Physical Therapy in Elderly Suffering from Degenerative Diseases

Introduction: Osteoarthritis of the joints (osteoarthritis or arthritis) represents the largest group of rheumatic diseases. Within rheumatic diseases 50% are degenerative rheumatic diseases, 10% inflammatory and 40% extra-articular. Goal: To determine the modalities of physical therapy for elderly with degenerative diseases. Material and methods: The study is retrospective-prospective and descriptive. The survey conducted included 25 patients with degenerative diseases of the musculoskeletal and nervous systems in Gerontology Center in Sarajevo, from May 1, 2014- April 30, 2015. As research instruments were used: Questionnaire for users of physical therapy in Gerontology Center in Sarajevo, self-developed, visual-analog scale to assess pain and patient records. Results: Of the total number of patients with degenerative diseases (25), 10 (40%) were male and 15 (60%) were female. The most common degenerative disease is knee osteoarthritis which had 11 patients (29%), 3 males and 8 females. From physical therapy modalities in the treatment of degenerative diseases at the Gerontology Center in Sarajevo, kinetic therapy was administered to all patients, followed by manual massage and TENS in 15 cases (60%). From twenty-two patients, who completed a questionnaire, 11 (50%, 2 male and 9 female) rated their health as poor. Seven patients (32%, 3 male and 4 female) assessed their health as good. Three patients (14%, 2 male and 1 female) rated their health as very poor, and one patient (4%, 1 male) rated its health as very good. Conclusion: The Research Physical therapy in elderly with degenerative diseases is a pilot project, which highlights the need for: Conducting research for a longer time period, with a larger sample; Quality of keeping health records; Implementation of a continuous evaluation of functional status and; Stricter control for optimal effectiveness of physical therapy in order to improve the quality of life of elderly patients.