Better Balance, Less Pain: How Physical...
How Physical Therapy Improves Balance, Reduces Pain, and Enhances Strength and Function Balance is a fundamental aspect of mobility and safety, yet it's often overlooked until problems arise. Whether due to aging, injury, neurological conditions, or surgery, impaired balance can increase the risk of falls, limit independence, and decrease quality of life. Physical therapy (PT) offers targeted, evidence-based interventions that restore balance, alleviate pain, and improve overall physical function. Understanding Balance and Its Challenges Balance relies on the integration of three major systems: The visual system (eyes),The vestibular system (inner ear), andThe proprioceptive system (sensory receptors in muscles and joints)....
From Setback to Comeback: Rebuilding Balance...
Dizziness and vertigo can transform simple daily activities into challenging obstacles for seniors, affecting everything from walking to reaching for objects on shelves. These symptoms, while common, shouldn't be dismissed as normal aging. Understanding their causes and available treatments is crucial for maintaining independence and quality of life. Multiple factors can contribute to dizziness in older adults. Medical conditions like benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV), inner ear disorders, or cardiovascular issues often play a role. Additionally, many medications commonly prescribed to seniors – including blood pressure medications, anti-anxiety drugs, and sleep aids – can cause or worsen dizziness symptoms. If...
Beyond Dizziness and Vertigo: Your Guide...
Dizziness and vertigo can transform simple daily activities into challenging obstacles for seniors, affecting everything from walking to reaching for objects on shelves. These symptoms, while common, shouldn't be dismissed as normal aging. Understanding their causes and available treatments is crucial for maintaining independence and quality of life. Multiple factors can contribute to dizziness in older adults. Medical conditions like benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV), inner ear disorders, or cardiovascular issues often play a role. Additionally, many medications commonly prescribed to seniors – including blood pressure medications, anti-anxiety drugs, and sleep aids – can cause or worsen dizziness symptoms. If...
Don’t Let Your New Knee Hold...
Following a total knee replacement (TKR), elderly patients often face significant challenges with balance and mobility. While the surgery itself addresses joint pain and deterioration, the recovery process is crucial for regaining independence and preventing falls. Understanding how strength training and physical therapy work together can make a substantial difference in long-term outcomes. The initial weeks after TKR surgery typically involve a period of adjustment as patients learn to trust their new joint. During this time, balance can be compromised due to several factors: muscle weakness from pre-surgery compensation patterns, post-operative swelling, and altered proprioception (the body's awareness of its...
Age-Proof Your Balance: Simple Home Workouts...
As a follow-up to our previous discussion on balance and fall prevention, let's explore specific exercises seniors can safely perform at home. If you would like to review that blog you can click HERE. Remember to consult with a healthcare provider before starting any new exercise routine, and always have a sturdy chair or counter nearby for support when practicing these movements. At the end of the blog there is a way you can get a FREE Balance assessment to find out if these exercises are appropriate for you. 1. Sit-to-Stand Exercise Start by sitting in a firm chair with...
Maintaining Balance: How Strength Training and...
As our population ages, maintaining physical independence becomes increasingly crucial for quality of life. One of the most significant threats to senior independence is the risk of falls, which can lead to serious injuries and a cascade of health complications. However, research consistently shows that a combination of strength training and physical therapy can significantly reduce fall risk while helping older adults maintain their independence. If you would like a FREE “Fall Proof Your Home Safety Checklist” click HERE Strength training plays a vital role in fall prevention by targeting key muscle groups that support balance and stability. Regular resistance...
Falling in love? Great! Falling downstairs?...
Happy Valentine’s day from MOSS Rehabilitation Center! Whether you love celebrating love or you think it’s just another frivolous event, it got us thinking about the topic of falls. While the adage ‘falling in love’ is associated with positive emotions, real falls that cause physical damage are not so exciting. The chances are that you or someone you know has experienced a fall that has at the very least tweaked your back or at worst, landed you in a hospital. So let’s talk about why falls happen in the first place and what you can do to prevent them. Balance...
How Safe is Your Home?
We’ve talked about it before, but with our upcoming balance workshop only a week away, we’ve decided to bring it up again. Our homes are where we should feel the safest, but how safe is your home really? If you struggle with balance issues, there may be more concerns in your home than you think! For a list of things in your home that could be a danger to your health CLICK HERE According to the CDC falls are the leading cause of injuries in seniors and 1/3 of all adults over 65 will fall this year. Each fall is...
The Summer of Balance
With temps in the high nineties this week, Texas summer is officially upon us. Regardless of how you feel about the Texas heat, there’s probably something about summer you like! Family vacations, seeing your kids or grandkids more, barbeques, pool time, lake days, and a plethora of other summertime activities! All of these things are great but maybe you feel more limited than you want to. We have covered all sorts of balance this past month. From new ways to challenge yourself (balance board, anyone?) and unusual ways balance affects us, all the way to last week’s post about nutritional...
Get ‘On-Board’ With Balance
Have you ever seen something and thought that you would be really, really good at it? And then you try it, and it’s not pretty? Me too, in fact, I bet that most people you know would say they’ve had a similar experience. One of those things for me, was a balance board. For those of you that haven’t experienced one of these, a balance board is essentially a piece of wooden board with two guard pieces on either end of the underside. This is to keep it from sliding completely off the wooden cylinder that it is balanced on....
