Older Patients
  • Jennifer Lane

Colorado is a Direct Access State
Colorado is a Direct Access State 1000 1000 Jennifer Lane

What does direct access mean? It means that you as a patient, can access PT without a referral. In other words, you do not need a prescription from your doctor to receive out-patient physical therapy. This is an important consumer right because it enables you to seek out the care you want to receive based on criteria important to you.

What should you be looking for in a PT? Well, some of the very basics (but still important factors) are location and cost. If you require therapy services, 1-3 times per week, having a conveniently located PT clinic near work or home removes a lot of the stress around getting there. And does that clinic accept your insurance? If not, you may be paying out of pocket more than you expected.

Keeping location and cost in mind, I think it is still most important to find a physical therapist that is skilled in the area in which you need help and has the training to help you get better faster. We don’t just take our cars to any old mechanic or garage, you ask for referrals and read reviews to make sure other people have had a good experience there. Why would you go just anywhere to take care of your health? There are good and bad PT’s out there and you don’t want to end up at the latter’s office.

Have you had a good experience at Holistic PT? Make sure to tell your friends and family so I can help them too!
  • Jennifer Lane

Managing Long-Distance Caregiving Without Stress
Managing Long-Distance Caregiving Without Stress 1053 699 Jennifer Lane

How do you keep a parent or loved one safe when you do not live nearby? Providing care for a senior family member from afar can be a big challenge, but distance does not have to keep you from providing the security and attention your aging family member needs. Here are some tips to make the stress of long-distance caregiving a little easier.

Make Sure They Have Healthcare Coverage

When your loved one lives far away, the last thing you want to worry about is whether they have access to the care they need. Financial considerations can be a serious source of stress for caregivers and loved ones, so help your family member put together a plan to cover any care costs they may encounter. One of the best assets for keeping seniors well is Medicare, but you as a caregiver need to know all the ins and outs of your loved one’s Medicare coverage, as well as Medicare in general. Once you’ve done your homework and have the required documents, you can make an informed decision about getting your loved one the medical coverage they need.

Create a Network for Support and Help

One of the hardest parts of caring from afar is knowing what to do when emergencies arise. Creating a support network can help caregivers and seniors when an emergency comes up, whether it’s a natural disaster or other crisis. As a caregiver, you should meet with neighbors, friends, and other family members who may be able to directly assist your loved one. Talk to them about the kind of help that may be needed and exchange any essential contact information so you will be able to get speedy updates.

There are even online services you can use that will make keeping in contact much easier for members of your caregiving and support network. You may also want to go one step further and establish someone to act as a local support coordinator. Ideally, this should be a professional who can quickly act on your loved one’s behalf and coordinate any kind of care that may be needed in crisis situations, so take your time finding someone you know you can count on.

Another way to look after a senior is to hire professionals to help with jobs around the home. This can include landscaping work, lawn mowing, and cleaning. Make sure you research the best companies and their costs. For example, you can expect to pay between $99 and $233 for cleaning services in Wheat Ridge, CO.

Use Technology to Give Yourself Peace of Mind

There have been many advancements in technology over the past decades that can make caregiving easier. At the very least, seniors should have a cell phone that they are comfortable using to make staying in contact easier. Many senior-friendly phones feature simple emergency call features that can make getting help easier for your loved one if they need it, and you can even find smartphones that will keep you connected via social media or video chat. You can also look into medical alert devices (some systems cost only $19.95 a month) that can go one step further in protecting your loved one. These systems make it simple to call for help, and you can find options that have low setup costs. Some caregivers even hook up a surveillance system to help watch over an elderly family member at all times. Surveillance can be in the form of video or sensors, so you can find something that both you and your loved one are comfortable with.

Living away from an older loved one does not have to leave them without the care they need. However, you need to ensure they have access to healthcare, are surrounded by a caring network, and can reach out for help when they need it. By taking care of these essentials, you can give yourself peace of mind while giving your loved one the care they truly deserve.

Photo Credit: Unsplash
  • Jennifer Lane

New Year’s Resolutions: How to be successful!
New Year’s Resolutions: How to be successful! 619 330 Jennifer Lane

Happy 2019! If you are like most people, you are reflecting on 2018, successes and failures, things tried, goals that you accomplished and some that you fell short of meeting. You are also looking forward to 2019. What goals are you setting for this year? What resolutions do you have for yourself? Or have you decided to not set any goals or resolutions because you have never had any success meeting them? It’s not worth setting them, because by week 3 of January you’ve given up.

Here are some of the most common New Year’s Resolutions. They should sound familiar… Lose weight, exercise regularly, quit smoking-drinking-eating dessert. What about setting more realistic goals that are measurable and attainable and that you can get help achieving?

What usually gets in the way of you accomplishing your goals? What I hear frequently is “well, I started running to lose weight but then my knee started hurting again, so I quit“. Or, “I signed up for an monthly unlimited package of yoga classes but I tweaked my back again“. Or, “I was working out with a trainer and thought I could handle more weight but now my shoulder really hurts. I can’t even put my jacket on without pain!”

Here is my challenge and offer to you. I want you to set the goal of getting rid of that nagging pain or chronic issue that always gets in the way of your wellness goals. And I want to help! As a physical therapist, I help people set goals and then work to meet them. Come in for an evaluation and treatment so you are set up for success in 2019. Using manual therapy skills, functional dry needling, therapeutic exercise prescription and much more, I can help you get pain-free and moving in a positive direction! Don’t put it off another day!

Once you have addressed the underlying issues, you can meet those other goals of losing weight, exercising much more easily. Don’t let your chronic ankle instability, nagging low back pain or recurring hip issues get in your way of success.

Start 2019 off taking care of yourself. Holistic PT can help you eliminate the obstacles that derail you from success.
  • Jennifer Lane

Can you get PT for free? Yes!
Can you get PT for free? Yes! 1200 800 Jennifer Lane

Have you Met Your Insurance Deductible this Year?

Do you have a family insurance plan? Have you had surgery this year? Have you used your insurance more than usual? If you answered yes, you are more likely to have a $0 balance remaining on your out-of-pocket expenses. This means the cost could be minimal or completely covered by your insurance plan.

Do you have unused money on your HSA account? Close to having met your insurance deductible for the year? Now is the time to come in for physical therapy! Are you feeling aches & pains? Need to work on your core? Les us help you get a head start going into 2019, before your deductible renews again.

See Jenn Lane, PT at Holistic PT for:

  • Pelvic Therapy
  • Vestibular Rehab
  • Manual Orthopedic Therapy
  • Post-op/Post-Injury Rehab
  • Wellness Consultation

 
  • Jennifer Lane

Healthy Living into your Senior Years
Healthy Living into your Senior Years 1280 895 Jennifer Lane

Putting the Pieces Together: Health, Self-Care and Seniors

Maintaining your health is not a single activity. Instead, it’s the combination of eating well, exercising, keeping your mind active and socializing. These activities are all part of a healthy self-care regimen, which is important for people of all ages. As an older adult, you have to pay careful attention to each aspect or, like an unfinished puzzle, your health and wellness will never be complete.

Keep reading to see how your daily activities fit together to keep you going strong.

Healthy eating

It’s a sad reality, but aging takes a toll on the body. If you’ve found yourself forgoing a healthy breakfast, lunch or dinner, you’re not alone. An unsettling number of seniors fail to properly nourish themselves due to a number of reasons including lack of energy, loneliness and limited access to shopping opportunities, according to Bayshore Home Care.  Fortunately, in today’s world of technology and the boom of the sharing economy making services such as Uber an affordable means of transportation, you don’t have to settle for pizza delivery or snack on crackers when you really want a home-cooked meal. Smartphone apps, grocery delivery, and meal delivery services make healthy foods easy to shop for and prepare at home. The Food Oasis asserts that grocery delivery and meal delivery are different from meal delivery services providing pre-portioned meals. Delivery services are often customizable and automated to ensure you never miss an opportunity to eat fresh even if you can’t drive to the grocery store.

Socialization

An often-overlooked piece of the senior health puzzle is your social life. Senior isolation has significant consequences that can shatter your efforts to remain healthy. Salmon Health and Retirement explains that senior isolation puts you at a higher risk for stroke, heart disease, cognitive decline and premature death.  In order to combat loneliness and isolation, you should pay attention to how much interaction you have with others. Even if you consider yourself a loner by nature, human contact is essential to your well-being. Attend church, take a few classes, or volunteer at your local elementary school or food bank. In addition to doing improving your own quality of life, the latter will provide you an opportunity to impact your community.

Mental stimulation

If you’re physically unable to leave the house, there’s still plenty of ways to stay engaged with friends and family and to participate in activities that keep your mind sharp. There are a number of affordable computers tablets that are recommended for seniors. Washington DC-based senior services provider Iona advocates the use of smart technology to challenge the mind and boost brain function. Until you are comfortable with computers, puzzles, games, and hobbies such as drawing and stamp collecting, are also excellent ways to keep your brain’s synapses firing at full speed.

Exercise

There are thousands of articles and medical texts dedicated to outlining the benefits of exercise for seniors. But to keep it simple, you should know that exercise can keep your heart strong, your muscles flexible, and your weight in check. Further, exercise can help you maintain your balance, which will improve your mobility.  Low-impact exercises are typically recommended for seniors. This may include swimming, mild aerobics, gardening, yoga and walking. Gym memberships are typically available for free or at a discount for seniors and fitness centers come with the added benefit of providing further socialization opportunity with your peers.  Keep yourself going strong for the long haul by paying attention to your diet, exercise and social and cognitive needs. By doing so, you may be able to prolong your independence and enjoy your golden years with more vigor than you’ve ever had before.

Geriatric health | Holistic Physical Therapy
  • Jennifer Lane

Staying Healthy and Fit into Older Age
Staying Healthy and Fit into Older Age 2332 3504 Jennifer Lane

My husband and I and now my kids love mountain biking. In Colorado we are able to ride 3 seasons out of the year and there are trails all over the place! I had a patient a few years ago… he was 82 and still mountain biking. And not just on the Cherry Creek Bike Path. He was riding from the top of Kenosha Pass to the top of Georgia Pass! He was my hero. As I get older, I strive to be as healthy and capable as he was. Staying healthy is not a passive process and its not always an easy one either. And there is not one way to do it. But I follow a simple formula and try to stick with it consistently, day in and day out. I love my ice cream and glass of wine too! There are 4 areas that I focus on:
1. Nutrition
2. Exercise
3. Sleep
4. Managing Stress
1. Nutrition: It’s pretty straight forward. I eat 3 meals per day plus lots of healthy snacks to fill the gaps. I take high quality supplements daily to fill any nutrition gaps. These supplements are a multi-vitamin, an anti-oxidant and an Omega-3. I use doTerra’s Lifelong Vitality Pack and have it delivered monthly. My husband and I split the month’s supply and have felt great since starting to take them.
2. Exercise: I move daily. I walk or cycle every day. I used to run 5-6 days per week but have found that I just don’t enjoy it as much as I used to. So I walk instead. And I ride my bike to work. As I have gotten older, I have started focusing on more strength training classes to keep my muscle mass up.
3. Sleep: I love sleeping! And to ensure that I get to sleep fast and stay asleep, I use essential oils. My routine is to put Serenity on my chest and Vetiver on my head. We also diffuse a combo of these in our room. When sleep is more difficult, I take the Serenity supplement, thus avoiding prescription sleep aids. It’s magical how well this works!
4. Managing Stress: And finally, how do I manage stress? Well, I’ve already mentioned a couple ways I manage stress. One, is by getting a good night’s sleep, the other is by staying healthy. And lastly,I create an environment at work and at home that is relaxing. We have diffusers in most rooms in our house and at any given time, we have different essential oils going. Our olfactory system is amazing at triggering pleasure centers in our brain that can calm us down or make us feel better.
For more info on supplements, essential oils and how you can incorporate them into your healthy habits, contact me at jennlane@holisticpt.net. Also, I will be holding classes on Natural Solutions for healthy living in July and August. I will go over these 4 categories of good health with you. Email me today to sign up for one of these classes.
Thursday July 26th at 1pm
Thursday August 9th at 1pm
Classes held at Holistic PT at 6650 W. 44th Ave Wheat Ridge, CO 80033. Want to host your own class for you and your friends? Email me and we can set that up! jennlane@holisticpt.net.

Geriatric health | Holistic Physical Therapy
  • Jennifer Lane

Is All PT Created Equal?
Is All PT Created Equal? 2332 3504 Jennifer Lane

Is all PT the same? Well, I guess not. A client came to see me the other day, very discouraged about an experience she had with a different PT. She had surgery on her shoulder and was told by the surgeon that she could see a physical therapist in the office connected to his. She made the appointment and started treatment 2 weeks after surgery. Now, this person has had a lot of injuries through her lifetime and has received a lot of rehab. She is in her late 60’s and very active. I’m pretty sure she can ski and hike circles around my 44-year-old self! For context, there are a lot of very active and healthy older adults in the beautiful state of Colorado. It isn’t unusual to see a 70-year-old or even an 80-year-old mountain biking, hiking, skiing or participating in an advanced exercise class. I love this and my goal is to be one of these people.

I’ve veered from the original story. My client was underwhelmed by the experience she had. She was given very little time or attention, measurements were not taken of her starting point and the exercises prescribed caused extra pain. She sought me out as we have developed a relationship over the years and she was worried that the treatment she was getting was not going to help her get back to her activities, as she had hoped. She decided to come and see me, which is a bit of a drive for her and the reason she didn’t start with me in the first place. I did a standard eval, subjective report of injury and surgery and how she is feeling now. Then I took measurements of her good arm and the post-surgical arm to determine range of motion. Treatment followed which included passive treatment to the arm, joint and soft tissue and then it was wrapped up with education on how to be more comfortable at home and how to do exercises pain-free.

When we finished, she was so thankful and felt better already. I was flabbergasted by the difference in level of care that she received and was happy that she came back to me. I think there are 2 factors at play here. In some PT clinics, it’s a numbers game. Physical Therapists have to see a high volume of patients each day to hit their quotas. This may mean seeing 4 patients per hour. The other factor is that older clients are viewed as having different goals than younger folks. Listening to what my client’s goals are gives me a very good idea of how active she is. At no time do I assume that she can’t do those things just because she is in her late 60’s.

Moving forward, I plan to keep the quality high for my clients. One-hour initial evaluations, 45-minute follow up visits and I continue to keep listening to what my clients say. I can do this because I have created an environment in which it works.

What’s the take-home message? Find a PT that is going to listen to you and deliver the quality care that you deserve. Not happy where you are? Find another one. Colorado is a direct-access state which means you do not need a dr’s referral for PT. Want to learn more about direct access? Tune in for the next blog post, coming soon!

To make an appointment at Holistic PT, click here…
  • Jennifer Lane

Risk of Falling in Elderly Patients
Risk of Falling in Elderly Patients 466 800 Jennifer Lane

Risk Factors for Falling in Elderly Patients

Statistics show that at least 1/3 of people over age 65 fall at least once per year. This frequency increases as people get older too. Falls can lead to fractures, most commonly wrist and hip. Mortality rates increase to greater than 75% after a hip fracture is sustained. When a patient falls, they lose confidence in their physical capabilities and therefore reduce their activity levels and community participation. The cost to the healthcare system is also great as the population ages and medical attention is needed following a fall.

What can physical therapy do to help? There is strong support for the effectiveness of exercise, balance work and gait training in the prevention of falls in older people. Exercise helps strengthen key muscles like the quadriceps and calf muscles. Physical Therapists are experts in challenging patients in a safe and meaningful way to gain functional ability and reduce the likelihood of falling.

There is an interesting article from Australia that goes into more detail on the matter. See link below.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1836955315000120

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