With age comes lots of wonderful memories and exciting new chapters of life. However, age also brings stiff, painful joints and muscles. With all of the possible remedies out there, none is as effective and natural as physical therapy.
At Nebben Physical Medicine in Clarksville, Tennessee, our team of board-certified physicians led by Dr. John Bassell specializes in physical therapy as a part of our comprehensive list of pain therapies.
It’s no secret that as you age, your body doesn’t work or feel as it once did. But have you ever wondered how your joints and muscles actually change as the years go by?
Your muscles begin to shrink and lose their fiber as you age. Your tendons, the tissues that attach your muscles to your bones, also lose a lot of water content, making them much less effective. All of these factors contribute to stiffer, weaker, and unbalanced muscles.
Similarly, the changes in your tendons also contribute to decreased flexibility in your joints. Age causes the cushioning cartilage between your joints to break down as well. These changes all mean that you feel more pain and stiffness. Fortunately, we can help you feel more limber without painful surgeries or medications. Instead, we use all-natural physical therapy to address your stiff, aching joints and muscles.
Physical therapy isn’t just for injured athletes. It can benefit you by rebuilding strength, promoting flexibility, and reducing your pain.
During a physical therapy session with one of our experts, we lead you through simple strength exercises. Depending on your abilities and interests, you complete exercises like free weight training or stretch bands. This is designed to rebuild the fibers in your muscles, prevent future injuries, and restore an overall balance.
As you go through stretching exercises, you increase the flow of blood and oxygen to your body. This helps your muscles, tendons, and joints become much more flexible, letting you get back to the activities you enjoy most.
When your muscles and joints are weak and inflexible, you experience pain. As you strengthen and stretch your muscles, your joints are in turn better supported. This all contributes to fewer aches and pains.
Our physical therapy sessions are great for your aging joints and muscles, but you get the most out of physical therapy if you do some exercises at home as well. Depending on your specific situation and needs, we prescribe some of the following at-home exercises:
What’s best about at-home treatment is that you can typically do the exercises while watching TV. To ensure that your at-home and in-office physical therapy are effective, it’s best that you maintain a healthy diet and drink plenty of water.
Just because the calendar says you’re another year older doesn’t mean your joints and muscles have to be. Get back to feeling as young as you do on the inside with our effective and all-natural physical therapy treatments. Call our office or schedule an appointment online.
