The body continually ages from the time we are infants until the day of our deaths. At some point during youth, we reach a kind of peak physical condition, where our bodies are operating at maximum capacity, and our bones, muscles, and organs work well. However, each part of the body begins to progress past that stage of peak efficiency. For example, by the time people reach age 30, they start to lose between 0.5% and 2% of their muscle every year.
While regular exercise can help offset this breakdown, you can also help maintain your muscle and tendon mass and flexibility by attending physical therapy lessons. This is much more important for seniors in particular, as they may be experiencing bone density loss, reduced range of movement, and potentially aging-related conditions that might make it hard for them to exercise regularly.
For example, long-term illness can emaciate anyone who needs to comply with long-term bed rest or hospitalization. While younger people can bounce back from this fairly quickly, it’s a lot harder for seniors to recover.
The overall goal of physical therapy is to help restore and improve the function of muscles and tendons. Additionally, it can reduce pain and increase mobility, which can increase strength and balance. For seniors, these are of particular importance, as any loss of balance could cause a fall. Falls can have severe consequences for older adults, especially since they have more brittle bones and heal more slowly. Also, if a senior is recovering after a fall, he or she could be hospitalized for an extended amount of time, which can further weaken the body.
It can also provide them with an increased sense of confidence. If seniors aren’t worried about falling or injuring themselves while exercising, they would probably increase their tendency to be out and about. Some might take the opportunity to travel and see the world, while others might spend more time playing with their grandchildren.
If you’re interested in seeing how physical therapy can help you or your senior loved one, don’t hesitate to call us. ProFysio Physical Therapy is one of the premier providers of physical rehabilitation in New Jersey. Our dedicated and helpful staff can provide a broad range of physical therapy services to increase mobility, strength, and flexibility. Our team provides collaborative care that takes a patient’s whole-body health into consideration. We will work with each patient’s network of physicians and medical support team to ensure the best results possible. The doctors at ProFysio Physical Therapy would be happy to coordinate with your physicians to order appropriate medical workups and medication when necessary. Let us see what we can do for you. Call us at (732) 333-6360 or fill out our online form to schedule a consultation today. We look forward to seeing what we can do to improve your health.