If you are thinking about seeing a physical therapist for the first time or interested in learning more about the profession, you may wonder how exercises translates to improved function? This is a great question that any physical therapist would love to answer and depends on your individual problem or limitation. However, the simplest answer involves how physical therapists write goals and develop our treatment plan. For example, a client may see a physical therapist to be able to go up and down the stairs or to be able walk safely in the community or even to be able to stand and cook entire meal from start to finish. All these goals and many more would be perfect reasons to go see a physical therapist. At our initial assessment we will talk with you to determine why these functional mobility skills and activities of daily living (ADLs) are difficult to do and administer outcome measures to assess your current level of function based on your goals. Many of the outcome measures a physical therapist may conduct is validated by research for many populations including older adults. Moreover, certain scores on these outcome measures can predict your risk of falling in the future and establish what your functional impairments are. The following are five outcome measures your physical therapist may perform at an initial evaluation:
These are just a few examples of how a physical therapist’s assessment and exercise prescription will translate to improved function and quality of life especially for older adults. At Live Your Life our physical therapy services come to you! Contact us today for a free consultation on how our services can address a wide range of health needs.
References
1Shirley Ryan AbilityLab. Five Times Sit to Stand Test. Shirley Ryan AbilityLab – Formerly RIC. Published June 20, 2013. https://www.sralab.org/rehabilitation-measures/five-times-sit-stand-test
2CDC. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Center for Injury Prevention and Control.; 2017. https://www.cdc.gov/steadi/pdf/TUG_test-print.pdf
310 Meter Walk Test. neuropt.org. Accessed March 30, 2024. 1.0 METER WALK TEST (10MWT). https://neuropt.org/docs/default-source/cpgs/core-outcome-measures/10mwt-pocket-guide-proof8-(2)28db36a5390366a68a96ff00001fc240.pdf?sfvrsn=e4d85043_0_10
4Shirley Ryan Ability Lab. Berg Balance Scale. Shirley Ryan AbilityLab – Formerly RIC. Published June 19, 2013. https://www.sralab.org/rehabilitation-measures/berg-balance-scale
5Functional Gait Assessment. Shirley Ryan AbilityLab – Formerly RIC. Published November 9, 2016. https://www.sralab.org/rehabilitation-measures/functional-gait-assessment
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