Young adults may require rehabilitation due to an illness, accident, or excessive indulgence in alcohol and drugs. For seniors, it’s almost inevitable. The question is, why?
The elderly are often predisposed to certain risks that affect their general health and wellbeing. The possibility of getting sick frequently is high because their body’s immune system is not as vibrant as it used to be.
Likewise, their mobility and functionality may decrease due to weak bones and fragile bodies. While all this cannot be blamed on bad luck, it merely reflects the realities of old age.
However, you can help your aged loved ones to live healthily and happily with the right rehabilitation program.
This guide intends to provide helpful information about senior rehabilitation and its benefits for seniors.
Senior Rehabilitation: What does it involve?
Senior rehabilitation refers to different after-treatment procedures needed to restore the health of elderly persons. It’s a unique rehabilitation service prescribed to speed up their recovery and help them attain improved functionality.
Moreover, special rehabilitation is usually recommended for a specified period. It might be for a short or long period depending on the severity of the illness or injury.
There are different types of senior rehabilitative therapies to achieve specific health goals. Let’s take a sneak peek into some of them:
- Physical therapy is a distinct therapy reserved for elderly ones who have flexibility, mobility, and balance issues. It’s intended to help them increase strength and endurance to control their muscles willfully. Physical therapy is also gait reconditioning and training after an illness, surgery, or hospitalization.
- Neurological therapy is designed for brain resuscitation, and it’s mostly for seniors recovering from brain trauma, brain injuries, brain tumor, or stroke. Also, there is an acquired brain injury therapy for those whose brain is damaged.
- Occupational therapy targets the improvement of bodily functions for effective performance. Seniors are trained to use computers, open letters, and perform other activities. It also centers mostly on enhancing seniors’ activities of daily living (ADLs), including eating, bathing, eating, etc.
- Speech therapy is for seniors who suffer from communication difficulties such as speech impairment and auditory difficulty. It also aims at addressing ear, nose, and throat (ENT) issues like swallowing difficulty.
- Cardiac rehabilitative therapy is for seniors who have suffered cardiac arrests and are recovering from a transplant or corrective surgery.
- There are also drugs and alcohol rehabilitative programs for seniors addicted to smoking, excessive alcohol intake, and drug abuse.
Who needs senior rehabilitation?
Seniors who have the following conditions may need to be enrolled for senior rehab:
- Those who have just been discharged from a clinic or hospital
- Those recovering from illnesses including stroke, arthritis, aneurysm, brain damage, and other severe health conditions
- Those suffering from bone injuries, spinal cord injuries, amputation, joint injury, or fracture
- Those who are recovering from an accident
- Those who have mobility issues
- Those who have speech challenges
- Those who desire to improve their functionality and lifestyle
- Those who are addicted to smoking, alcohol, and drugs
Benefits of senior rehabilitation
The benefit of senior rehabilitation services include:
Improved independence and enhanced functionality
Seniors who can’t walk, eat, talk, write and perform other activities on their own can gradually begin to do them again after being enrolled in senior rehab services. This implies that they would become independent again and do things the way they did before the illness or accident.
Seeing them get back on their feet and recover speedily would be emotionally stimulating for you and them. It certainly provides peace of mind.
A long life
Unfortunately, some seniors lack adequate care after recovery. The importance of senior rehabilitation programs can not be emphasized enough in helping individuals continue their quality of life for years to come. This is especially true after specific types of trauma that can affect long-term life.
Seniors who show signs of improvement after an ailment or accident are often those who were able to engage the service of an outpatient physiotherapist or who were able to enroll in a senior rehabilitation center for help.
Improved quality of life
With senior rehabilitation, seniors show reasonable improvement and regain their health. They can go on to live their lives the way they had always imagined them to be.
Do your due diligence when it comes to senior rehabilitation centers
Life as a senior adult comes with joy and fulfillment, but it’s also a challenging phase of life. Senior rehabilitation has proven to help seniors enjoy their time to the fullest.
This type of physical support is needed to help get them back on their feet and grow their mobility after an injury or accident. Don’t hesitate to enroll them in a rehabilitation program to improve their quality of life and get them back to doing things they enjoy as soon as possible.
The truth is, looking for senior rehabilitation centers can be overwhelming, but taking time to research these facilities is worth the care they will receive. It is best to place them with a group of caring professionals that understand the importance of skilled nursing care, outpatient rehabilitation services, inpatient rehab, and general senior care services.
Those facilities and centers that genuinely care about your loved ones will have a wide variety of characteristics and traits that set them apart from the rest. These skilled nursing facilities and senior living centers will genuinely invest in their services and the people that they hire.
From the material that they have to the food that they may offer and the housing facilities, you will notice a marked difference. It is best to do your research when it comes to short-term rehabilitation or long-term rehabilitation. Those who work with professionals who are invested in the healing process can surely see a wide variety of benefits for their loved ones.
StoneBridge Senior Living Is Here To Offer Rehabilitation Services
Our team is interested in working with older adults and those who need rehabilitative care. We have a lot of experience caring for seniors and love helping patients get back to living with a strong quality of life.
If you have any questions or concerns, reach out to our team at StoneBridge Senior Living today.