Mobility
The Institute for Healthcare Improvement along with the John A Hartford Foundation, American Hospital Association, and the Catholic Health Association of the United States developed a framework for Age Friendly Health Systems. You can see a brief overview of this under the “4Ms” on the Basics page.
To round out our journey through the 4Ms we’ll end with “Mobility.” Mobility may sound straightforward, but due to the complex nature of aging remaining safely mobile is incredibly difficult. We lose our muscle mass, our balance, and fatigue much more easily. In fact, around age thirty is when we begin to lose our muscle mass - up to 5% every decade!
Geriatricians and our geriatric-friendly health allies (specifically occupational therapists and physical therapists) know that healthy aging does not begin at age 65; instead it starts with the healthy habits we develop in our formative years! It is much easier to keep your balance and stay mobile as a 90 year old if you have been practicing your whole life! Not to say starting a balance or exercise program at age 65 is without benefit. On the contrary, there is evidence that older adults that practice Tai Chi may be more protected from an “injurious fall,” but I always encourage patients and caregivers to start forming healthy habits for themselves as early as possible to ensure they are doing everything they can to protect something we all hold dear - quality of life.
As a part of a healthy-aging system, our allied health professionals are invaluable at not only providing the much needed therapies but also ensuring our homes are properly equipped so that we can remain as independent as possible as long as possible! Home safety evaluations are incredibly important and an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure when it comes to our mobility and risk for falling down. Ensuring we have the right durable medical equipment (DME) in the home can significantly increase our independence and defends us from institutionalization (moving to a nursing home). Many of the older adults I have partnered with fear loss of independence more than death, and a loss of mobility leads to that loss of independence. This highlights the importance of having a team of providers care for older adults to make certain we are doing our utmost to ensure our patients age healthily and can do What Matters!
The bottom line of “Mobility” is just that. As we age, it becomes incredibly difficult to remain independent and hold onto those things that we treasure. To remain mobile is to keep our ability to do the things that are important and that matter.
Key Points:
Geriatricians and allied health professionals try to ensure our patients remain mobile and independent
An age-friendly health system requires a health team to partner with patients to ensure patients can do What Matters
