“Getting old isn’t for sissies.” This bit of wisdom has been told to me more than once by clients following joint replacement surgery and many of them prove the statement to be true. Dealing with the movement impairments related to aging takes its toll, physicaly and mentally. As we get older there are certain things we know to expect- the occasional strain or pain, creaking, cracking, or stiffness. All joints start to wear out at some point and we know that as we get older we lose muscular strength. There comes a point where a little stiffness here and there or strain in an area can lead to lasting changes that can really impair movement, mobility, and a person’s quality of life. Read the rest of this entry »
Archive for category Geriatric (Elderly)
For centuries we have tried to escape the inevitable: aging. There may be Botox, but there is no fountain of youth that can stop all of the effects of gravity and time. Luckily for our joints and muscles, we do have exercise. I’m not simply proposing that any random activity or exercise will combat aging — you need to focus exercise on key joint and muscular areas. Mindless stomping, pulling, and pushing in our active lives will benefit the heart, lungs, joints, and muscles, but focus is required to combat the aging process. Normal daily activities won’t keep you from ending up hunched over and unable to get out of a chair without assistance.
As we age our muscles lose elasticity and strength. Our joints become stiffer and compacted. We develop arthritis. These are things that are inevitable and cannot be changed, however, you can decrease the speed at which these events occur and improve or maintain your mobility throughout life by staying active, strong, and limber. Did you know that you can improve your strength at ANY age? Even if you’re 90 years old you can get stronger by doing resistance exercises and lifting weights, even as age is taking strength away! Read the rest of this entry »
I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and happy new year! Your Geaux 2 PT was having a jolly good time in Great Britain and is refreshed and ready to write about some very important subjects. I’m starting 2010′s blog with a topic that is near and dear to me: preventing falls in the elderly. With winter now in full swing (8-10 inches of snow here yesterday) and icy, slick conditions around, it’s important now more than ever to talk about falling. Falls and resulting complications are serious health issues facing older adults. Falls are the leading cause of injury deaths, the most common cause of non-fatal injuries, and the most common reason for hospital admission due to trauma in older adults. Read that sentence again. It’s staggering. Brain injuries and fractures incurred from a fall can be devastating and potentially life threatening. In 2001, I lost someone very close to me because he fell and broke his hip at the age of 76. He suffered a brain injury from the fall, causing trauma-induced dementia, to the point that he could not take care of himself (previously living in his own home independently). He never left the hospital and complications eventually caused his death.
One of the reasons that our risk of falling increases as we age is Read the rest of this entry »
Compression Garments in PT
Nov 27
In physical therapy, I see a variety of patients with conditions that have associated swelling or edema. Many patients post-operatively suffer from swelling that is very painful and restricts mobility. Compression garments can be an extremely useful self management tool for many types of swelling. The most common type of garments used are compression stockings for leg swelling. These come in a variety of sizes and lengths and are used to support the venous and lymphatic systems of the leg. They provide graduated compression which means there is more compression at the foot and ankle and less compression higher on the leg around the thigh. The compression stockings act as a pump for the fluid in your legs. The exterior tissue support that the stockings provide helps Read the rest of this entry »
The Silent Killer
Nov 6
Bones are living tissue, constantly breaking down and rebuilding. They respond to the stresses placed on them, building more bone when there is more demand and breaking down when there isn’t. Weight-bearing exercise stimulates the bones to rebuild. When we are sedentary there isn’t demand to build, thus the rate of breaking down bone can go up in relation to bone-building. This is why weight-bearing exercise is important in the prevention of osteoporosis! Osteoporosis is a disease characterized by low bone mass and structural deterioration of bone tissue, leading to bone fragility. Read the rest of this entry »
