Macquarie Professor Michal Fine said that aged care residences must consider the value of restorative care for aged care residents.
He said that aged care services should not affirm the terminal decline model in taking care of the country's older population. Instead, it should be designed to cater to the deterioration of the aged and push programs that will create more possibilities and opportunities.
While keeping in mind that there are residents of aged care that cannot be rehabilitated, there is still room for functional gains.
Physiotherapy can be beneficial for residents with issues with body movements and mobility. Here are some of the significant benefits that the profession can bring to the table for the aged care residents:
· Pain management and reduction
· Improvement of strength and stability
· Surgery rehabilitation
· Pain treatment
Roles of Physiotherapy in Geriatric Rehabilitation
Health assessmentsPhysiotherapists are trained with a set of knowledge and skills for assessments. They can develop screening measures, and design treatment plans specific to the needs of the patients. For instance, a senior patient can be tested for mobility so that the physiotherapist can quickly determine the needed treatment. Other factors may necessitate a different approach to the condition, which physiotherapists can facilitate.
· Checking functional status
Physiotherapists can also determine and check for the functional status of the patient. Aside from assessment, they can also check the limits of a patient's active status.
· Goal Setting
Depending on the collected data, the physiotherapist can realistically project the goals that must be met once the rehabilitation program begins. They can provide valuable help to the patient in setting the goals and achieving them.
· Therapeutic intervention
After goal setting, physiotherapists will oversee the therapeutic intervention. They can come up with a specific exercise program that is suitable for the needs of the patient. Aside from these methods, they also use mobilisation techniques to alleviate the strain of movement problems of the patient.
· Reassessment
Throughout the rehabilitation process, the physiotherapist will routinely conduct reassessment to gauge the treatment's benefits and backlogs. It is through reassessment that they can determine how the rehabilitation process affects the patient.
