Elderly Care
There is reliable evidence for physiotherapy involvement for older people, especially those with falls, stroke, arthritis and frailty.
Elderly care in physical therapy focuses on maintaining and improving the health, mobility, and quality of life of older adults. Physical therapists work with older patients to address a variety of age-related issues, including decreased mobility, balance problems, pain a chronic, osteoporosis and so on.
Key aspects of geriatric care in physical therapy are:
- Fall prevention: Physical therapists analyze balance and mobility to develop individualized exercise programs aimed at reducing fall risk , which is common in older adults
- Strength and Function: Exercise helps older adults maintain or improve their range of motion, such as walking, climbing stairs, getting in and out of chairs.
- Pain management: Physical therapists use techniques such as manual therapy, exercise, and techniques such as heat or cold therapy to manage chronic pain associated with conditions such as arthritis disease or osteoporosis management.
- Post-surgical rehabilitation: : Exercise plays an important role in helping older adults recover from surgery such as joint replacement or spinal therapy, through strengthening, adjustment and on its enhancement activity.
Physical therapists work with older adults with chronic conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) to provide their function power and their overall quality of life improves. - Education and Home Exercise Programs: : Physical therapists teach older adults and their caregivers safe and effective exercises to do at home in order to move so walk and be free.
Older adult care is complex because it comes with multiple conditions requiring knowledge of many specialties. Older adults often develop conditions under musculoskeletal, cardiovascular and neurological disorders.[2] There may be overlaps in these categories, as older adults often have multimorbidities. Due to the ageing effect on the health status of older adults and their disease pattern of presentation, it is advisable that physiotherapy in older adults should be trained in musculoskeletal, neurological and cardiovascular assessment and management of older adults.