Frailty education: promoting geriatric competencies among Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation residents

Abstract

Frailty, a geriatric syndrome of growing importance in recent years, has been shown to be associated with increased risk of disability and adverse health and socioeconomic outcomes. Therefore, there is a need for new educational strategies for physical medicine and rehabilitation residents to promote greater geriatric competencies, with a focus on developing customized evaluation and management plans. With this article, the aim is offering a quick reference tool summarizing the latest evidence on the rehabilitative management of frailty. Indeed, a comprehensive geriatric evaluation is needed before developing an evidence-based and individually tailored rehabilitation program including physical activity, educative strategies, nutritional interventions, and proposals for social reintegration. In the future, appropriate educational training may allow a more careful management of these patients, with consequent improvements in quality of life and functionality.

Effects of the Full-Body in-Bed Gym program on quality of life, pain and risk of sarcopenia in elderly sedentary individuals: preliminary positive results of a Padua prospective observational study

“…Indeed, given the rising prevalence among the aging population, it is essential to find rehabilitative and preventive strategies for managing sarcopenia that can be carried out outside the hospital environment. 5 , 12 , 29 , 36 Simple exercises, suitable for daily home use, even by patients with limited mobility, appear to contribute to reducing age-associated muscle loss and its consequences. Furthermore, participants showed improvements in both physical and mental well-being, although the increase in physical well-being was not statistically significant.…”

“… 1 , 5–11 The consequences of immobility encompass a range of issues including neuromuscular weakening, functional limitations, thromboembolism, and substantial healthcare costs. 11 , 12 Consequently, the management of all these progressive muscle-related impairments demands continuous attention. While pharmaceutical interventions remain a consideration, the potential of physical exercise regimens stands as a promising option.…”

Conventional physical therapy combined with extracorporeal shock wave leads to positive effects on spasticity in stroke survivors: a prospective observational study

“…Among the emerging therapies, extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) is a non-invasive therapeutic intervention used for musculoskeletal disorders, several inflammatory tendon diseases, or spasticity. 11 The findings suggest that ESWT may be useful in decreasing plantar flexor muscle tone for adults and children affected by lower limb spasticity. 10 , 12-16 There are some trials which had also showed that radial extracorporeal shockwave therapy (rESWT) was more effective on augmenting the ankle passive range of motion (PROM) compared to focal extracorporeal shockwave therapy (fESWT).…”

Effects of High-Intensity Functional Training (HIFT) on the Functional Capacity, Frailty, and Physical Condition of Older Adults with Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Blind Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial

“…Additionally, physical exercise can preserve the ability to perform activities of daily living and functional skills in older adults [ 9 , 10 ]. An evidence-based rehabilitation program should start with a comprehensive assessment of the older adult and include therapeutic physical exercise, as well as other strategies that allow closer and more individualized management of frail patients, including patients with cognitive impairment, and consequently improve their quality of life and functionality [ 11 , 12 ].…”