Physical Therapy Elderly
Exercise And Strength Training Could Improve Physical Decline In Elderly
06/07/10 15:01
ScienceDaily (Oct. 3, 2002) — Physically frail elderly persons who followed a physical therapy program consisting primarily of balance exercise and strength training saw a 45 percent reduction in disability after seven months, Yale researchers report in the October 3 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.
Gill and his team looked at whether activities essential to independent daily living, such as walking, bathing, upper- and lower- body dressing, transferring from a chair, using the toilet, eating and grooming, were improved with either intervention. They developed a disability scale that measured how well each group managed these eight essential activities of daily living. Scores on the scale ranged from zero to 16, with higher scores indicating more severe disability.
"We found that the physical therapy intervention was effective in preventing functional decline, while the control group showed a steady decline over the year," said
Gill. "At seven months, the average disability scores were 2.0 in the physical therapy group and 3.6 in the control group. This reflects a 45 percent reduction in disability for the physical therapy group relative to the control group. These results give weight to the role of 'prehabilitation' or preventive therapy for physically frail elderly persons living at home."
Gill said this kind of program could cut down on nursing home and health care costs for the elderly. There were reductions in nursing home use among the participants in the physical therapy program. They were less likely to be admitted and if they were, spent less time in the nursing home and had fewer fall-related injuries.
See full article here
Gill and his team looked at whether activities essential to independent daily living, such as walking, bathing, upper- and lower- body dressing, transferring from a chair, using the toilet, eating and grooming, were improved with either intervention. They developed a disability scale that measured how well each group managed these eight essential activities of daily living. Scores on the scale ranged from zero to 16, with higher scores indicating more severe disability.
"We found that the physical therapy intervention was effective in preventing functional decline, while the control group showed a steady decline over the year," said
Gill. "At seven months, the average disability scores were 2.0 in the physical therapy group and 3.6 in the control group. This reflects a 45 percent reduction in disability for the physical therapy group relative to the control group. These results give weight to the role of 'prehabilitation' or preventive therapy for physically frail elderly persons living at home."
Gill said this kind of program could cut down on nursing home and health care costs for the elderly. There were reductions in nursing home use among the participants in the physical therapy program. They were less likely to be admitted and if they were, spent less time in the nursing home and had fewer fall-related injuries.
See full article here
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