- Benefits of physiotherapy in Alzheimer's
- Exercises for early Alzheimer's
- Exercises for intermediate Alzheimer's
- Exercises for advanced Alzheimer's
Physiotherapy for Alzheimer's should be performed 2-3 times a week in patients who are at an early stage of the disease and who have symptoms such as difficulty walking or balancing, for example, helping to slow the progress of the disease and maintaining patient autonomy for a longer period of time. However, in the advanced phase, being bedridden, it is important to undergo physical therapy daily to avoid muscle atrophy and maintain joint amplitude.
Alzheimer's disease is a progressive degenerative disease that is characterized by loss of memory and cognition, which makes it difficult / impossible for the most basic daily tasks of daily life, such as eating and hygiene. This disease mainly affects the elderly, and although rare, it can also develop early between 30-50 years of age. The treatment consists of medicines, adequate food and physical therapy exercises, where the objective is to slow the progression of the disease, improving the quality of life.
Benefits of physiotherapy in Alzheimer's
The physiotherapy treatment for elderly people with Alzheimer's aims to:
- Help the individual to move more freely, maintaining some autonomy and mobility to move around in bed, sit or walk, for example; Prevent the muscles from becoming stuck and atrophied, which bring pain and make tasks such as daily hygiene difficult; Allow good range of joints to perform day-to-day tasks; Avoid falls that can lead to bone fractures, which may require surgical treatment; Avoid pain in muscles, bones and tendons, which cause discomfort and malaise.
In this way, physiotherapy allows the individual to maintain some autonomy, managing to carry out their day-to-day tasks alone or with the least possible help. In addition, the ability to move and mobilize alone helps to delay common problems in the disease, such as constipation, development of respiratory infections or bedsores.
Exercises for early Alzheimer's
In general, when the person finds out that he / she has Alzheimer's, he / she should perform aerobic, strength, balance and coordination exercises, that's why the most recent cases of Alzheimer's can benefit from group exercises, with weights and balls, walking, running, swimming, aqua aerobics and Pilates.
Other exercises also indicated are progressive walking, maintaining conversation, and cycling for at least 30 minutes daily, because this type of activity improves motor and respiratory function, still provides cognitive gains, improving memory, reducing atrophy of the cerebral hippocampus, being therefore a great complement to the treatment and thus slowing down the progression of Alzheimer's. Muscle strengthening exercises, such as weight training, are also welcome.
Exercises for intermediate Alzheimer's
The exercises that can be performed at home must be easy to understand, so that the patient can understand and, they must be similar to the activities of daily life, in order to increase both intellectual and motor activity. These should be done in short periods of time, several times a day, to avoid exhaustion. Some examples are:
- Walk around the yard or dance; Put a plastic ball over your head and try to balance yourself; Train brushing your teeth and comb your own and the caregiver's hair; Tighten the buttons on your blouse; Stand on one foot; Walk sideways and also in the form of a circuit, raising arms using 2-3 kg weights, squats leaning against the wall; Walk with one foot in front of the other; Rebolar using a hula hoop; Abdominal board with knee support on the floor; Abdominal bridge.
The exercises can be performed by the physiotherapist and the caregiver, and can be modified, according to the need and to have a greater variation in the training, which increases the interest in the activity.
Exercises for advanced Alzheimer's
In advanced Alzheimer's, a person may be bedridden or have difficulty balancing even while sitting. In this case, physiotherapy should be performed every day with a physiotherapist, to prevent the patient from losing muscle mass and having the atrophied muscles and joints, which bring pain and discomfort, and also hamper their own hygiene.
The physiotherapist should indicate simple strengthening and stretching exercises, asking for the patient's collaboration whenever possible. Other techniques such as mobilization, and the use of resources such as TENS, ultrasound, infrared and other thermo-therapeutic resources can also be used.
Find out more about this disease, how to prevent it and how to care for the person with Alzheimer's:
