PHCC to launch physiotherapy services for elderly at home

Reham Naim, a physiotherapist with the department, recently explained on PHCC’s social media platforms that senior citizens over the age of 60 who are eligible for the home care service will be provided treatment through a number of its health centers.“Home care services are available to Qatari patients who are unable to leave the house for various reasons. A comprehensive package of services is provided starting with a medical examination by a specialised doctor and providing nursing services. These are in addition to physiotherapy service and medical advice on quality healthy food,” she said.She pointed out that physical therapy services are provided by qualified specialists with experience in evaluating and treating aging diseases and the age related pain. “Elderly patients are exposed to many health risks during old age, most notably problems with the musculoskeletal system, inflammation and joint pain, which leads to the inability of the elderly to carry out their daily activities, and thus movement decreases over time,” she said adding that physiotherapy is one of the most important interventions that are least costly and most effective in terms of effectiveness. She explained that the framework of the home care service is determined through a comprehensive examination of the patient and a review of his medical history, and determining whether he will need any other specialties or not adding that the physiotherapist monitors symptoms, establishes a diagnosis, and performs a number of tests to measure muscle strength and joint range of motion.She pointed out that the bulk of physiotherapy cases for the elderly at home is focused on treating the knee joint and it's surrounding areas, such as the thigh and calf muscles, which are the muscles that the elderly depend on in their daily life to walk and perform daily tasks in general, and the provision of physiotherapy at home includes dealing with cases of back pain and herniated disc.