The month of November is dedicated to a cause that affects many lives: National Alzheimer’s Awareness month. As of 2014, in the United States there is an estimate of 5.2 million Alzheimer’s patients. Americans are encouraged to participate in Alzheimer’s Association activities to help fight for a cure.
Alzheimer’s disease has 10 progressive stages with symptoms. The cognitive symptoms of the disease are the disrupting of memory, language, thinking and reasoning. There are behavioral psychiatric symptoms that are a group of additional symptoms that may occur to some degree depending upon the patient.
Physical therapy can be an important component for treating Alzheimer patients. Physical therapists are trained to recognize the challenges associated with different stages of Alzheimer’s disease. As an adjunct to traditional medical treatment, a physical therapist will design a treatment program that is specifically tailored to the disease.
Balance Therapy, Therapeutic Exercise, and Massage Therapy are all important methods of therapy for Alzheimer patients. A physical therapist can prescribe specific exercises that improve balance, such as standing with both feet close together or standing on one foot. To improve safety, assistive devices may be provided. The dependence on assistive devices will be gradually reduced as therapy continues. Supervised balance therapy enables the patient to improve their balance gradually.
Therapeutic exercise is an important method of physical therapists. This this type of exercise will improve mobility, muscle tone and circulation; examples are brisk walking and swimming. Alzheimer’s disease often causes frustration for the patient, and massage therapy is helpful in alleviating stress.
If you know a person who has Alzheimer’s disease, encourage them (or their caretaker) to consider physical therapy as a means to improve their quality of life.
