Elderly and Geriatric Physiotherapy

Physiotherapy for geriatric and elderly patients is very important and allows for older adults to stay or become comfortable, pain free, and independent. Getting older doesn’t mean you have to stop exercising. Physiotherapy focuses on building strength, balance, and flexibility and can be tailored to your individual needs. The main goal is to help optimise your function, make everyday tasks easier,  and prevent further problems later in life.

As you get older your body can change. Your bones tend to shrink and become less dense, and muscles lose strength, endurance, and flexibility. All of which affects your coordination, stability, and balance. Your blood vessels can also stiffen making you more prone to high blood pressure or heart conditions. You may also notice changes in your memory and/or thinking skills. Exercise can help you combat all the above as it has been shown to improve cognitive performance, prevent osteoporosis and osteopenia, slow the weakening of muscle fibres, improve cardiovascular health, balance, coordination, and help prevent falls. It can even help with constipation, increasing your metabolism, and sexual performance.

Your specific exercise program could include a range of exercises. It could be as simple as standing on one leg to improve your balance or sitting down into a chair and standing back up again to strengthen your legs and core. We can also customise a walking program for you, teach you how to use your walker or stick, or help with strategies that make getting in and out of bed easier. It is adaptable to your needs, and goals.

Here at Ballsbridge Physiotherapy in Dublin 4, our physiotherapists can meet with you individually to listen to your goals and customise an exercise program dedicated to what you want and need to work on. They also have extensive experience working with conditions like dementia, frailty, fractures, osteoporosis, arthritis, Stroke, and Parkinson’s. These assessments can be done in clinic, or in the comfort of your own home with a home visit. We also offer our Stronger for Longer Classes in person at the clinic completing circuits that include aerobic exercise, strength training, balance work and stretching. If you are interested in any of this, give us a call today!