Physical Therapy for Older Adults

This online course is designed for rehabilitation & fitness professionals who want to elevate their skill set in the management of older adults.  The size of this population is growing rapidly, unfortunately the desire to manage them with cutting edge evidence guided treatment has lagged well behind.  Too often we see our older adults getting under treated, both with exercise and manual therapy, apparently as a consequence of both fear and ignorance.

Take a deep dive into exploring misconceptions and laying out a clear, current best evidence pathway to enable our older adults to not only survive but to thrive.  A special emphasis is placed on progressive functional fitness in this population.

Modern Management of the Older Adult Course Format

• 8 weeks long - 2 hours/week commitment
• Lifetime access to course & online community
• Weekly assignments & video conference calls
  • Video conference calls take place every Wednesday at 8pm EST & are optional but encouraged. They are recorded & can be viewed later if unable to attend.
  • Our online courses require active participation to be awarded credit which may include reading, homework assignments, and quizzes. We do not allow students to “drop back” to preceding cohorts due to inability to complete work assigned except under extraordinary circumstances. ICE faculty have the final decision in allowing a “drop back” but students are only allowed one “drop back” per course. Failure to complete the course on your 2nd attempt will not yield CEU credit. All courses allow for a 7 day grace period after course conclusion to receive CEU credit.

Schedule

Week 0 (Course State Date)

• Course Orientation

Week 1

• Science of Aging
• Perceptions of Aging

Week 2

• The Process
• Functional Measures

Week 3

• Exercise Prescription 1: Reframing Risk
• Deadlift

Week 4

• Exercise Prescription 2: The Deep Dive
• Squat

Week 5

• Practical Programming

Week 6

• Evidence-Based Fall Prevention Strategies

Week 7

• Psychosocial Considerations
• Floor Transfers

Week 8

• Health Promotion

Course Objectives

Students will be able to:

• Describe how beliefs, expectations, and stereotypes of aging impact older adults’ lives.
• Design a thorough examination process for older adults that is modifiable based on patient characteristics.
• Select appropriate and effective functional measures for patients that assess occupation performance.
• Describe physiological processes that occur during healthy aging as well as with the development of clinical geriatric syndromes such as frailty and sarcopenia.
• Design appropriately-dosed exercise programs including progressions and regressions to obtain the intended outcomes that impact functional independence and occupation performance.
• Design evidence-based fall prevention programs to obtain the intended outcome for clients.
• Implement various balance-focused interventions based on a thorough balance assessment.
• Implement screening of cognitive impairments in older adults.
• Execute appropriate communication and compensation strategies to serve older adults with cognitive impairments.
• Design exercise strategies to manage, minimize, or reduce fear and persistent pain in the older adult population.
• Implement the Squat, Deadlift, Loaded Carry, and Floor Transfer activities with strategies to progress and modify.

The Institute of Clinical Excellence is an AOTA Approved Provider of professional development. Course approval ID# 03093. This Distance Learning-Interactive course is offered at 16 CEUs for OT Service Delivery & Foundational Knowledge. AOTA does not endorse specific course content, products, or clinical procedures.