Have you ever felt dizzy for long periods of time or felt unstable when getting up from a chair or walking? If you said yes, then you’ve likely experienced some type of balance issue.
Unfortunately, there are seniors who experience those types of symptoms every day. One group of medical researchers found that 36% of women and 29% of men over 70 have a balance problem.
There are many reasons why improving balance is so important for seniors, and physical therapists can help educate you about some of these reasons. These medical professionals can also help seniors find effective ways to improve their balance.
Three why improving balance is important for seniors:
- Maintaining independence — When we’re kids, we need a lot of help to do even basic tasks like getting dressed. As we get older, we’re able to do more and more things on our own, and this ability helps create a sense of independence. However, balance issues can make it harder for older people to do normal daily tasks.
In turn, this decrease in their abilities to do things for themselves can cause them to feel less independent. Physical therapists can build therapy plans that can improve older people’s balance. They can help them maintain a greater sense of independence, too.
- Reducing fall injuries — Unfortunately, older people who have balance issues are more likely to fall. In addition, seniors should be more concerned about injuring themselves during a fall. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that emergency rooms see 3 million older people with fall injuries each year.
Fortunately, balance training from a physical therapist can help keep you from being a part of this statistic. One balance training study found that it helped reduce the number of falls leading to serious injuries by 43%.
- Keeping medical costs low — The medical costs for treating fall injuries is staggering. The CDC reports that fall treatment cost more than $50 billion total in 2015. They also reveal that Medicare and Medicaid only covered 75% of these costs. Physical therapy can help seniors avoid high medical costs. In this case, they can do so by improving balance for seniors, which can help them avoid costly fall injuries.
SOL PT is here to help seniors improve their balance
Are you a senior citizen who wants to find out if physical therapy can help improve your balance? Our team at SOL Physical Therapy is ready to help you meet this crucial goal. Our specialists can identify your balance issues during a comprehensive screening. Additionally, we’re adept at creating personalized balance therapy plans designed to offer all the benefits above and more.
Contact our team today for more information about how we can assist people with balance problems or to schedule an initial appointment.
