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Sep 05
2019

Did you know that physical therapy helps you age well? This month is Healthy Aging® month. In honor of that, the staff at Above & Beyond Physical Therapy wants you to know something important. Aging well is an art and physical therapy can help you perfect that art.

There are things that happen to our bodies as we age that we believe and accept as “normal.” However, they don’t have to be. For example, we believe we get weaker as we age. The truth is, you can actually get stronger. Or maybe if you are living with chronic pain, you believe you will always have to live with it. The truth is that might not always be the case.

How Physical Therapy Helps You Age Well: A New Look At Physical Therapy

Physical therapy is often thought of as a rehabilitation measure to help you recover from surgery or after an injury. But looking at physical therapy this way severely limits the scope of the practice. Physical therapy has wide ranging benefits for your overall health and wellness. 

Physical therapy helps you age well when you begin incorporating its principles into your health and wellness routine as a preventative measure. Here’s how.

Get Stronger, Not Weaker As You Age

Your physical therapist can show you progressive resistance training exercises that you can do no matter if you are in your 60s, 70s, 80s or beyond! Resistance training helps to build strength and the exercises will grow progressively more challenging as you gain strength to help you gain even more. Research shows that this helps to protect you from frailty as you age. Despite what anyone else may tell you, it is possible to get stronger, not weaker, as you age.

Keep Your Independence

One of our biggest fears as we age can be losing our independence. Sometimes this happens after a hip fracture following a fall. Not only can physical therapy preventatively help you gain strength, it can also help you improve your balance. A physical therapist can work with you to show you how to improve your balance and reduce your risk of falling as you age.

Prevent Health Complications

Not only can physical therapy help to reduce the risk of falls, but your physical therapist can show you safe and effective ways of exercising as you age. Exercise is an important part of aging as it has been shown to improve bone strength, reduce your risk of osteoporosis, help to prevent cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s, and diabetes. Some exercises can even help reduce bladder leakage.

Physical therapy helps you age well in all of these ways. It also helps to increase range of motion, improve your flexibility, balance, strength, and endurance. For a consultation with a physical therapist in Queen Creek or Phoenix at Above & Beyond Physical Therapy who can tailor a specific program to your needs as you age, contact us today.