With the advances in medicine and the increased knowledge of healthy living, people are living longer and therefore the population is growing older. This increases the importance of elderly care. The process of ageing can produce all sorts of problems not previously experienced by an individual.

Ageing is a natural physiological process. As the body ages, tissues become less elastic and in general the function of the body slows. The musculo-skeletal system is greatly affected by the process of ageing. There are many age-related symptoms which occur within the musculo-skeletal system alone, for instance, general morning stiffness, lower back pain and stiffness, hip pain, swelling and pain into the legs to name but a few.

Myosteo-practitioners recognise that the elderly require a special approach in care and are not just older adults. The elderly have a wide range of needs, from ageing physiology (function of the body), age-related diseases and the psychosocial and psychological impact of ageing.

A particularly challenging issue is the reduction in mobility, as this tends to create a domino affect. Our experience as Myosteo-practitioners has led us to believe that fluid movement in the body is critical. A period of immobility, particularly for the elderly, reduces the movement of fluid within the body (i.e. reduced blood flow and tissue drainage). One of Myosteopractic’s main goals when working with the elderly is to improve movement. Not only does this improve overall tissue quality (through improvement of fluid movement) it also has a significant psychological impact.

A factor in elderly care is the presence of arthritis, Myosteo-practitioners (or any healthcare practitioner) cannot claim to cure arthritis; however, Myosteopractic has been reported by clients to reduce pain, tenderness and swelling and generally improve arthritic symptoms. It must be stressed that everyone is different and results do vary.

Myosteo-practitioners use non-invasive techniques when working with elderly clients and these often have profound effects on the presenting complaint. Myosteo-practitioners adopt a whole person approach and this is even more important when caring for the elderly. Our experience has indicated that it is frequently not simply a local issue, but the general ageing process underlying many of the presenting complaints. The phrase “it’s old age” can be tackled with Myosteopractic!