Strength Training for Active Aging
Working with a physical therapist can prevent falls and injury.
Strength training is a key part of active aging, and working with a physical therapist can help prevent falls and injuries. Edgehill resident Paul Keeler is experiencing this firsthand. After moving to our community with his wife, Nancy, following a stay at a rehab facility for a broken hip, Paul has been working with Sub-Acute Rehabilitation & Skilled Nursing team for the past seven months. With their support, he has been steadily improving his strength, mobility, and flexibility.
A Journey to Recovery
“I couldn’t be more happy with the capabilities of the people involved in my care and the intervention,” says Paul. “It was hard work, but I’m a Marine so I can do it.”
The Role of Physical Therapy in Fall Prevention
According to research published by the National Institutes of Health, older adults begin to lose muscle power and performance in their late 60s. That decline, however, can be substantially slowed with an active lifestyle that includes strength training. This is why Edgehill makes a concerted effort in its Independent Living neighborhood to help residents take advantage of the award-winning services our Sub-Acute Rehabilitation neighborhood offers.
Strength Training: A Key to Enhanced Mobility and Balance
“Strength training and balance go side by side,” says our Therapy Manager Deval Shah. “If you don’t have muscle strength in your calf, hamstring or quad, they get weaker and you’re going to lose your balance.” Strength training challenges muscles by making them work against some kind of resistance, whether it is weights, resistance bands or even one’s own body weight. Some people, like Paul, incorporate strength training as part of ongoing recovery from an injury. For others, working with our physical therapists helps them stay active and independent by reducing the risk of potentially life-altering falls.
How Strength Training Works: Resistance and Recovery
“Balance greatly affects your day-to-day life,” says Deval. “If you’ve developed any issues with balance, difficulty walking or getting up, we have assessment tools. Instead of thinking, ‘Oh this is just a part of aging,’ get a referral. Prevent the falls and balance disorders early.”
With a doctor’s referral, residents can use their Medicare benefits for strength training sessions which, among other things, can improve balance, reduce pain and increase muscle tone, flexibility and bone density. Treatment can help people who are already active as well as those who do not have prior experience working with weights. “It depends on how much load a patient can take. If somebody can only do one or two pounds, we start low and go gradually,” says Deval.
Personal Experiences: Paul’s Transformation
Paul worked with physical therapist Tricia Schiavone. “She did an exceptional job. She really has the patience, the experience and a real interest in you being heard and acknowledged. Then [Deval] took me for the next stage and really pushed me very hard, which I needed.”
A Lifelong Commitment to Staying Active
In addition to having been a Marine, Paul is a retired corporate executive who once drove Formula B race cars and is now active in several men’s groups in the Greenwich area. At 80 years old, he is not prepared to slow down. Thanks to the physical therapy team, he does not have to.