Mangiarelli Rehabilitation Physical Therapy Blog
Physical Therapy’s Role in Osteoporosis Management
Osteoporosis is a bone disease that causes decreased bone mineral density and changes in bone structure, leading to bones that are thin, porous, and brittle, and more susceptible to fractures. Factors, such as hormonal changes, nutritional deficiencies, a sedentary lifestyle, family history, and certain medications and diseases, can contribute to the development of osteoporosis. Physical therapy plays a critical role in managing osteoporosis, helping those with osteoporosis maintain and build bone density through a customized exercise program.
Frailty Syndrome: How Physical Therapy Can Help [Infographic]
Frailty is a common syndrome among older adults that involves loss of muscle strength, exhaustion, low levels of physical activity, and an increased risk of falling. Inactivity and the subsequent sarcopenia, or a decrease in the amount and quality of muscle, is a major cause of frailty in older adults. Physical therapy can play a critical role in helping those with frailty restore overall mobility, strength, and aerobic capacity through a customized therapeutic exercise, strengthening, and balance training program. Check out our infographic on how physical therapy can help address frailty syndrome to learn more!
February 2024 Newsletter
Check out our February 2024 Newsletter, highlighting: the importance of balance training to prevent falls in older adults, addressing ski-related MCL injuries with physical therapy, hamstring injury treatment, and physical therapy for Lisfranc injury.
The Importance of Balance Training to Prevent Falls in Older Adults
Maintaining and improving balance is critical as you age to prevent falls. Aging can contribute to visual, vestibular, and muscular weakness issues that can negatively impact your ability to maintain balance and lead to a fall. Each year, nearly 25% of older adults fall. Physical therapists can play a critical role in preventing falls and improving balance, function, and strength in older adults through a personalized fall prevention balance training program. A balance training program for older adults has been shown to reduce the risk of falls by 23% and enhance older adults’ independence and mobility.
Managing Osteoporosis with Physical Therapy
Osteoporosis is a bone disease characterized by low bone mineral density, decreased bone strength, and changes in bone structure that causes thin, brittle bones and an increased risk of bone fractures. Physical therapy plays a critical role in managing osteoporosis, helping those with osteoporosis maintain and build bone density through a customized therapeutic exercise program. Research has shown that aerobic and resistance exercise effectively stimulate bone osteogenesis in osteoporosis patients, improving bone density and reducing fall risk.
August 2023 Newsletter
Check out our August 2023 Newsletter, highlighting physical therapy for rotator cuff tears, best exercise to address ankle stiffness, physical therapy for vertigo, and aquatic therapy balance training.
Aquatic Therapy Balance Training
Mangiarelli Rehabilitation physical therapy assistant and aquatic therapist Sue demonstrates several exercises you can do to improve your balance through exercising in our warm water therapeutic pool. Improving balance and stability is a key goal of aquatic therapy. Aquatic therapy utilizes the physical properties of water to help patients heal and regain strength, balance, and function without placing unnecessary pressure on healing joints in a safe environment.
Physical Therapy Vertigo Treatment
Vertigo can dramatically affect your quality of life and ability to perform daily activities. Vertigo involves a false sense of motion, a sensation in which the individual feels that they or their environment is spinning even when sitting or standing still. Physical therapy can reduce and eliminate the symptoms of vertigo, assess and treat the underlying cause of vertigo, retrain the brain to adapt to vestibular dysfunctions and help individuals regain balance and coordination safely.
July 2023 Newsletter
Check out our July 2023 Newsletter, highlighting improving your golf swing with the Golf Forever tool, dynamic balance training, physical therapy for foot drop, and physical therapy management for scoliosis.
Using the GolfForever Swing Trainer to Improve Your Golf Swing
Mangiarelli Rehabilitation physical therapist Bobby demonstrates the variety of ways we utilize the Golf Forever Swing Training Tool in our clinic to improve your golf swing. The golf swing is one of the most dynamic motions in sports, requiring coordinated loading and the generation of power and force throughout the kinetic chain. Physical therapy can help golfers improve their golf swing by enhancing agility and power for longer drives, improving mobility and flexibility in the hips and shoulders and dynamic balance, and enhancing core strength and neuromuscular control for a powerful, controlled, and accurate golf swing.
Addressing Gait Dysfunction with Physical Therapy
Mangiarelli Rehabilitation physical therapist Bobby demonstrates several gait training exercises to address gait dysfunction after a lower extremity knee injury. Gait dysfunction refers to changes in your normal walking pattern, often related to a lower extremity injury, disease, or underlying medical condition. Physical therapists are experts at addressing the root cause of your gait dysfunction and designing customized treatments to restore your gait and improve your function.
Physical Therapy to Address Frailty in the Older Population
Frailty is a common syndrome among older adults that involves loss of muscle strength, exhaustion, low levels of physical activity, and increased risk of falling. Inactivity and the subsequent sarcopenia, or a decrease in the amount and quality of muscle, is a major cause of frailty in older adults. Physical therapy can help those with frailty restore overall mobility, strength, and cardiorespiratory capacity safely through a customized therapeutic exercise, strengthening, and balance training program.
Treating Vestibular Disorders with Vestibular Rehabilitation Therapy
Vestibular dysfunction refers to an impairment of the structures of the inner ear that affects your balance and spatial orientation. When the vestibular system is not working properly, the brain does not receive correct information about head motion and movement from the vestibular nerves, which can result in dizziness, vertigo, lack of balance, spatial disorientation, and frequent falls. Vestibular dysfunction can be treated with vestibular rehabilitation therapy, which involves manual head maneuvers and progressive exercises to improve gaze and gait instability, reduce head motion-induced dizziness and fall risk, improve fitness, and enhance functional visual skills.
Exercise is Essential to Healthy Aging
Regular exercise is an essential component of healthy aging, helping seniors maintain independence and improve their physical and mental health. Exercise has numerous benefits for older adults, including improving muscle strength, building bone density, enhancing mobility and balance, and slowing age-related cognitive decline. Experts recommend that older adults engage in moderate-intensity aerobic exercise 150 minutes a week, strength train twice a week, and engage in weekly balance and flexibility training.
Return to Work vs. Return to Sport
Return to work and return to sport programs share the same goal: that the worker and athlete can safely return to work or athletic competition and can meet the demands of the job or sport with sufficient strength, power, and endurance. Physical therapists play a key role in helping injured workers and athletes recover from injury and prepare for a successful return to the job or sports field through a gradual, progressive RTW or RTS training program and objective testing. Rehabilitation for return to work (RTW) and return to sport (RTS) is customized to the patient’s specific needs, duties, and necessary skills to ensure the patient can succeed upon their return to work or sport.
Health Benefits of Exercise Infographic
Check out our infographic on the health benefits of exercise! Exercise is a critical component of a healthy lifestyle. Consistent exercise not only can prevent diseases like diabetes or cardiovascular disease but can also help you manage these chronic conditions and maintain function, endurance, and mobility. It is recommended to engage in at least 150 minutes of aerobic exercise each week, or 30 minutes a day, and strength train at least two times per week.
Improving Balance and Preventing Falls with Physical Therapy
Mangiarelli Rehabilitation physical therapist Jen guides a senior patient through three balance training exercises. Maintaining and improving balance is critical as you age as good balance allows you to maintain a stable, upright position when standing, walking, and sitting and avoid injury from a fall. Physical therapists can help you improve your balance as you age and prevent falls through a customized exercise and balance training program.