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When should your elderly Mum or Dad see a physiotherapist?

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When should your elderly Mum or Dad see a physiotherapist?
23 JunHealth, Lifestyle

We all want to look after our elderly Mum and/or Dad as they age. For many of us, we’re keen to see them living happy and fulfilled lives, living independently in their own homes for as long as possible.

Having a caring physiotherapist in your corner to help Mum or Dad stay mobile and active is often a good move. The question then becomes: When should a physiotherapist get involved?

There are a number of things to look out for when making this decision. Here are the main ones:

A recent fall, or fear of falling

A fall (or close call) can indicate some weakness or balance issues, and even if they didn’t hurt themselves, it’s important to assess the cause.

Physiotherapists are experts in falls prevention, and can develop an individualised plan to help reduce the risk of future occurrences.

The fear of falls is a valid concern that is quite common among older adults and should not be ignored. Helping to build confidence and developing a falls prevention plan are important steps to take for ongoing safety and maintaining independence.

Here is some further reading on the topic of falls

Following a hospital stay

While often necessary, a hospital stay can cause loss of physical fitness alarmingly quickly, especially for an unplanned surgery such as an emergency hip replacement.

While your Mum or Dad won’t be discharged until the hospital is certain they are heading to a safe environment, people often find it very difficult to manage once they return home.

It’s best to keep a close eye during the weeks following return to home, and if they are struggling, it may be worth engaging a physiotherapist to help. Physiotherapy can even be implemented as part of the discharge planning process while still in hospital and is worth considering to ‘hit the ground running’ when returning to wherever they call home.

Have you heard of ‘prehabilitation‘? If the upcoming hospital stay is a planned event, rehabilitation can start before the actual surgery, with careful preparation and exercises designed to minimise recovery time and maximise functional outcomes.

Trouble with physical tasks or maintaining independence

Movement difficulties can take many forms.

For instance, have you noticed your Mum or Dad having trouble getting their arms into a shirt or doing up their buttons? Perhaps they seem unsteady when bending over or need to hold onto something when retrieving an item off the floor, or maybe they have been avoiding getting glasses down from the top shelf of the cupboard or having trouble hanging out the washing on the line.

Although it might seem natural that tasks get harder to do as we age, it doesn’t necessarily mean we need to give these things up. This is especially important for those meaningful activities which bring them joy, such as gardening, walking with friends, or going out for lunch with family.

Physiotherapists are movement experts, who can assess the reasons why these tasks are challenging, and develop a plan to improve or adapt to the difficulties, with the goal of maintaining meaningful independence for as long as possible.

Pain

Being in pain is never fun and can have a seriously negative effect on mood and the ability and motivation to keep moving.

It can come from specific conditions like osteoarthritis or fibromyalgia, or it can be more general such as chronic lower back pain. It’s usually best to keep moving even though it might feel uncomfortable, and physiotherapists can help you do this safely while working around any other medical considerations. They can also help provide some insight into the different types of pain and carry a wide range of pain management tools and strategies.

Read our helpful tips to help lower back pain for seniors.

Preventative Fitness

It doesn’t have to all be doom and gloom; maybe your parents are doing absolutely great and you (and they) want to keep it that way! The old saying “prevention is always better than a cure” certainly holds true in this case.

Physiotherapists can work at any level of physical function, from couch potatoes to marathon runners, and help you work towards whatever your strength, endurance, balance, or flexibility goals may be.

Want to better understand the preventative health benefits for an ageing population? Check out this article.

If you notice your Mum or Dad exhibiting one or more of these aspects, or if something just doesn’t quite feel right, it’s worth having a physiotherapist carry out an assessment so you and your parents can be fully informed of their options.

If you’d like to set up an assessment or discuss further, please call one of our qualified physiotherapists on The Physio Co’s Client Care team on 1300 797 793.

(Article written by TPC physiotherapist, Jarrod Kohlhagen)

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REFERENCES:

Prehabilitation Effectiveness for Total Hip Replacement:

Widmer P, Oesch P, Bachmann S. Effect of Prehabilitation in Form of Exercise and/or Education in Patients Undergoing Total Hip Arthroplasty on Postoperative Outcomes-A Systematic Review. Medicina (Kaunas). 2022 May 30;58(6):742. doi: 10.3390/medicina58060742. PMID: 35744005; PMCID: PMC9228426.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9228426/

 

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The Physio Co Cancellation Policy is as follows:

We require 3 hours notice otherwise the session will be charged at full cost. If the client cancels within 24 hours, the appointment will be charged at half price. Anything after 24 hours, there will be no charge. Medical reasons are of course exempt from the above, as long as we have been made aware one hour prior to the appointment. If you are ever unsure, please call the client care team at 1300 797 793.

DIRECT DEBIT REQUEST SERVICE AGREEMENT
COMPANY NAME: THE PHYSIO CO AUSTRALIA PTY LTD
ADDRESS: 25 DORCAS STREET, SOUTH MELBOURNE, VIC, 3205
CONTACT DETAILS: 1300 797 793

This is Your Direct Debit Service Agreement with THE PHYSIO CO AUSTRALIA PTY LTD (ABN: 54120918854). It explains what Your obligations are when undertaking a Direct Debit arrangement with us It also details what our obligations are to You as Your Direct Debit provider. Please keep this agreement for future reference. It forms part of the terms and conditions of Your Direct Debit Request (DDR) and should be read in conjunction With Your DDR authorisation.

Definitions

account means the account held at Your financial institution from which we are authorised to arrange for funds to be debited
agreement means this ment Agreement between You and us.
banking day means a day other than a Saturday or a Sunday or a public holiday listed throughout Australia.
debit day means the day that payment by You to us is due.
debit payment means a particular transaction where a debit is made.
direct debit request means the Direct Debit Request between us and You,
us or we means THE PHYSIO C0 AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, (the Debit User) You have authorised by requesting a Direct Debit Request.
You means the customer who has signed or authorised by other means the Direct Debit Request
Your financial institution means the financial institution nominated by You on the DDR at which the account is maintained

  1. Debiting Your account
    1. By signing a Direct Debit Request or by providing us with a valid instruction, You have authorised us to arrange for funds to be debited from Your account, You should refer to the Direct Debit Request and this agreement for the terms of the arrangement between us and You.
    2. We will only arrange for funds to be debited from Your account as authorised in the Direct Debit Request.
      Or
      We will only arrange for funds to be debited from Your account if we have sent to the address nominated by You in the Direct Debit Request, a billing advice which specifies the amount payable by You to us and when it is due,
    3. If the debit day falls on a day that is not a banking day, we may direct Your financial institution to debit Your account on the followrng banking day. If You are unsure about which day Your account has or will be debited You should ask Your financial institution.
  2. Amendments by us
    1. We may vary any details of this agreement or a Direct Debit Request at any time by giving You at least fourteen (14) days written notice
  3. Amendments by You
    You may change* , stop or defer a debit payment, or terminate this agreement by providing us with at least 30 days notification by writing to-
    THE PHYSIO CO AUSTRALIA PTY LTD
    25 DORCAS STREET, SOUTH MELBOURNE, VIC, 3205
    Or
    by telephoning us on 1300 797 793 during business hours;
    Or
    arranging it through Your own financial institution, which is required to act promptly on Your instructions.
    *Note: in relation to the above reference to ‘change’, Your financial institution may ‘change’ Your debit payment only to the extent of advising us THE PHYSIO CO AUSTRALIA PTY LTD of Your new account details.
  4. Your obligations
    1. It is Your responsibility to ensure that there are sufficient clear funds available in Your account to allow a debit payment to be made in accordance with the Direct Debit Request.
    2. If there are insufficient clear funds in Your account to meet a debit payment:
      • You may be charged a fee and/or interest by Your financial institution;
      • You may also incur fees or charges imposed or incurred by us, and
      • You must arrange for the debit payment to be made by another method or arrange for sufficient clear funds to be in Your account by an agreed time so that we can process the debit payment.
    3. You should check Your account statement to verify that the amounts debited from Your account are correct
  5. Dispute
    1. If You believe that there has been an error in debiting Your account, You should notify us directly on 1300 797 793 and confirm that notice in writing with us as soon as possible so that we can resolve Your query more quickly, Alternatively You can take it up directly With Your financial institution.
    2. If we conclude as a result of our investigations that Your account has been incorrectly debited we Will respond to Your query by arranging for Your financial institution to adjust Your account (including interest and charges) accordingly. We Will also notify You in writing of the amount by which Your account has been adjusted
    3. If we conclude as a result of our investigations that Your account has not been incorrectly debited we Will respond to Your query by providing You with reasons and any evidence for this finding in writing.
  6. Accounts
    You should check:
    • with Your financial institution whether direct debiting is available from Your account as direct debiting is not available on all accounts offered by financial institutions.
    • Your account details which You have provided to us are correct by checking the against a recent account statement,- and
    • with Your financial institution before completing the Direct Debit Request if You have any queries about how to complete the Direct Debit Request.
  7. Confidentiality
    1. We will keep any information (including Your account details) in Your Direct Debit Request confidential. We will make reasonable efforts to keep any such information that we have about You secure and to ensure that any of our employees or agents who have access to information about You do not make any unauthorised use, modification, reproduction or disclosure of that information.
    2. We will only disclose information that we have about You:
      • to the extent specifically required by law; or
      • for the purposes of this agreement (including disclosing information in connection with any query or claim).
  8. Notice
    1. If You Wish to notify us in writing about anything relating to this agreement, You should write to
      THE PHYSIO CO AUSTRALIA PTY LTD
      25 DORCAS STREET, SOUTH MELBOURNE, VIC, 3205
    2. We Will notify You by sending a notice in the ordinary post to the address You have given us in the Direct Debit Request.
    3. Any notice will be deemed to have been received on the third banking day after posting.

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