Originally posted by Rebecca Mayer for Advance for Physical Therapy & Rehab Medicine on April 9, 2012

At the direction of her physical therapist, Katherine stood in front of a mat table wearing a weighted vest and crossed her arms in an X across her chest. She was instructed to sit down on the edge of the mat table in a slow and controlled manner. As soon as she had contact with the mat table, she was directed to quickly pop back up to standing. The positive connection between the patient and therapist was obvious as Katherine repeated this exercise with precision and focus.

Katherine, 79, repeated this exercise 10 times and then completed two more sets. A patient in an ongoing, clinically based research program that is designed to target community dwelling older adults (65 and older), Katherine had dislocated one of her total hip replacements in a fall.

The program, called Live Long Walk Strong, is part of the Research Center for Lifelong Health and Fitness at Spaulding Cambridge Rehabilitation Center in Cambridge, MA. At the core of this program is an approach somewhat unprecedented in older adults: exercise and physical activity.

Informally and lovingly referred to as “Geriatric Boot Camp,” the Live Long Walk Strong program has developed a laser focus on improving function and preventing falls among its older patients. Many of the patients have experienced difficulty with functional tasks such as walking, climbing stairs and rising from a chair.

Developed through a grant from the Tufts Healthcare Foundation in collaboration with the Mount Auburn Cambridge Independent Physicians Association, the program encompasses the continuum of care beginning with the primary care physician and ending with community based programs to help the patient sustain and improve upon gains made in the skilled care setting.

“This program is especially important in today’s world because we know the population 70 years old and older is the fastest growing segment of the population,” explained Lorna Brown, DPT, MSPT, GCS, one of the program’s developers.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, more than 70 million people will be over the age of 65 by 2030 and 20 percent of the U.S. population will be 65 years or older by 2050. Of that population, 80 percent is predicted to have at least one chronic illness, and 50 percent will have two or more.

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