As we age, we face many physical and emotional changes that can affect our level of function and well-being. Our baby-boomer population is aging, and people are living longer. We must maintain functional independence in the elderly and address the needs of our older generation. Rehabilitation of geriatric patients is imperative for the patients' well-being and for society, so that we can thrive socially and economically.
The Benefits of Geriatric Rehab at Peak Performance
- Finding ways to control your blood pressure better
- Enhancing the strength of your muscles
- Improving your ability to balance yourself
- Helping you to avoid conditions like osteoporosis
Why Geriatric Rehablitation ?
Geriatric rehabilitation covers three areas – normal aging due to disuse and deconditioning, cardiovascular problems like vascular disease and stroke, and skeletal problems including osteoporosis and osteoarthritis conditions such as knee and hip replacements. Physical medicine physicians use rehabilitation to work toward the goal of returning the patient to a pre-injury quality of life and may use physical, occupational, and speech therapies
With increased age, patients often face many physical and emotional changes that can affect level of function and well-being. Rehabilitation maintains functional independence in the elderly. Rehabilitation of geriatric patients is imperative for the patients' well-being and for society, so that we can thrive socially and economically. Essential to geriatric rehabilitation is communication, specifically improving any sensory impairment, including those related to vision and hearing. The prevention of falls and osteoporosis can improve the patient's health and longevity. Addressing malnutrition can promote healing and vitalize the patient to participate in a formal rehabilitation program. Depression is common in the older population if a functional loss of mobility and an inability to perform activities of daily living (ADLs) predominates. Cognitive impairment, such as delirium and dementia, can affect the patient's rehabilitation goals and outcomes. Finally, a driver's evaluation for an appropriate elderly candidate is an underutilized part of rehabilitation that has a considerable impact on society.
Geriatric rehabilitation also have a role in intermediate care, where patients are referred by a hospital or family doctor, when there is a requirement to provide hospital based short term intensive physical therapy aimed at the recovery of musculoskeletal function, particularly recovery from joint, tendon, or ligament repair and, or, physical medicine and rehabilitation care when elderly patients get out of sync with their medication resulting in a deterioration of their personal health which reduces their ability to live independently.
Finally, geriatric rehabilitation has a large influence on the growing life expectancy around the globe. The American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) surveyed 556 adults over 65 years old in order to gain an understanding on the factors that affect adherence to an exercise program. Adherence to an exercise program influences frailty, speed, ability to live independently, and best of all, life expectancy. The study compared two factors: exercise barriers and motivation. The study concluded that exercise barriers play the largest role in determining adherence to a home exercise program (HEP). According to APTA, motivators include self-efficacy, the ability to control behavior, and outcome expectation, the belief that consequences follow certain actions. APTA describes barriers as: insufficient time, lack of social support, no place to exercise, limited finances, no transportation, and the fear of falling. Researchers recently found that depression, stress levels, increased age, decreased health status and lack of pleasure while exercising contribute to exercise adherence.
When is a geriatric evaluation and management assessment appropriate?
A geriatric evaluation and management assessment is advised if you are concerned about your loved one's ability to live independently or if the person is experiencing any combination of the following symptoms:
- Multiple health problems
- Confusion or memory loss
- Behavioral changes, including sadness, depression or anxiety
- Difficulty performing daily activities
- Balance and walking problems
- Weakness, caused by deconditioning of the muscles or other health problems
- Nutritional concerns, including unexplained weight loss
- Problems related to the use of multiple medications, including dizziness or falls
- Uncertainty about the person's ability to live independently.
UNDERSTANDING AGING AND GERIATRIC ISSUES
While some adults may approach their "Golden Years" eagerly, anticipating retirement, grandchildren, or simply a new phase of life, others may dread the physical and mental effects of aging. It may be difficult for some adults to face the transition to retirement, deal with new frailty or medical conditions, or find enjoyable, meaningful activities if they do experience physical challenges that limit their mobility. It may also be difficult for some older adults to face mortality, especially when friends, peers, or spouses and partners pass on, and they may come to experience isolation in the wake of many such deaths. Older adults may also find it challenging to attend to basic needs in the presence of Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia, which affect approximately one in ten Americans of retirement age.
Ageism, or discrimination based on a person's age, may also affect some older adults, and this practice may lead to forced retirement or cause well-intentioned loved ones to ignore an older adult's desires or opinions. According to a United Nations Population Survey, 37% of adults over the age of 60 reported experiencing age discrimination in the last year, and 43% were afraid of personal violence. Only 49% of these adults reported being treated with respect, which indicates that just over half of the adults surveyed had experienced instances of disrespect. Further, more than half of adults over the age of 60 found it difficult to pay for basic services, 66% wished they had an opportunity to work, and 47% worried "always" or "very often" about money.
MEDICAL ISSUES OF AGING
One of the challenges older adults may experience is distinguishing the normal effects of advancing age from signs of actual physical or mental illness. Many people over the age of 65 continue to live happy and healthy independent lives. Most older adults will experience some changes in cognition, but this is a normal part of the aging process. Researchers have found that healthy older adults often experience mild decline in the areas of:
-
visual and verbal memory
- visuospatial abilities
- immediate memory, or the ability to name objects
- hearing and vision
- bodily strength
- appetite and energy level
A health care professional can help older adults become accustomed to these kinds of changes and distinguish them from a serious health condition such as Alzheimer’s disease or Parkinson’s disease (a referral to a psychiatrist or internist may be necessary).
Those who spend time with or care for older adults can help reduce the impact of these issues by using certain strategies to allow for varying degrees of impairment. Caregivers and family members might, for example, use plain language and focus on important details rather than unnecessary information, clearly communicate directions and use written reminders as memory aids, provide written information in an easy-to-read format and consider providing an audio format when necessary, and speak clearly and face to face.
Older adults who experience some limitations on their activity and abilities due to aging are often able to adapt to these changes and continue their lives in the manner they wish, occasionally with some type of assistance or accommodations.
COGNITIVE AND MENTAL HEALTH CONCERNS
Older adults often experience mild mental decline as they grow older, but some adults may be affected by dementia, which can lead to significant impairment in function and may influence the development of conditions such as depression, paranoia, and anxiety. Alzheimer's, a progressive condition that also impacts memory and mental function, is the most common form of dementia and is the cause of 50 to 80% of all cases of dementia in the United States.
Statistics show that about 15% of adults over the age of 60 have a mental health condition. Mental health concerns often experienced by older adults include:
- Anxiety, which affects 6% of older adults
- Sexual dysfunction and sleep problems. The likelihood of either of these conditions increases with age.
- Depression, which occurs in approximately 7% of the older adult population and is often undiagnosed and untreated. Older adults who live in a community have been shown to experience depression at lower rates than younger adults, however.
- Behavioral concerns, such as aggression, motor overactivity or wandering, and verbal outbursts. These are often caused by delirium, depression, or dementia.
- High suicide rates. Older adults experience the highest suicide rate of any age group.
- Alcohol and substance dependency. 2-5% of men and 1% of women over the age of 65 are dependent on drugs or alcohol, but the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration reports that by 2020, half of all Americans between the ages of 50 and 70 will be at high risk of alcohol and marijuana dependency, compared to fewer than 9% of all Americans in 1999.
THERAPY FOR GERIATRIC ISSUES
Therapy can help older adults who may have difficulty with the transitions of aging to manage their emotions, find new sources of enjoyment and meaning, and find new support systems. It can help people face their fears of death, if they have such fears, and deal with grief as friends and family members pass on. Family or individual therapy can also assist family members who may be caretakers of their elder relatives, as it can assist them in dealing with their emotions, communication issues—which may be especially helpful if an elder has some form of dementia—and community resources. Possible diagnoses associated with aging might be include depression or anxiety. Dementia is technically a medical diagnosis rather than a mental one, but therapeutic treatment may be able to help treat some of the symptoms associated with dementia.
Many older adults also enter therapy to seek treatment for mental health issues not related to aging, in higher numbers than they did in the past. This appears to be due to the fact that attitudes pertaining to mental health issues have begun to change as awareness increases. Many older adults grew up in a time when mental illness was stigmatized and when all mental issues faced by seniors were written off as aging or dementia. But now, therapy is considered by many older adults as a form of treatment, and research shows that seniors are often more serious about therapy, realizing that their time is limited, and that they tend to obtain results more quickly than younger people do. In therapy, seniors may address issues from childhood or early adulthood; current life adjustments; and issues such as stress, anxiety, depression, or family concerns, among others.
Older adults may also be more likely to enter therapy late in life now than they were in the past simply because people live longer now than they did previously. A person who is 60 years of age is likely to have 15 or 20 years remaining in life, and the transitory period that occurs for many at this stage may begin a process of reflection that leads many older adults to seek therapy.
PROMOTING THE HEALTH OF OLDER ADULTS
Encouraging active and healthy aging may improve the mental health of older adults. Security and social support, adequate training for geriatric care professionals, promotion of good mental and physical health, and community programs may all help meet the needs of the elder population. Family and caregiver support and informed and compassionate care, when offered rather than forced on an individual, can also help older adults maintain their independence with the knowledge that help is available if needed.
Myths about older adults that depict them as individuals who experience frailty, loneliness, cognitive impairment, and frequent irritability often contribute to the belief that older adults cannot make decisions for themselves and should not be allowed their freedom when they reach a particular age. Many older adults are able to live independently, experience only a slight decline in cognitive abilities, and do not experience personality changes as they grow older.