Summary:
The geriatric syndrome of frailty receives a constantly increasing extent during the last decades. The great progress that defines today’s medicine and at the same time constitutes the importance of technological advances, brought us to a point where there is a rise in the life expectancy, especially in the western civilizations. Frailty affects the elderly and causes a pathological state marked by a general feeling of vulnerability, which is associated with decrease resistance against endogenous and exogenous stress factors. The great numbers of adverse outcomes that define the syndrome e.g. physical disability or even morbidity constitute a calling towards health professionals in order to take action towards the finding of a successful way of assessing the case as well setting a therapeutic plan. The physical therapy intervention is of great importance in such case. The physical therapist having in hands a great variety of examination procedures such as the manual muscle strength testing, the examination of length, the assessment of range of motion or even the gait of the patient tries to access the pathology the patient presents, depicting the individual deficits. By creating a profile for the patient and taking in consideration the needs as well the abilities – in physical and psychological level, moves into the creation of a personalized therapeutic program, which imposes the importance of physical exercise and has as a goal the improvement of patient life and retrieve of his independency.
Keywords:
Frailty, Vulnerability, Physical Therapy intervention, Physical Therapy assessment, Therapeutic Exercise
