Treatments for seniors are not only spa treatments. When, after the age of 65, we feel a deterioration in he alth - firstly due to developing chronic diseases, secondly due to the declining ability to regenerate the body with age - daily rehabilitation - movement, group activities or interest workshops comes to the rescue.

The organism of an elderly person can no longer recreate its abilities, functions that it has lost as a result of, for example, an injury. The older we are, the worse the body's repair processes are. Therefore, in the rehabilitation of seniors, the most important thing is to prevent injuries and the resulting disabilities.

Contents :

  1. Treatments for seniors: fitness assessment
  2. Treatments for seniors: group classes
  3. Treatments for seniors: daily exercise
  4. Treatments for the elderly: fall protection
  5. Treatments for seniors: home rehabilitation

Treatments for seniors: fitness assessment

Two scales are used to assess the fitness of older people:

  • The first is a scale of basic activities, such as self-dressing, moving around, eating a meal, using the toilet or checking the sphincters.
  • The second is a complex scale of everyday activities, i.e. the ability to pay bills, use the telephone, go shopping, prepare a meal, use money.

Another form of performance assessment in geriatrics is to describe a condition known as fragility syndrome. It is a state of transformation of a given person from an able and independent person into a disabled person requiring care.

Brittleness syndrome is characterized by unplanned weight loss, which is very often related to malnutrition, constant fatigue, unjustified weakness (assessed by a handshake), slow pace of movement and little physical activity, i.e. performing only the necessary activities, e.g. I get up when it is necessary to go to the bathroom. If we observe three of the five conditions mentioned in a senior, we can talk about the brittleness syndrome.

Read more: Weakness syndrome: what is it? Causes and Symptoms

Treatments for seniors: group classes

Loneliness, lack of interest on the part of loved ones is often the reason why older people isolate themselves from the environment.If depression is accompanied by symptoms resulting from degenerative changes in the joints, cardiovascular diseases or other physical ailments, many seniors quickly withdraw from active life and become disabled people.

Therefore, in order to break the unfavorable sequence of events, doctors refer seniors to group rehabilitation. In addition to gentle physical exercises, there are workshops developing interests, learning proper nutrition, reading together, singing - classes that allow you to identify with the group and get out of the already mentioned fragility syndrome.

But you should always bear in mind that the cause of a senior's malaise or isolation from the environment may be, for example, untreated diseases or interactions between drugs prescribed by different doctors.

Treatments for seniors: daily exercise

Older people who want to stay fit for as long as possible should exercise at least twice a week for 20 minutes. Training should consist of exercises that improve muscle strength. All you need is a chair and two half-liter bottles filled with water.

We sit down on a chair and, holding the bottles in our hands, raise our arms up. Then we improve the joints of the hands, shoulders and the entire spine. Stretching exercises are equally important. Even simple stretching, stretching the muscles of your arms or legs will bring good results.

Treatments for the elderly: fall protection

Strengthening the muscles, choosing the right cane or crutch, but also comfortable shoes or home slippers is primarily to prevent falls. Medical statistics show that 30% of people over the age of 65 fall twice a year, resulting in bone fractures, especially of the limbs and the neck of the femur. There are many reasons for the falls.

From muscle weakness, dizziness, visual disturbances, through prolonged reaction time to a threat, taken medications, to a cluttered apartment or insufficient lighting in a room.

The first fall is often only minor injuries or bruises, but may end with a post-traumatic syndrome, i.e. fear of another fall. The patient stands up or moves when necessary, which, paradoxically, increases the risk of falls due to limited physical activity.

Treatments for seniors: home rehabilitation

Falls after the age of 65 are the seventh cause of death. That is why it is worth using the rehabilitation that the doctor can provide at the patient's home. According to the rules. NFZ such rehabilitation may take place throughout the year, twice a week. On other days, the patient shouldpractice alone or with the help of a tutor.

But the condition for ensuring the safety of the senior at home is removing unnecessary rugs from the floor or placing them on non-slip mats. It is necessary to equip the bathroom with handles that make it easier to get up from the toilet. It is also best to replace the bathtub with a low paddling pool, which is easier to enter, and place a non-slip mat and a chair (on rubber legs or screwed to the wall) so that the senior can sit during the bath.

Who issues the referral

Rehabilitation at home includes medical advice and physiotherapy treatments for various groups of patients, which is regulated by the Regulation of the Minister of He alth of November 6, 2013 (Journal of Laws of December 12, 2013). A referral can be issued by a he alth insurance doctor - a specialist in the field of: medical rehabilitation, balneology and physical medicine, rheumatology, neurology, orthopedics and traumatology, and a family doctor.

Category:

Geriatrics