knowledge Archives

06Jan 2021 by Brigitte B

How Your Muscles, Joints and Bones Affect Your Balance

Balance, Health content, knowledge, Prevention

When it comes to staying upright, it’s important that your body's physical components - particularly your muscles, joints and bones - are in good shape. If you can keep these healthy, you have a much lower chance of falling. Muscles and joints Your muscles contract and expand to move your body through space. If they can’t do that well, it's easy for you to take a fall. To move the body, your muscles tug on your joints and make you bend. Other structures involved in this process are tendons, ligaments, fascia and nerves. Muscles cross joints, and when the muscles contract, the joint moves. If the muscles are not sufficiently lengthened - that is, sufficiently flexible - the joint will not move well. It may move with a jerky motion,…

23Dec 2020 by Brigitte B

When You Retire: 3 Things to Think About (Not Money)

Health content, knowledge, Prevention

We spend our working lives preparing for retirement, establishing savings accounts and IRAs, but not much time making sure we have our health in retirement. Often in all the planning before we retire, we neglect to anticipate changes in mental and physical wellness that can turn a happy, active retirement into a sedentary one. As you transition into your senior years, with a little attention you can maintain and even improve your mental and physical wellness. Aging is a process that requires specialists to help navigate your unique health demands and goals. When building your team of experts for your individual needs as you age and retire, consider three key areas: general health, cognitive health and musculoskeletal health. General health in retirement Primary care physicians (PCPs) are always the frontline…

10Dec 2020 by Brigitte B

Pelvic Floor Dysfunction Can be Addressed by PT

Health content, knowledge, Prevention

Many older adults are hesitant to bring up pelvic floor dysfunction with their doctors. After all, urinating when you don’t mean to is embarrassing, and some patients fear that they will share their humiliating stories only to be told that they should accept wearing adult diapers for the rest of their lives. Seek help for pelvic floor dysfunction However, you do not have to accept that at all. Find a medical provider you trust so that you can candidly and thoroughly share your symptoms related to pelvic floor dysfunction. Two common types of pelvic floor dysfunction are 1) stress incontinence, when urine squeezes out after you cough, sneeze or experience other sudden contraction of the core muscles, and 2) nonrelaxing pelvic floor problems, when the pelvic floor muscles cannot contract…

29Oct 2020 by Brigitte B

Engaging Mind and Body to Fight the Ugly Truth of Ageism

Health content, knowledge, Prevention

Fighting ageism keeps you busy! We receive humorous birthday card with the words “over the hill” displayed on the front. We excuse an ordinary error by saying we had a “senior moment.” Well-meaning friends compliment us with, “Wow! You look good—for your age.” We accept these everyday occurrences, but they are hurdles when it comes to fighting ageism. Ageism is a form of discrimination or prejudice as a result of your age. Ageism occurs in the workplace as well as in personal relationships. While younger people experience a different sort of ageism, seniors can find ageism detrimental to their wellbeing. Research shows this to be especially true when seniors believe the negative stereotypes associated with getting older. These stereotypes include memory issues, loss of independence, and developing new symptoms and…

09Sep 2020 by Brigitte B

Clear Up Your Confusion about Medicare Benefits: The Complete Guide, Part 1

Health content, knowledge

Are you one of the nearly 60 million Americans currently enrolled in Medicare? Despite Medicare's broad use, many people are unsure of what all Medicare covers and how to use that coverage. Even after enrollment, Medicare's rules, deadlines and costs can be overwhelming. Parts A through D, hospital stays and home health care, supplements and prescribed medication—so much is involved! For example, you might know that you can use Medicare if you're admitted to the hospital or need to see a doctor, but you may be unsure how Medicare works when you need ancillary services such as physical therapy. To help our Heather Lane Physical Therapy community understand what to expect if you're enrolled in Medicare and need physical therapy, we've put together a 3-part series. This is Part 1,…

12Aug 2020 by Brigitte B

Why Sleep Changes When You Get Older (And How to Get Better Rest)

Health content, knowledge

Seniors and sleep often have a complicated relationship, leading older adults to question whether sleep is a friend or foe. Insomnia plagues nearly 50% of adults 65 and older, and millions more toss and turn every night because of other sleep-disrupting factors. Some seniors give up on eight hours of sleep altogether, rationalizing that they need less sleep now that they’re older. But our time needed in slumberland doesn’t change as we age. What does change are our sleep patterns—or our sleep "architecture." Even with the sleep changes we experience, we have ways to make sure we’re getting better, more restful sleep. Normal sleep vs. aging sleep Normally, people go through multiple sleep cycles at night. Each cycle lasts 90-110 minutes and consists of two states. The non-rapid eye movement…

29Jul 2020 by Brigitte B

Physical Therapy is Helping Both Patients and Non-patients During the Covid-19 Pandemic

Health content, knowledge

Recovering from Covid-19 has proven to be unpredictable. As we now know, some people diagnosed with the virus experience no symptoms at all, others can feel as if they’ve had a mild flu with a timely recovery, and some people experience severe symptoms that require hospitalization. Although most of them recover, unfortunately there’s a growing number of patients who, months after diagnosis, still are reporting trouble getting back to feeling 100% like their “old selves.” As doctors study these mysteriously persistent symptoms, they do know how to relieve one troublesome aspect: the effects of long periods of being sedentary. Patients who have been on ventilators or for other reasons confined to hospital beds for days or weeks face challenges in getting back to their previous levels of activity. The cost…

15Jul 2020 by Brigitte B

Advanced Osteoarthritis and Athletes: How Physical Therapy Can Help You Return To Competitive Sports

Arthritis, Exercise, Health content, knowledge, Pain

Joint pain can make even everyday activities challenging. For athletes, the degenerative pain of osteoarthritis can feel especially devastating. If you're used to the challenges and health benefits of participating in sports, slowing down is a big adjustment. The good news is that you may not have to give up your sport for long. With the right physical therapy and pain medication, you can get back to the activities you love, including athletics. What is advanced osteoarthritis? Osteoarthritis is a condition that occurs when the cartilage that lines your joints starts to break down. Cartilage acts like a shock absorber when there is impact. If improperly stressed, over time the cartilage starts to crumble. It can occur in any joint on your body and is commonly seen in the knees…

06Mar 2020 by Brigitte B

The Link Between Sleep and the Pesky Peptic Ulcer

knowledge

Trouble sleeping at night is a common complaint among seniors. Whether it’s due to medications, poor sleep hygiene, health conditions or other issues, the result is the same—insomnia. Another common problem, especially for seniors 65 to 74 years old, is peptic ulcers. When both problems are chronic, there can be a connection. What is a peptic ulcer? A peptic ulcer is a sore inside your stomach's lining or the upper part of your small intestine, also known as the duodenum. There are two types of peptic ulcer: Gastric ulcer, when the sore is located in the stomach.Duodenal ulcer, when the sore is located in the duodenum. Ulcers may result in pain, heartburn, nausea, fatty-food intolerances and other ailments, although 75% of patients experience no symptoms at all. Poor sleep can…

15Jan 2020 by Brigitte B

Sexual Function in Older Women and the Role of Physical Therapy

Health content, knowledge

Every aging woman who has experienced menopause knows that it changes her body, from bone loss and a higher risk of heart disease to bladder leakage, also known as urinary incontinence. Menopause can change your body's ability to function sexually as well, including your level of sexual desire. Physical changes that affect sex Some of the physical changes that make sex difficult are predictable and typically occur post-menopause. Being aware means that you can plan for these changes and address them so you can continue to enjoy sex long after menopause has brought you to a new stage of life. Common predictable changes include: Vaginal atrophy. The walls of the vagina become thinner and drier, making them more prone to inflammation. This can make sex painful.Urinary tract symptoms. Some women…