Introduction:

Celebrating National Physical Therapy Month, let’s delve into the underrated benefits of physical therapy, especially for seniors seeking to maintain health and independence.

Key Takeaways:

  • Physical therapy offers extensive benefits beyond rehabilitation, particularly for seniors, aiding in fall prevention, independence, and health condition management.
  • Regular sessions can enhance flexibility, strength, balance, and mobility, addressing age-related conditions like arthritis and osteoporosis without medication.
  • It’s a crucial component of recovery and rehabilitation from falls, surgeries, and strokes, and assists in weight management to prevent associated health issues.

What are the benefits of physical therapy for seniors?

Physical therapy for seniors can prevent falls, help maintain independence, improve age-related health conditions, accelerate recovery from physical incidents, aid stroke rehabilitation, and assist in weight management, thereby enhancing overall quality of life.

October is National Physical Therapy Month. Therefore it seems fitting to discuss some of the less well-understood benefits of this healthcare specialization. Physical therapy is associated by many people with the restoration of strength and mobility following an injury or surgery. Indeed, this is one of the primary functions of the field, but for some of us, there are significant benefits to be had from incorporating physical therapy into a general program for health and wellness.

If you or a loved one is over the age of 50, for example, regular sessions with a physical therapist can help to keep age from becoming a handicap to the enjoyment of life. If your interest is piqued by this fact and you’d like to know more, here are six benefits of physical therapy as a way for seniors to stay active.

#1: Physical Therapy Can Prevent Falls

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, a third of people over the age of 65 will take a fall every year. Apart from being more likely to fall than those in younger age groups, the risk attached to falling is greater for seniors, as once we reach our later years, hip fractures become a common consequence of falling down. A physical therapist can help your senior loved ones to avoid injury by implementing a program of exercises to maintain flexibility, strength and balance.

#2: Physical Therapy Helps Seniors Stay Independent

Perhaps one of the most worrying things about aging is the concern that we will lose the ability to do things for ourselves and have to increasingly rely on others for help. Independence is an important factor in quality of life and this is another area in which physical therapy can prove beneficial. Through the process of exercise routines that focus on the body’s four major systems, seniors can maintain balance, bodily strength and agility, greatly reducing the risk of becoming dependent on family and care professionals.

Seniors physical therapy

#3: Physical Therapy Can Improve Age-Related Conditions

Of course not all of us will manage to stay 100% healthy as the years advance. Even those of us who take good care of our health needs may succumb to a condition such as arthritis , a chronic disease or even general aches and pains which can become troublesome. It’s a common misconception that physical therapy specializes only in rehabilitative care following injuries. In fact, physical therapy incorporates a range of possible treatments that can reduce inflammation, improve mobility and relieve pain. These effective, drug-free treatments include:

  • Aquatic exercise
  • Massage and manipulation
  • Cold therapy
  • Heat therapy
  • Hydrotherapy
  • Electrical Stimulation
  • Ultrasound
  • Walking regimens
  • Tai Chi

The range of age-related conditions for which physical therapy can reduce symptoms and delay or even prevent progression include incontinence, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, osteoporosis, chronic back or neck pain, cerebral palsy and diabetes.

#4: Physical Therapy Accelerates Recovery

In the event that your senior loved one should suffer a fall or other physical accident, a course of physical therapy can help to prevent the downward spiral of health problems that so often follow. Physical therapy will get a patient moving as soon as possible after hip surgery, for example. This is important to restore confidence and prevent degeneration of muscles surrounding the site of injury. Furthermore, by working on balance functions, physical therapy can significantly reduce the risk of further falls.

#5: Physical Therapy Aids Stroke Rehabilitation

After a stroke, physical therapy is considered to be an essential part of the rehabilitation process. Treatment for stroke victims includes activities such as constraint-induced movement therapy for limbs weakened by a stroke. This involves restraining the stronger limb so the patient has no choice but to make use of the weakened limb to regain its strength. Mental practice and motor imagery is also used to rehearse movements without actually making them. This treatment is intended to stimulate the area of the brain that controls movement.

#6: Physical Therapy Helps Weight Maintenance

Another of the risks associated with aging is that of weight gain and the onset of associated conditions such as diabetes. A tailored program of physical therapy can help to keep your senior loved one’s weight under control by encouraging them to remain active. Maintaining a healthy weight also helps seniors to retain a strong sense of balance, in turn helping to avoid injuries caused through falling.

Physical Therapy at OCWP

At OC Wellness Physicians Medical Center, our team of physical therapists utilizes the most advanced treatment methods available to the profession. Whether you are a senior adult yourself, keen to begin a program of physical therapy for wellness or you have a loved one in need of help with a condition or injury, our physicians can help.

Every patient who avails of our services receives a personalized program of treatment, tailored to improve strength, balance and mobility and encourage the maintenance of an active lifestyle. If you’d like to discuss your own needs or those of your loved one, just give our team a call at 657-837-2608 or simply schedule an appointment using our online form.

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