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Falls are a common and serious concern for older adults, often leading to fear, reduced physical activity, and a cycle of increased fall risk. At Healthy Aging Physical Therapy, we break this cycle through personalized fall risk assessments, evidence-based interventions like the Otago Balance Program, and home safety evaluations. Our comprehensive approach helps rebuild strength, improve balance, and restore confidence, allowing older adults to maintain independence and reduce the risk of future falls.
Call us at (617) 398-4508 or visit Healthy Aging PT for more information!
Finding time for exercise can be challenging, but adapting the World Health Organization (WHO) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines to fit your lifestyle is key. This guide breaks down how to achieve 150 minutes of aerobic activity and 2-3 days of strength training per week, tailored for various fitness levels. Learn how to integrate balance and flexibility exercises into your routine and discover practical tips for staying active, whether you're just starting out or looking to enhance your current routine. Check out the Move Your Way Activity Planner for a personalized approach, and explore resources like our Club HAPT for strength training and PWR! Moves for Parkinson’s. Start fitting exercise into your week today and enjoy the many benefits of staying active!
In this blog post, we explore the challenges facing Medicare and health insurance reimbursements, particularly in physical therapy and private practices. We delve into how reimbursement rates have steadily decreased over the past 20 years, highlighting key legislative impacts like the Balanced Budget Act of 1997. We explain the importance of offering cash-based services, such as Fitness and Wellness programs, to maintain financial stability and continue providing high-quality care. Learn more about how these services benefit both the practice and patients by allowing for flexibility and long-term health support. Discover why supporting local healthcare providers and understanding the intricacies of Medicare and insurance are crucial in today’s healthcare landscape.
You’ve done it! You started your exercise routine and you’re sticking with it (well, most of the time.) But are you getting the most out of yourself and the full impact that exercise can achieve? In this post, we’ll discuss exercise intensity, and if it’s safe when considering exercise in older adults.
Discover effective strategies to reduce back pain and enhance your quality of life. Learn about common causes such as osteoarthritis and osteoporosis, and find out how aerobic exercise, strength training, and stretching can help alleviate discomfort. Get tips on safe exercise practices, diet, and sleep positions to support a healthy back. Enjoy your favorite activities pain-free with these expert-backed solutions.
Discover effective strategies to reduce back pain and enhance your quality of life. Learn about common causes such as osteoarthritis and osteoporosis, and find out how aerobic exercise, strength training, and stretching can help alleviate discomfort. Get tips on safe exercise practices, diet, and sleep positions to support a healthy back. Enjoy your favorite activities pain-free with these expert-backed solutions.
While it may be ‘hot girl summer’ everywhere else you look, here over at Healthy Aging, we’re entering ‘hot patient summer’ season. Last week, as temperatures climbed, I challenged my Parkinson’s class to a drinking contest - except instead of chugging beers, we tried to finish a bottle of water between exercises. While for most people, summer heat brings thoughts of bathing suits, pool parties and barbeques, for me, and most of my home health colleagues, we go to thoughts of dehydration, low blood pressures and passing out. So, as the summer heat approaches, I want to talk to you today about staying hydrated. Hydration over the summer is crucial for everyone, but especially older adults. Dehydration can lead to serious health complications, but with a few simple strategies, it’s easy to stay hydrated and healthy throughout the season.
Discover the powerful link between exercise and mental health in older adults. Learn how staying active can combat depression and improve overall well-being. Explore effective strategies to incorporate exercise into daily routines for a happier, healthier life.
On August 29th, 2023, my mom developed Covid, had a seizure, and became unresponsive for twenty five minutes. For ten of those, I held her, alone, waiting for the EMTs, and thought she was brain-dead or dying. At one point, she turned blue and I gave her mouth to mouth. I still don’t have the right words to describe quite what it was like, but I can tell you those ten minutes were long enough to go from confusion, to panic, to action, to acceptance. Once the seizure stopped, I just held her and tried to breathe and kept asking her to do the same, telling her over and over ‘you’re okay, mom, I’ve got you, you’re okay, keep breathing.’ I should mention that my mom has had Parkinson’s disease for 20 years, so while considering the inevitability of her mortality is nothing new or shocking to me, I definitely didn’t think it was going to be like this.
Ever wonder how to RETRAIN the BRAIN? Read on learn all about the wonderful world of NEUROPLASTICITY….
Two recent studies came out that I think every Adult over 50 should know about. Read on for a brief review of these two journal articles + 5 simple strategies to improve your daily physical activity level to REDUCE your chance of death and disability from Covid-19.
Believe it or not, I hate discharging patients. It’s always a hard conversation. I become attached. They become attached. Most people feel BETTER after their therapy visits and who would want to stop that? But the truth is, we can’t see you forever (except sometimes, but that’s a story for a different blog post). So, I penned this Dear John letter to put all my feelings into words and let you know what is actually going through our heads when we come to the hard decision that it is time to discharge you from your physical therapy care.
As a ‘Medicare B’ therapy practice, we hear all sorts of crazy myths and misconceptions that often keep people from getting the care they need. Read on to hear about the top 5 Medicare Myths and learn how you can make the most of your Medicare B Therapy Benefit.
Healthy Aging Physical Therapy strives to give people living with Parkinson’s the support they need to better manage their symptoms - at all stages of the disease.
Healthy Aging Physical Therapy strives to give people living with Parkinson’s the support they need to better manage their symptoms - at all stages of the disease.
Lessons learned from Bob Saget and why it’s SO important to tell your doctor when you fall!
If there is one thing we can’t avoid, it’s aging. Every day, every minute, every second…you, me and everyone around us is getting older. Whether you’re 30, 50 or 85, the decisions we make every day contribute to the trajectory of our aging process. While we’re all guilty of trying to find the easy answer, the bad news is that Healthy Aging is a lifestyle, not a magic pill. The good news is that solution is actually pretty simple, and truth be told, you probably already know the answer. And if you don’t…don’t worry, I got you covered:)
Summer came in with a bang this year - a hot bang - and Boston made records for the warmest June on record.
And while summer comes with it’s shares of highs, it also comes with it’s share of lows - Low Blood Pressure, that is!
Here are a couple tips for keeping your blood pressure regulated in the heat:
People often think of physical therapists as the go-to people to treat musculoskeletal pain, but physical therapy has much to offer beyond pain management, especially when it comes to the older adult. Read on for 5 Ways Physical Therapy and Exercise can help you live your best life as you age.
😳Did you know that simply being the SPEED that you walk can predict whether you still stay ACTIVE and INDEPENDENT - or whether you will be at increased risk for FRAILTY and FALLS? In fact, walking speed has been referred to as the ‘6th vital sign’ because it so highly correlated with over function. 🚶♀️🚶♀️🚶♀️
Sometimes the best advice comes from the least expected places. This week, I bring you wise words from my seven year old, as she taught me how to ‘relax’ by dancing on our back deck:
“Let me show you how to be a kid. You just do the things your body tells you to do - the fun things!”
Healthy kids don’t have to set aside time to exercise, because exercise is simply part of their everyday life. They move constantly. They fidget, they chase their friends, they play sports and take gymnastics classes and dance.
As adults, sometimes, we too often stop doing all the ‘fun things’ our body tells us to do. We replace the fun things with work, and stress, and sitting and to-do lists. We have to schedule exercise in, just to get it done.
But what if we started looking at exercise like a kid again?
FAQ: Should I use a Cane or a Walker?
The answer is...it depends! (This is every physical therapist's favorite answer, by the way...)
As a Geriatric Physical Therapist, I spend oodles of time talking about assistive devices. Whether it’s working to wean off of one, or educating my patient on the importance of using one, my day-to-day includes much talk of canes, walkers, wheelchairs and the like. But like most things in PT-world, the who-gets-what assistive device conversation is never black and white, but here are a few things I think about when deciding which assistive device to recommend.
During a library talk last week, I spoke on the topic of Health Literacy. The day I was scheduled to present, I found myself dealing with a real-life example with a patient of why having a good grasp on health literacy is so critical to healthy aging. During our visit, I realized my patient had been taking double the dose of her prescribed medication - not out of any error on her part, but because she had two prescriptions on file for the same medication, one for the generic version, and one for the brand name - and she was unaware they were the same drug. How does this happen? How does it get by so many layers of well-meaning and conscientious health care professionals and hospital settings? Unfortunately, this stuff happens, and happens all too often, because there are a lot of ‘cooks in the kitchen’ and because all of us ‘cooks’ are human and we make mistakes. But this, this is why it is so imperative for you as the consumer, as the patient, to have an adequate level of health literacy - so you can be your own advocate, so you can be on the lookout for these human errors and so you can play an active, instead of passive, role in your own health maintenance.
As you know, I love to counter a question with another question, or in this case, three:
1 ) Have you fallen in the past year?
2) Do you feel unsteady with standing or walking?
3) Do you worry about falling?
If the answer to any of these is yes, research has shown that you are likely at an increased risk for falling. Now while this may seem like a short and sweet, the actual answer is a bit longer and more involved. This is where I come in. When I check to see if a patient of mine is at increased risk of falls, I’m like a detective on a trail. While I may start with these questions, their answers lead me down windy trails where I pick up clues that not only determine IF you are at fall risk, but more importantly, WHY. And it’s the WHY that allows me to help you prevent them. But that’s a story for a different post.
As a geriatric physical therapist, I’ve come to view death not as something to fear, but as a natural part of life. Through meaningful relationships with patients, I’ve learned that life is precious, and our quality of life can change in an instant. This post reflects on how healthcare providers like myself navigate loss, while embracing the importance of kindness, compassion, and living each day with gratitude.