The older we get, the more important maintaining flexibility becomes. Our bodies aren’t made to last forever but it’s not true that we can’t help them work better as we age.
Best physical therapy, NJ: improving flexibility as you age is offered to those interested in improving quality of life by maintaining their bodies’ ability to move about freely. It doesn’t matter if you’re active or not. Flexibility matters. When the grands come over, you want to be able to play with them. When you’re on vacation, you want to be able to explore at will. Life doesn’t need to stop just because you’re getting older.
Physical therapy can help you keep more of your mobility and flexibility. And it just got a lot easier, with the pain relief team at Back & Body New Jersey.
Our award-winning Manhattan model of multi-disciplinarian care is now available to New Jersey patients, close to home. Let’s find out more about physical therapy and how it can keep you moving.
Inactivity is the Enemy
Losing muscle mass and flexibility is a normal part of the aging process. Our tissue loses hydration, which leads to a loss of muscle elasticity and joint restriction. That can mean pain, but it can also mean having difficulty with tying our shoes. It may mean tripping and falling, which can have disastrous results.
While the process is normal, it’s also not to be accepted without a fight. By “fight”, I mean staying active. When you’re active, you maintain muscle mass and flexibility to combat the realities of aging.
Just sitting there doesn’t lead to a healthy old age.
Here’s a statistic that should turn your head – only 10% of Americans regularly participate in physical activity and who’s the most sedentary group? People over 50.
People over 50 should be intentionally active, because as your body ages, your efforts make a tremendous difference in how it ages.
Injury In Older People
There’s nothing like hurting yourself to bring reality home. We feel vulnerable. We hurt. We’re reluctant to move.
This is especially true when you’re older. We think “resting” is the order of the day. While we need to rest when we’ve been injured, we also need to support healing by moving around. A physical therapist is your best friend in this regard.
With a thoroughgoing understanding of body mechanics, physical therapy demands that the patient participate in the healing journey by performing prescribed exercises to continue the work done in PT sessions. Injury in older people serves as a red flag – not using it can lead to losing it. Your physical therapist directs the process but you’re the engine of change, strengthening your body and improving flexibility toward a better quality of life.
Back & Body Medical
Back & Body’s therapeutic model draws on the disciplines of chiropractic, sports medicine, acupuncture and physical therapy (of course).
If you’re ready to live life to the fullest, you’re ready for Back & Body’s multi-disciplinarian care.
You only go around once. Do it right. Contact us.