Physical Therapy Care

IN-HOME PHYSICAL THERAPY

In-home physical therapy may be part of your care plan if you have trouble getting around your home or have fallen because of pain, illness, injury, or surgery. For example, your doctor may tell you to do physical therapy at home if you qualify for home health and you have:

• Knee or hip replacement surgery
• Just had a heart attack
• Acute-onset medical condition
• Worsening of a long-term health problem like heart failure, COPD, or diabetes
• Trouble with balance or falls
• Having trouble walking or getting around
• Pain from a sickness, injury, or surgery
• Functional decline caused by a neurological disease that gets worse over time, like Parkinson’s, Multiple Sclerosis, or ALS
• have had a stroke and lost use of one or more of their limbs

Our physical therapists and physical therapy assistants come to your home to help you move around more easily. Your care plan is based on what you need and what your doctor tells you to do. Seniors go to physical therapy to get their mobility back to normal or keep it at the highest level possible, so they can do daily tasks and activities they enjoy.

HOW DOES PHYSICAL THERAPY WORK?

Physical therapy is a type of care that is meant to help people feel less pain and move and function better.

Seniors who have had an injury, surgery, or illness that makes it hard for them to do daily tasks may get physical therapy at home from their doctor.

If you need physical therapy as part of home health care, you’ll work with a physical therapist, who is a trained professional with a degree and a license. These experts know how the body works and what it needs so that you can do the things that are most important to you. Our physical therapists make personalized treatment plans by using a variety of methods, such as retraining balance, stretching and strengthening exercises, gait training, teaching ways to avoid falling, physical agent modalities like ultrasound, electrical stimulation, and hot and cold therapy, and educating both the patient and their caretakers.

WHERE CAN YOU GET HOME HEALTH PHYSICAL THERAPY?

A physical therapist comes to your home as part of home health care physical therapy for seniors. This can be your home, the home of a family member, a group home, or a community for seniors.

TAHARA HEALTH PROVIDES IN-HOME PHYSICAL THERAPY

A physical therapist from Tahara Health will work with you, your doctor, your caregiver, and other members of your home health care team to figure out what you need. The services you get will be based on what you want and what you need. Some of the physical therapy services you could get at home could be:

• Balance training can help keep people from falling.
• Vestibular rehabilitation to improve balance and reduce dizziness
• Hands-on treatment to focus on the tissues or joints that are causing pain or other symptoms.
• Work on your muscles
• Ultrasound to decrease swelling and improve blood flow
• Electrical stimulation can ease pain and make things work better.
• The use of heat and cold
• Light treatment
• Training to help you walk, stand, or move from one place to another on your own
• Education about the patient’s condition, needs, and home exercises for the patient and their caretakers.
• Personalized exercise program
• Getting used to using a cane or walker, if you need one, is important.
• Ideas for making your home safer, like installing grab bars or moving rugs.
  
  

Most of the time, physical therapists for the elderly teach their patients exercises they can do at home to help them get better in between visits. As your needs change, your physical therapist will let you and the rest of your healthcare team know and work to make changes to your treatment.

WHAT KINDS OF ILLNESSES CAN BE HEALED WITH AT-HOME PHYSICAL THERAPY?

Physical therapy for seniors that can be done at home can help with a wide range of problems. With physical therapy for home health patients, we often help them:

• COPD
• A heart attack
• Cancer
• Cystic Fibrosis is a disease that affects the lungs.
• Arthritis
• Osteoporosis
• Alzheimer’s Disease
• Stroke
• Parkinson’s illness
• Cerebral Palsy
• Multiple Sclerosis
• Fibromyalgia
• Brain or Spinal Cord Injury
• Replacement of the hip, knee, shoulder, or joint
• Surgery on the back or elbow
• Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) (ALS)
• Incontinence
• Amputation
• Disorders of Balance
• Burns or Cuts
• Diabetes
  
  

WHAT TO EXPECT FROM VISITS TO YOUR HOME BY A PHYSICAL THERAPIST

When you get physical therapy as part of home health care, your therapist comes to you. At your first visit to your home for physical therapy, they will figure out what you need. People might ask you:

• Do you hurt or have other signs? How bad is the pain?
• Do you have trouble getting up in the morning, getting dressed, or taking a bath?
• How do you go to sleep?
• Have you been sick or had other health problems in the past?
• What kinds of things do you wish you could do?
  
  

Your Tahara Health physical therapist might ask you to walk, bend, grab, climb stairs, or do other things to better understand your needs. They will also check your posture, balance, strength, range of motion, and flexibility. During your first physical therapy visit at home, you’ll find out what your treatment plan is and how often your therapist will come to see you. You will also make a plan.

At your next physical therapy home visit, you will talk about how you feel and what has changed since your last visit. You’ll do activities and exercises that will help you reach your own goals. Your physical therapist can show you how to move around safely and point out any dangers in your home. They can also teach the person who is taking care of you.

At the end of each visit, your Tahara Health physical therapist will let the rest of your home health team know about any changes or progress. This way, everyone on your team who comes to see you will know how you’re doing.

HOW LONG IS PHYSICAL THERAPY?

The number of visits you get depends on what you need and what your doctor tells you to do. Some people go to physical therapy for 6 to 8 weeks. If your condition is serious or getting worse, you may need more visits. If your condition gets better quickly, you may only need a few home health physical therapy visits and an exercise plan to do at home.

How long is a visit to physical therapy? The average visit lasts 45 to 60 minutes, but the length of your physical therapy will depend on what you need. Some physical therapists see their patients once or twice a week at first, and then once a week once they’re stable.

HOME HEALTH PHYSICAL THERAPY GOALS

You will set up a treatment plan and goals with your doctor and home health team. Your specific areas of focus will depend on how you feel and what you need. Some common goals of physical therapy for people at home are:

• Getting rid of pain and swelling
• Get better at getting around.
• Inform patients and their caretakers.
• Regain muscle control
• Stop people from becoming disabled or getting worse.
• After a stroke, injury, surgery, or accident, get back to the level of function you had before.
• Become more stable and flexible.
• Improve your fitness and endurance
• Take care of a long-term illness at home
• Improve circulation
• Don’t go to the hospital more than you have to.
• Activities to save energy that involve breathing
• Stop falls and make your home safer
• Show you how to stand, sit, lie down, and climb and descend stairs safely
• Learn how to use a cane, walker, or other aid.
• Start doing normal things again and get back on your own.
  
  

Physical therapists at Tahara Health take the time to look at your needs and deal with problems you may not have dealt with before. Physical therapy isn’t just exercises and tasks for us. It means taking a look at your health and your environment and making changes that help you do things better in your everyday life.

Seniors can get a lot out of physical therapy, especially if they are willing to learn and try out new things. We know that change can be hard, so we start by building a strong relationship between the patient and the therapist. Then we talk about how to do things safely and give you tips at a pace that works for you.

Many of our patients have given up on the idea that they can do things they used to be able to do, like taking a shower on their own, gardening, going to church or the store, or showering on their own. They might think that falling and losing function are just part of getting old. But that’s not true. You might be surprised by how much you can do after going to physical therapy. We’ll give you the tools you need to keep reaching your goals safely after physical therapy is over.

IN-HOME PHYSICAL THERAPY COST

Does Medicare pay for home physical therapy? If you qualify for home health care and your doctor orders physical therapy as part of your care plan, Medicare, Medicaid, and some private insurance plans will usually pay for it.

CAN YOU GET HOME PHYSICAL THERAPY FOR YOUR HEALTH?

For Medicare and Medicaid to pay for your home health care, you have to meet certain criteria. These things are:

• You are said to be homebound. This means it’s hard for you to leave your house and you need a walker, wheelchair, or the help of another person to do so.
• You need skilled care part-time or sometimes. This could be a long-term need for physical therapy, skilled nursing care, speech therapy, or occupational therapy.
• Your doctor has told you to get care at home.
• Ask your doctor if you can get health care at home.
  
  

Even if you don’t meet these home health criteria, you can still get private physical therapy at home if you pay for it yourself or through private insurance. You could also try an outpatient clinic in your area.

HOW TO FIND NEARBY SERVICES FOR IN-HOME PHYSICAL THERAPY

Since a doctor’s order is needed for home health physical therapy, many people find in-home physical therapy through their healthcare provider. Your doctor may send you to a company like Tahara Health for home health care.

When picking a physical therapist, here are a few things to think about:

• Does the physical therapist have experience or special training in the problems you’re having?
• Can the physical therapist come to your house?
• Does the doctor or hospital take your insurance?
  
  

Physical therapy can help a wide range of health problems in older people. Ask your doctor about home health physical therapy if you are getting better from surgery, an injury, or a long-term illness. You can also call the Tahara Health home health agency near you to find out how physical therapy can help you keep your independence.