San Diego and Orange County Physical Therapy for Seniors

A good physical therapy routine may even enable seniors to maintain good mobility and comfort and avoid pain medication for longer.

Here’s what you need to know about physical therapy for seniors to help you decide whether it would be beneficial for you or a loved one.

What is Physical Therapy for Seniors?

Physical therapy for seniors takes the specific needs and limitations of older people into account. The well-trained specialists at Nona’s Home Care start by talking extensively with the patient, their loved ones, and their health care professionals to determine what the goal of therapy is and how the course of therapy should go.

They’ll learn whatever diseases or injuries you may have that are contributing to physical discomfort or impaired mobility and develop a physical therapy plan based around them. Here are just a few of the areas of physical therapy for seniors that may be helpful for you or your loved one:

• Alleviate pain. By loosening stiff muscles and joints and strengthening the muscles that support painful areas, physical therapy can make seniors more comfortable and reduce their pain without requiring additional medication.
• Strength. Seniors tend to get weaker with age. Muscle groups that are weakened by injury or pain are likely to become even more atrophied. A physical therapist can enable greater strength overall and in specific areas, allowing for better mobility.
• Range of motion. The more flexible a senior is, the less likely they are to seriously injure themselves in a fall or other accident. Physical therapy increases flexibility and range of motion throughout the body.
• Balance. Falls are a significant risk for older people, and one of the things that most seniors are most concerned about. Physical therapy offers a variety of balance exercises, often in combination with other exercises, that can make it easier for seniors to stay independent and active.
• Medical treatment. Specific injuries often need a specific physical therapy plan to alleviate symptoms. A Nona’s Home Care therapist can assist in ensuring a medically professional prescribed regimen is followed.

Is Physical Therapy for Seniors Worth It?

Physical Therapy can be tiring, difficult, and even painful at times. Elderly people may be frustrated by how little strength and stamina they have to get through the training routine at first. However, when they continue physical therapy, seniors often find that they feel stronger and more capable as the sessions progress.

Soon, they notice that not only can they get through the physical therapy sessions better, but that they’re able to do things they weren’t able to do before. At a time in life when losing strength and ability, the capacity of physical therapy for seniors to reinvigorate and offer more freedom can feel almost magical.

Why Not Just Exercise?

However, people who haven’t exercised in the past or people who have exercised but find themselves physically unable to do it the way they used to, may be intimidated by beginning or restarting an exercise routine. There’s a concern that exercise can make problems like arthritis worse or that it will result in an injury.

Physical therapists take into account a senior’s existing conditions, their current physical and mental capabilities, and their goals to develop a plan that will be safe and effective for them. A physical therapist can work with the senior closely to ensure that an injury doesn’t occur and that exercises aren’t worsening any existing conditions.

Choose Nona’s Home Care for Physical Therapy Assistance for Seniors

Nona’s Home Care has extensive experience in assisting with physical therapy that meets the specific needs of each senior. Our staff stays with us for the long-term, often up to nearly two decades, because we provide excellent support and training to help them do their jobs as well as possible.

We know that fitting something new into your schedule can be a challenge, so we offer complete schedule flexibility without weekly minimums or deposits. Try out physical therapy for seniors, see how it’s working, and decide as time goes on how much you want to schedule. As long as you make your change or cancellation at least 24 hours prior to the scheduled shift, there will be no penalty or obligation