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Living Long & Loving It

By Balanced Physical Therapy | August 29, 2008

An article distributed to physicians on 4/26/07

Thanks in large part to medical advances, our society is living longer.  As our communities age, healthcare continuously manages to improve quality of life for older adults.  Physical therapy offers solutions that improve and protect quality of life for our aging population.  Among the Medicare population, arthritis symptoms, decreased mobility, fall injuries, and osteoporosis rank as major challenges to health and independence.  You can refer your patients to Balanced Physical Therapy for effective solutions to problems like these.  Use Balanced Physical Therapy to empower your patients to manage their own health and independence.

 

Arthritis:  Arthritis ranks as the number one cause of disability in North Carolina.  To manage arthritis pain and the associated fatigue and disability, health care providers commonly recommend light strengthening exercises and low-impact aerobics.  However, research shows that fear of self-injury and limited knowledge about safe exercise prevents a majority of arthritic patients from performing needed activities.1  Numerous studies have shown professionally guided exercises to be effective in managing arthritis.2-4  Balanced Physical Therapy will train your patient in a custom-designed exercise program that teaches patients how to protect their own range of motion, how to use exercise to reduce pain, how to maintain strength, and how to exercise safely in regards to chronic state and acute flare-ups.  The peace of mind that comes from professional supervision and from increased personal knowledge enhances long-term compliance with personal exercise programs.

 

Mobility & Fall Prevention:  Among older adults, the CDC ranks falls as the leading cause of injury deaths.  More than a third of seniors age 65+ fall each year, and 20% to 30% of them suffer moderate to severe injuries that reduce mobility, reduce independence, and increase the risk of premature death.5  One quarter of elderly patients who have fallen report that fear of falling again causes them to avoid essential activities such as mobility in the home, bathing, and dressing.6  Dr.  Kenneth Steinweg states, “Although falls are common in the elderly and the incidence rises with age, this should not discourage physicians from properly assessing elderly patients who have fallen.  Instead, it should trigger an organized approach to fall prevention.” (Kenneth K. Steinweg, MD, East Carolina University School of Medicine, Greenville, NC).7  A number of studies have shown prescriptions for physical therapy to reduce falls among seniors.8-10  

 

Osteoporosis: One in three women and one in twelve men over the age of 50 will suffer an osteoporotic fracture.11  Osteoporosis treatment at Balanced Physical Therapy is based on a number of systematic reviews and meta-analyses that have shown physical therapy to be effective at maintaining or improving bone density in postmenopausal women.12-17  However, the therapy is not just for women.  Progressive weight-bearing, strength building exercises have been shown to increase bone density by 5%.  This correlates with a more than 30% reduction in risk of fracture.16,17  However, the wrong exercises can prove ineffective or harmful.  Trust Balanced Physical Therapy to guide your patients in safe exercise approaches that will improve their health for life. 

 

Watch for future editions of this bulletin to explain these and other programs in more detail.  In the meantime, see the positive results and patient satisfaction for yourself. 

 

Please tell your patients about Balanced Physical Therapy.

References

  1. Wilcox S, Der Ananian C, Abbott J. “Perceived exercise barriers, enablers, and benefits among exercising and nonexercising adults with arthritis: Results from a qualitative study.” Arthritis Care.  2006;55(4):616-627.
  2. Lynberg K, Ramsing B, Nawrocki A, et al. “Safe and effective isokinetic knee extension training in rheumatoid arthritis.” Arthritis Rheum. 1994; 37: 623-628.
  3. Hakkinen A. “Effectiveness and safety of strength training in rheumatoid arthritis.” Curr Opin Rheumatol. 2004; 16: 132-137.
  4. Zinna E, Yarasheski K. “Exercise treatment to counteract protein wasting of chronic diseases.” Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care. 2003; 6: 87-93.
  5. Province MA, Hadley EC, Hornbrock MC, Lipsitz LA, Mulrow CD, Ory MG, et. al. The effects of exercise on falls in elderly patients: A pre-planned meta-analysis of the FICSIT trials. Journal of the American Medical Association 1995;273:1341-7.
  6. Tinetti ME, Speechley M, Ginter SF. Risk factors for falls among elderly persons living in the community. N Engl J Med 1988;319:1701-7.
  7. Steinweg KK, The Changing Approach to Falls in the Elderly. Am Fam Physician 1997; 56 (7): 1101-1111.
  8. Province MA, Hadley EC, Hornbrock MC, Lipsitz LA, Mulrow CD, Ory MG, et. al. The effects of exercise on falls in elderly patients: A pre-planned meta-analysis of the FICSIT trials. Journal of the American Medical Association 1995;273:1341-7.
  9. Rubenstein LZ, Josephson KR, Robbins AS. Falls in the nursing home. Annals of Internal Medicine 1994;121:442-51.
  10. Judge JO, Lindsey C, Underwood M, Winsemius D. Balance improvements in older women: effects of exercise training. Physical Therapy 1993; 73(4):254-65.
  11. Torgerson D, Bell-Syer S. Hormone replacement therapy and prevention of nonvertebral fractures: a meta-analysis of randomized trials. JAMA 2001;285(22):2891-7.
  12. Ernst E. Exercise for female osteoporosis. A systematic review of randomized clinical trials. Sports Med 1998;25:359-68
  13. Kelley G. Aerobic exercise and lumbar spine bone mineral density in postmenopausal women: a meta-analysis. J Am Geriatr Soc 1998;46:143-52.
  14. Kelley GA, Kelley KS, Tran ZV. Resistance training and bone mineral density in women: a meta-analysis of controlled trials. Am J Phys Med Rehabil 2001; 80: 65-77.
  15. Mazzzeo R, Cavanagh P, Evans W, Fiatarone M, Hagberg J, Mcauley E, et al. Exercise and physical activity for older adults: ACSM position stand. Med Sci Sports Exerc 1998;30(6):992-1008.
  16. Chow R, Harrison JE, Notarius C. Effect of two randomized exercise programmes on bone mass of healthy postmenopausal women. Br Med J {Clin Res} 1987;295(6611):1441-4.
  17. Kohrt WM, Snead DB, Slatopolsky E, Birge SJ. Additive effects of weight-bearing exercise and estrogen on bone mineral density in older women. J Bone Miner Res 1995;10:1303-11.
©BMA 2008