Healthy Aging Physical Therapy Blog Summaries

Feeling dizzy? You’re not alone—and you don’t have to live with it. Learn how at-home vestibular therapy can help treat vertigo, prevent falls, and restore your confidence. Backed by research and delivered by certified experts, Healthy Aging Physical Therapy brings dizziness relief to your doorstep.

Friendship isn’t just good for the soul — it’s essential for healthy aging. Discover the surprising science behind socialization, its impact on your brain, body, and heart, and why nurturing connection is one of the most powerful ways to thrive at any age.

"At Healthy Aging Physical Therapy, we don’t just work alongside each other—we work with each other. From co-treating and skill-sharing to supporting one another through challenges, our culture is built on trust, collaboration, and a deep commitment to our patients. Because behind every 1:1 patient session, there’s an entire team working together to make it a success. And that’s what makes all the difference."

Feeling stuck in your health, habits, or life? It’s time to PIVOT! Inspired by the iconic Friends scene, this post explores how small, intentional shifts can create lasting change—whether in fitness, nutrition, mindset, or therapy. Learn how modern physical and occupational therapy has evolved from passive treatments to patient-driven care, backed by science like the OPTIMAL Theory. At Healthy Aging Physical Therapy, we help patients make meaningful changes by setting personalized goals, overcoming barriers, and embracing movement as medicine. You don’t have to climb the whole staircase - just take the next step.

Discover the options, coverage, and process involved in selecting the right wheelchair. From custom manual and power wheelchairs to scooters, learn how a well-matched chair can improve mobility, independence, and quality of life. Healthy Aging Physical Therapy offers in-home assessments to ensure your wheelchair fits your unique needs and living environment. Contact us today to start your journey to enhanced mobility!

Looking for a rewarding career in healthcare? Healthy Aging Physical Therapy is hiring Physical Therapists, Occupational Therapists, Personal Trainers, and Massage Therapists in the Medford/Melrose/Stoneham area. We offer a sustainable, therapist-first environment with flexible scheduling, streamlined documentation, profit-sharing, and collaborative team culture. Join us to thrive in your career and make a real impact on patients’ lives! Apply now to be part of our innovative and supportive practice."

"Discover five powerful lessons from Katie Wadland’s experience in the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program. From financial confidence to leadership growth, learn how this tuition-free, application-based program helped her transform Healthy Aging Physical Therapy into a thriving business. Explore key insights on entrepreneurship, mentorship, and navigating healthcare challenges. Read more and get inspired for your own business journey!"

Boost Your Brain Health with These 6 Proven Steps

Discover how to maintain cognitive fitness and build your brain’s resilience with actionable steps backed by science. Learn how exercise, nutrition, quality sleep, stress management, social connections, and lifelong learning can enhance cognitive reserve and support healthy aging. Start your journey to better brain health today with these expert tips and the Wellness365 program.

"Discover how simple, consistent actions like deep breathing, walking outdoors, or practicing yoga can transform your well-being. Start small, build one habit at a time, and watch your nervous system thrive. Learn more about creating space in your cup for life's challenges."

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.

May Staff Meeting Update

How to AVOID Falling on the Ice this Winter

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:)

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.

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.

I’ve gone back and forth what to post all day. Do I do the thing ‘I’m supposed to do’ and post a nice ‘Happy New Year you graphic? Do I write about how guilty I feel thinking about expressing gratitude to have made it through this year relatively scratch-free, when I’ve seen so many friends struggle with loss this year? Do I sit back and make Big Goals and Resolutions then share them with the world? (The possibilities are endless..)

Guys I have a confession to make…

I haven’t been to the dentist in over a year. Between Covid-related closures and life, it just didn’t happen. But I went this morning, and am so glad I did. And it got me thinking about a few things.

Part III, and my favorite part to write, reviews the concrete steps we can take to prevent pulmonary disease and slow age-related changes to the lungs.

Osteoporosis is a disorder of progressive bone loss. While all bones normally cycle through a series of bone degradation (resorption) and new bone creation (deposition), bone loss occurs when the rate of bone resorption becomes faster than the rate of bone deposition. While we all experience age-related bone loss beginning around age 35, bone tissue deterioration can become pathological when it progresses < 1 ‘standard deviation’ (SD) from normal. Osteopenia is defined as between 1-1.25 SD below normal or a T score (measure of bone density) between -1 to 1.25. Osteoporosis is defined when bone density drops 2.5 SD or more below normal, or T score falls below - 2.5. Symptoms of low bone density typically include increased risk of fracture, increased thoracic kyphosis and pain. Osteoporosis can impact breathing and digestion if/when structural changes affect posture and spinal structure. Women are at higher risk for bone loss than men; women are 8x more likely to experience Type I osteoporosis(postmenopausal and related to loss of estrogen), and 2x more likely to experience type II (senile osteoporosis that occurs after 70 years old).

With my goal of promotion of healthy aging for the patients I treat, I also think it's important to share information on a larger scale. Each Tuesday, I will review either new literature or established best-practice standards that address the best treatment for a particular disease, disorder or dysfunction. To kick things off, I choose a problem I'd be willing to bet we've all experienced a time or two....Low Back Pain.

I had the opportunity to sit in on a Michael J Fox Foundation research update this week, presented by Rachel Bulmer and Melanie Demakis, and wanted to share some updates with you that they shared with us. For those of you unfamiliar with the Michael J. Fox Foundation, they provide financial support to researchers working not only to advance the treatment of Parkinson’s Disease, but to find a cure.

Curious how you stack up against the competition or just want to find out if there are areas you could improve on. Sign up for a HAE Senior Fitness Assessment. On the day of your assessment, I will meet with you in your home to discuss your goals, your health history and will perform a thorough physical fitness assessment that day. Here are some of the areas I will be assessing:

Fortunately, about 80% of people who get Covid-19 will experience only mild symptoms. However, the other 20% can experience more severe symptoms and 5% may experience critical illness as a result. Recovery from moderate to severe Covid-19 can take weeks, months or longer. Generally, the longer you were in the hospital, ICU or on a mechanical ventilator, the longer you may experience residual effects, and the more protracted your recovery may be. The APTA has provided physical therapists with a wonderful resource, the PACER series (Post-Acute Covid-19 Exercise and Rehabilitation project) to help us best prepare to care for patients as they recover from Covid-10 and I have pulled together some of the most relevant information I learned from this course here for you. If you contracted Covid-19, and still don’t feel yourself despite the ‘all-clear’ of a negative test, here are some things you may be experiencing, and some information on how Physical Therapy can help you continue along the recovery process.

In part III of the Cardiovascular system series, I want to look at the ways we can prevent or manage cardiovascular disease. But first, a few facts and figures:

Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women, and across most ethnic and racial groups in the United States; 1 in 4 deaths is attributed to heart disease in America. Coronary Artery Disease is the most common type of cardiovascular disease and nearly 7% of adults over 20 are living with CAD.

The greatest risk factors for developing heart disease are high blood pressure, high cholesterol and smoking.

Other lifestyle factors that increase risk of developing heart disease include being overweight and obese, eating an unhealthy diet, being physically inactive and drinking excessive amounts of alcohol. Diabetes is another risk factor, and while not technically a lifestyle choice, risk of diabetes is modifiable through lifestyle modification.

Since Covid-19, like many of us, I’ve had lots of time to think. And what I started to find myself thinking about, is what it would look like if I could practice physical therapy the way I wanted to do it - without any corporate oversight or pressure to take more patients or schedules or guidelines or the rest of the ‘stuff’ that comes with being an employee. What would it look like if it was just me, and my patient, working together to meet their goals? During this exercise, I started to reflect on what I’ve learned in the past twelve years since PT school and how it impacts the way I practice. What I’ve come up with is the following - a list of ten insights I’ve gained about the provision of physical therapy that influence how I treat every day. The punchline? Not one of them has to do with exercises, range of motion or any of the other skills we had to master to become PTs.