HomeBlogBenefits of Physical Therapy for Weakness and Aging
Benefits of Physical Therapy for Weakness and Aging
WEAKNESS AND AGING DON’T HAVE TO GO HAND-IN-HAND
The number of people over age 65 in our country had reached 46.2 million by 2014, the latest year with complete data available. This represents about 15 percent of the U.S. population and the percentage is expected tors that explain the rising proportion of seniors in the population:
•The two decades after World War II saw an increase in births that eventually leveled off. The people born during this “baby boom” are now entering their senior years. •Fertility has decreased at the same time that life spans have increased by about twenty years. •There is more access to education about nutrition and maintaining good health. •Public health programs have successfully minimized the number of deaths due to treatable illnesses. •Preventative medicine delays or eliminates some of the infirmities involved with aging.
As a result of this growing proportion of aging citizens, use of long-term care facilities has increased. There is also a bigger burden on Medicare insurance. As the older population remains active, they are also subject to more non-aging related injuries than in the past. Health care costs have risen and meeting these needs will be a challenging task.
People over 65 years old are divided into decline. Below are some of the major weaknesses requiring physical therapy in the aged.
Connective Tissues and Bones
The parts of the body that help us move become weaker as we age. This can include muscles, joints, spinal discs, cartilage and other connective tissue. Bone and joint degeneration in the elderly can lead to bones breaking more easily.
Cardiac Muscles, Arteries and Lungs
As people age, the arteries that carry blood to high blood pressure and fatigue during activity.
The lungs don’t expand as well as they did in youth, and sometimes mucus secretions are thicker. Together with diminished arteries, this leads to the heart. It’s also the reason that old people who develop serious illnesses are at a greater risk of pneumonia or even chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
Nerves and Muscles
The unsteadiness that seniors sometimes feel is partly due to.
RECOMMENDED EXERCISE FOR SENIORS
Docto do even intense physical activities as long as they do so in moderation.
Housework, walking, gardening and dancing are excellent moderately strenuous activities for seniors. This level of activity should be done daily. More strenuous aerobic activity should also be engaged in for at least twenty minutes, three times a week. This can include jogging, bicycling, swimming and outdoor sports like softball.
Strength-training is one form of exercise that will keep muscles in the best shape possible, and it can even help improve issues with balance. Workouts should be done two or three times a week. The idea is to heavy weights.
Developing a sensible physical therapy routine in the early senior years will make aging more pleasant and less aggravating. Remaining in the best shape possible for one’s age acts as a preventative against the rapid decline that some people experience as they get older. Seniors will be more likely to withstand illnesses and injuries without complications if they have been practicing physical therapy for the weakness they experience as they age.
In this instance, an athlete was originally diagnosed with minor quadriceps muscle strain and was treated for four weeks, with unsatisfactory results. When he came to our clinic, the muscle was not healing, and the patients’ muscle tissue had already begun to atrophy.
Upon examination using MSUS, we discovered that he had a full muscle thickness tear that had been overlooked by his previous provider. To mitigate damage and promote healing, surgery should have been performed immediately after the injury occurred. Because of misdiagnosis and inappropriate treatment, the patient now has permanent damage that cannot be corrected.
The most important advantage of Ultrasound over MRI imaging is its ability to zero in on the symptomatic region and obtain imaging, with active participation and feedback from the patient. Using dynamic MSUS, we can see what happens when patients contract their muscles, something that cannot be done with MRI. From a diagnostic perspective, this interaction is invaluable.
Dynamic ultrasonography examination demonstrating the full thickness tear and already occurring muscle atrophy due to misdiagnosis and not referring the patient to proper diagnostic workup
Demonstration of how very small muscle defect is made and revealed to be a complete tear with muscle contraction under diagnostic sonography (not possible with MRI)
Complete tear of rectus femoris with large hematoma (blood)
Separation of muscle ends due to tear elicited on dynamic sonography examination
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