A Physical Therapist’s Role In Treating Frailty

Are you worried that you or a loved one is living with frailty?

Are you noticing some of the classic frailty symptoms?

Frailty can affect many different areas of your life, making your everyday tasks more and more difficult.

Ultimately, it can make your life significantly more challenging than before.

If you know you have this condition, you’re probably wondering if there’s anything you can do to get some relief from your symptoms.

Don’t worry, there’s help for you.

If you’re interested in finding physical therapy for seniors, our experienced physical therapists in Washington DC can help.

In particular, we offer vestibular rehabilitation physical therapy services to deal with aging issues faced by seniors.

No matter what your physical challenges are, we’re here to help you navigate your life as you age.

In this article, we’re looking at frailty.

Keep reading to find out more about what frailty is and how physical therapy can help.

What Is Frailty?

A 2020 article by Proietti and Cesari described frailty as:

A clinical condition characterized by an excessive vulnerability of the individual to endogenous and exogenous stressors.

But what does this mean in layman’s terms?

People with frailty experience a functional decrease in multiple bodily systems.

In other words, they perform their tasks less effectively than before.

This can weaken their body’s natural defenses and make them more prone to other diseases and conditions.

Frailty can present several different symptoms, which we’ll look at shortly.

Some people with frailty have trouble with everyday tasks, such:

• Dressing
• Grooming
• Toileting
• Eating
• Preparing meals
• Cleaning
• Cooking
• Driving
• Shopping
• And more

As your muscles weaken, your heart and lungs can start losing the capacity to support your body.

Ultimately, frailty describes somebody with multiple declining bodily systems.

It reduces your body’s ability to overcome minor stressors and challenges in your everyday life.

When these challenges occur, people with frailty often take longer to recover from them,

Subsequently, people with frailty are often prone to injury.

Physical therapy injury consultations for seniors often explore the risk of injury from frailty.

RELATED: Reduce Risk Of Falls & Learn Fall Recovery In Seniors

What Are The Signs Of Frailty?

People with frailty may experience a variety of different symptoms.

This is because frailty involves multiple systems in your body.

Therefore, it’s not uncommon for people with frailty to experience symptoms all over their bodies.

Subsequently, frailty is sometimes a difficult diagnosis and challenges to manage without professional help.

Keep an eye out for the following signs:

• General feeling of weakness
• Loss of muscle mass
• Trouble getting up without help (from chairs or bed)
• Exhaustion and lack of energy
• Reduced ability to tolerate physical activity
• Loss of strength
• Severe fatigue
• Unexplained weight loss
• General decreased mobility
• Poor balance
• Trouble walking
• Trouble sitting
• Difficulty moving around while in bed
• Loss of ability to keep up with household tasks
• Increased fear of falling
• Difficulty socializing
• Feeling unable to work

RELATED: Gait Training Physical Therapy

One of our physical therapists can help you develop strategies to help care for your basic needs and improve your overall symptoms.

Is Frailty An Inevitable Part Of Aging?

Many people are diagnosed with frailty as they get older.

According to 2013 study by Clegg et al., your chances of experiencing frailty increases once you reach age 65.

It’s also more common among women.

RELATED: Physical Therapy For Women’s Health

However, frailty can occur in all age groups.

Certain circumstances may increase your likelihood of experiencing this condition.

For instance, chronic pain, disease, or traumatic injury may all increase your likelihood.

People with more than one chronic condition by midlife are also at a greater risk.

However, lifestyle is the most important factor for frailty development.

Staying active is one of the best ways to reduce your risk of frailty.

Without treatment, frailty can worsen over time.

That said, frailty is not an inevitable part of aging.

In fact, exercise can help you delay or even reverse signs of frailty.

How Can Physical Therapy Help With Frailty?

If you’re living with frailty, a physical therapist can help you navigate it.

Physical therapy will focus on managing your activity levels.

Your physical therapist will create a custom therapy plan which accounts for your unique needs.

Physical therapy can help you get back to the activities that you used to enjoy.

Your therapist will focus on these key areas during your physical therapy:

1. Chronic Pain Management

Physical therapy can help people with frailty manage their pain levels.

In particular, your physical therapist can target the different areas of your body where you’re feeling pain, including:

• Upper back pain
• Neck pain
• Lower back pain
• Shoulder pain
• Chronic headaches
• And more

RELATED: How Physical Therapy Can Help Treat Low Back Pain

People with frailty often feel vulnerable, so you may feel a little nervous getting started with physical therapy.

However, you don’t have to worry.

Your physical therapist will make sure your exercises are safe for you.

2. Preserving And Improving Strength

If you have frailty, you might feel as if your physical strength is fading away.

This may make it feel like certain tasks are more difficult than they used to be.

If this is the case, your physical therapist can help you preserve the strength you still have and rebuild what you’ve lost.

3. Preserving And Improving Endurance

Physical therapists often recommend aerobic endurance as a first line of defense against frailty.

Aerobic endurance targets your heart and lungs.

Through specific prescribed exercises, your physical therapist will help you rebuild your endurance.

This can help you return to your previous activities.

4. Preserving And Improving Motion

Many people are intimidated by the restoring movement aspect of physical therapy.

It might even seem counterproductive.

For instance, people with frailty often reduce their movements rather than increase them.

But it’s important to keep moving as much as you’re able.

Your physical therapist will start you slow with passive motions, meaning your therapist will gently move your body parts for you.

This can help you get your body used to those movements once again.

Once you’ve adapted to these new motions, your physical therapist can introduce exercises you can do on your own.

5. Maintaining Good Balance And Posture

You’ve probably heard that having a good sense of balance can help decrease your risk of falling.

Your physical therapist will go over fall prevention strategies with you.

This will include exercises that will help you even in the event that you do fall.

These exercises will help you recover from falls more easily.

6. Other Approaches

Your physical therapist can also help with your flexibility.

People with frailty often have tight muscles, so improving your flexibility can help increase movement and decrease pain.

They’ll also help you come up with goals, and give you tips for modifying your home so you can safely navigate.

Book Your Appointment With Capitol Physical Therapy Today

Having frailty doesn’t mean that you have to live with limitations and pain.

Are you interested in hearing more about how physical therapy can help you as you grow older?

Starting physical therapy while you aren’t feeling your best might feel intimidating, but we’re here to help.

Book your appointment with Capitol Physical Therapy today and get started with feeling your best.