What is your image of aging? Perhaps you picture someone who walks hunched over, maybe with the help of a cane or a walker, moves slowly, and needs help doing everything.
But that doesn’t have to be your reality. Loss of function is not an inevitable consequence of growing older. In fact, you can reclaim your mobility and move better than before with the help of physical rehabilitation.
Matthew DeFroda, DC, and our team at reNu Medical & Injury Center in Newark, Delaware, focus on whole-body health and functionality at every age and stage of life.
Our comprehensive rehabilitation services help many of our patients overcome severe physical obstacles, but it’s not reserved for major catastrophes and complex diseases.
Rehabilitation can help you stay active in your golden years and ward off that stereotype of frailty and weakness. Here’s how.
How rehabilitation got its start in medicine
History is peppered with various iterations of physical therapy and physical rehabilitation, but it didn’t really catch on in the United States until President Franklin Delano Roosevelt contracted polio in 1921. He found that swimming helped him regain his strength, so he bought property in Georgia and designated it as a rehabilitative care facility — the first of its kind.
Rehabilitation has evolved over the years and has come to encompass new therapies and modalities.
Today, the AMA Journal of Ethics defines the field as “a medical specialty focused on prevention, diagnosis, rehabilitation, and therapy for patients who experience functional limitations resulting from injury, disease, or malformation.”
At reNu Medical & Injury Center, we take it a step further.
How rehabilitation can change the way you age
We don’t want any of our patients to resign themselves to the inevitable effects of aging. We believe that with the right care and proactive steps, you can stay agile and functional throughout your life.
That’s why we offer rehabilitation for you, whether or not you’re battling disease, injury, or malformation. Here’s what rehabilitation can do to stop those classic signs of aging.
Stop your pain
Everyone feels aches and pains now and then. Face it, you were probably feeling those even in your 30s and 40s. But they may be a little more frequent and severe these days.
Often, wear-and-tear over the years leads to arthritic joints, which can be stiff and painful. The best treatment for that is movement, exactly what rehabilitation is all about.
Pain also occurs when your body is out of shape and not carrying the load as it should. Rehabilitation strengthens your bones and muscles so they can support your spine and decrease the pressure on your joints.
We also evaluate your gait and your posture so we can identify any biomechanical abnormalities that may be contributing to your pain.
Improved balance and flexibility
Every year, 3 million older folks are hospitalized because of a fall. Stiff joints, shortened and atrophied muscles, and poor eyesight and hearing all contribute to trips and falls.
Don’t become a statistic. Rehabilitation can help you improve your strength, balance, flexibility, and range of motion to keep you upright and out of the hospital.
Disease prevention
Those who stay physically active may actually prevent certain diseases and health problems, including:
- Type 2 diabetes
- Hypertension
- Stroke
- Anxiety and depression
- Arthritis
- Stroke
- Some cancers
- Cognitive decline
- Obesity
And those are just a few of the conditions you can avoid. It’s even more exciting to learn about the benefits you gain from staying active:
- Better sleep
- Better sex
- Better moods
- More energy
There’s no downside to rehabilitation and the increased activity it can bring to your life. To schedule an appointment with our team and get started on a proactive rehabilitation program that will help you redefine aging, call us today or request an appointment via our online tool.