints and ligaments can often ease pain and improve mobility.
Low impact aerobic training, preceded by warm-up exercises, is one of the tools in the therapists’ toolbox. Elderly people with chronic pain can relieve stiffness and pain by following their therapist’s advice on this.
Pain relief exercises focus on areas where you have pain and seek to make you stronger and more flexible. Machines and resistance bands may also be deployed to help you stretch and build muscle strength. Geriatric physical therapy also involves strengthening exercises focusing on your stomach muscles or back, not just your legs and arms.
Fairview Adult Day Care Center in Brooklyn NY offers physical therapy and other rehabilitation therapies for the elderly and adults with neurological disorders. We also provide recreation and fitness programs as well as medical care for our clients. Contact us if you would like to know more about our day care services.
This article is for educational and informational purpose only and does not substitute for professional medical advice. For any questions about your own health condition, speak to a qualified physician or healthcare provider.
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