May is National Physiotherapy month. During this month we want to celebrate and highlight some of the ways that Physiotherapy helps us to maintain and improve how we move, and to manage and prevent pain/injury and illness as we age.
Did you know that falls and fall-related injuries in seniors is a significant issue within our healthcare system and creates a cost burden to our Canadian health care system. Falls and fear of falling often restricts the activity level of our senior population. Physiotherapy is highly effective in preventing and reducing the risk of falls.1
Physiotherapy plays an important role in falls prevention. 2
The goals of physiotherapy led programs are to
- Improve physical function
- Improve strength
- Improve balance to decrease the risk of falling and
- Increase confidence
This will allow seniors to continue to be active and safe in their daily activities.
To establish appropriate fall prevention programming, a physiotherapy assessment is valuable to determine individual risk factors and to recommend an appropriate fall prevention program. Based on the assessment, it can be determined if a group class is a safe option or whether a more individualized program is needed.
Physiotherapy helps to optimize function and prevents/delays frailty. 3
Physical decline is a natural part of aging and can be accelerated by conditions such as arthritis, osteoporosis and stroke to name a few.
At any age, physiotherapy can help to optimize personal mobility, strength and flexibility which can lead to positive changes to limit this physical decline and the impact it may have on the enjoyment of daily activities.
Physiotherapists also play a critical role in helping people prepare for and recover from joint replacement surgery.4
Joint pain is a common cause of activity limitation which may lead to increased frailty or risk of falls as we age. Physiotherapy plays a crucial role in helping people with joint pain to potentially decrease the need for joint replacement surgery or delaying surgery.
The research shows that exercise based physiotherapy is highly effective in producing improved outcomes in post - operative joint replacement recovery.
Physiotherapy helps prevent and manage pain.5
Chronic pain, pain that is present for greater than 6 months, can develop from any joint or muscle injury.
Research strongly supports non-pharmacological approaches such as exercise/activity and mental health support. Physiotherapists are highly trained experts in how the body moves, exercise, and pain science. Working with a physiotherapist can be beneficial in helping chronic pain sufferers deal with and manage pain to enable ongoing participation in activities of daily life and recreation pursuits now, and as we age!
Our goal at Fit for Life Physiotherapy is just that - to help you be fit for life! That may mean different things to different people and so we work with you ONE ON ONE to understand YOUR needs and your goals to help you do the things you enjoy and promote healthy aging.
If there is something you want to get back to doing or improve how you are managing with daily activities - or know someone else who needs our help - set up a FREE 15 minute consultation to find out how we can help you by calling us at (905)333-3488 or emailing fitforlifephysio@gmail.com.
1NPM 2021: Physiotherapy Prevents Falls
3NPM 2021: Physiotherapy Helps Optimize Function & Prevents/Delays Frailty
4NPM 2021: Physiotherapy Helps People Delay the Need for Joint Replacement